Marine Sciences Grant Funding

The Marine Sciences Research Grant Committee is currently soliciting applications for research support.  Funds will not be provided for expenses incurred prior to the submission deadline date.

FY 24-25 PROPOSAL DEADLINES

October 11, 2024 (Announcement at the end of December 2024)

January 10, 2025 (Announcement at the end of February 2025)

March 14, 2025 (Announcement at the end of May 2025)

 

 

The next deadline for submission of applications is January 10, 2025. Funding for the January deadline will begin March 1, 2025. Late applications will not be considered, no exceptions. If you miss this deadline, the next deadline will be March 14, 2025 (for funding to start June 1, 2025).

Application Process

Applications are created and submitted electronically through eGrants. Information about eGrants is available at /online-tools/interactive-utilities/egrants.

Eligibility Information

Academic Senate members or Research Scientists in all fields are eligible to apply for individual research grants. Project Scientists are eligible for Travel to Scholarly Meetings only, subject to exception of policy.

Guidelines

Grant Amounts

Research proposals submitted to the Marine Sciences Research Grant Committee should not exceed $20,000. Joint proposals should not exceed $20,000 per qualified application. Funds are not discretionary; justification of all items requested is essential. Awards which would result in cumulative support beyond $60,000 over a ten year period are unlikely to be awarded.

Selection Priorities:

Proposals falling into one of the following priority areas will be considered: 

• Proposals from junior or recently arrived eligible applicants, e.g., to get started with a research direction in order to attract future external funding. 
• Seed funding for all eligible applicants to start or try new research directions or to conduct preliminary work that will directly lead to new proposals for extramural funding. 
• Bridge funding for those eligible applicants who, after extended research productivity, have no or insufficient current extramural research funding. 
• Joint proposals submitted by more than one PI, e.g., toward the purchase of (portions of) shared equipment or instrumentation, that can will be shared among multiple PIs or research groups. The total award may not exceed $20,000 per application, which will be apportioned equally between investigators. The number of prior applications received from each of the individual investigators, as well as budgetary constraints, will be taken into consideration. High priority will be given to specialized equipment not found elsewhere on campus that supports the research programs of multiple research groups. Lower priority will be given to requests for standard laboratory equipment, and to requests submitted by faculty who have existing startup funds.

Applications must explicitly explain and document why and how the proposed work fits into one of the above categories.


Funding Restrictions:

1. Funds may be awarded for supplies, field work, research assistance, general assistance, field travel for research purposes (attach quotation from agency), and equipment (attach vendor price quotation). [NOTE: Due to limited funds, salary support for graduate students cannot be provided. "Research assistance" is for work that aids but does not substitute for the scholarly work of the faculty member; support of post-doctoral salary is therefore inappropriate.
2. Computer equipment and software may be requested; however, due to budget limitations only modest needs can be met and these needs must be well-justified and in line with the goal of providing funding that will lead to extramural support.
3. Limited funds are available to support the final preparation of manuscripts for submission to publishers. Manuscripts must exceed 200 double-spaced, formatted pages and include the title and number of pages. Funds will not be awarded if a publisher's advance has been received. No support will be provided for proofreading or copyediting.
4. The Committee does not award funds for: Eligible applicant salary; books; curricular, administrative and teaching aid studies; individual subscriptions or professional society dues; publication costs or open access charges; reprints; telephone charges; postage or couriers; office furniture; minor office and computer supplies (paper, pens, pencils); maintenance and repair of equipment.
5. Human and Animal Subjects
   1. Research involving the use of human subjects (including the use of questionnaires, body fluids, and tissues) must be approved by the Human Subjects Committee before being initiated. Protocol number and date of approval should be indicated on the research grant application. Application forms are available from the Human Research Protections Program website.
   2. Research involving the use of animals must be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). A copy of the approval or protocol number should be indicated on the application. Animal Use Protocol forms are available from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) website.

Use of Funds

Expenditures of research grant funds must conform to the Committee allocations by categories and purpose. Savings in any category cannot be redirected and must be returned for redistribution; grantee's 10-year cumulative total will be credited.

The grantee is responsible for the administration of the grant, any overdrafts, and must review the budget and return to the Committee promptly any funds that will not be spent before the grant expires. Funds not expended by the end date will automatically revert to the Committee for redistribution.

Any equipment purchased from an Academic Senate research grant becomes the property of the University upon acquisition and reverts to the University upon completion of the project for which the funds were awarded.

All expenditures are subject to applicable University regulations.

Please acknowledge the UCSD Academic Senate in publications benefiting from these funds.

Any unexpended balances returned to the Committee prior to the expiration date of the grant will be credited towards the grantee's ten-year cumulative total.