¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

FASS funding

Graduate Student Support Fund

The FASS Graduate Student Support Fund provides research travel funding between $1,000 and $2,000

Funding will be awarded on a first come, first served basis until funds are exhausted.

Details and criteria

Research travel funding

The FASS Dean's Office will consider funding requests between $1,000 and $2,000 for travel to a conference or competition where the student is performing or presenting research; to a library, archive, research centre, or other research-related resource; or to another activity which requires travel and which is directly related to the student’s research project or course of study. Support from this fund is not available for participation in co-op, internship placements, or field schools.

Students may apply only once per academic year. Before applying for FASS research travel funding, graduate students must first apply to the following potential sources of research travel support, and provide evidence of having done so:

  1. Dean of Graduate Studies (GPS). See Graduate Travel and Research Award (TARA)
  2. Home department or school
  3. Faculty supervisor’s grant funds (Tri-Council or other)

Please direct questions about the FASS Graduate Student Support Fund to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, fasssec@sfu.ca.

Please use the FASS Graduate Student Support Fund application form to apply.

* FASS Graduate Student Support Fund Form.pdf
FASS Graduate Student Support Fund application form

Visiting Speakers Fund

The FASS Visiting Speakers Fund provides funding to invite speakers to ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV. It offers a $5,000 grant to support visiting speakers in FASS.

Details and criteria

A maximum of $5,000 will be available for two or more faculty members from different Departments, Schools or Programs OR one faculty member and one retired faculty member, to apply together to host a visiting speaker at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV. Applications from one Department, School or Program will not be accepted unless one of the applying faculty members is retired.

Applications should be submitted to the Associate Dean, Research from FASS TRACS; support is contingent on availability of funds in the Dean's Office. Each faculty member is limited to one application per calendar year. Multi-Faculty events will be supported only if other Faculties match FASS support (to a maximum of $5,000).

At least one event with the visiting speaker must be open to the public; faculty members will be expected to work with the FASS Communications Officers to publicize their event.

A brief report must be provided to the FASS Dean’s office within one month of the event.

Unused funding exceeding $500 must be returned to the FASS Dean’s office.

The following principles will be applied in decisions regarding funding requests.

  1. All applications for FASS funding must demonstrate some level of departmental financial support.
  2. Budgets in applications should be reasonable, reflect an efficient use of resources, and provide as much detail as possible.
  3. Decisions regarding FASS funding in support of SSHRC Connection Grant will be considered quarterly, no earlier four weeks before the Connection Grant application deadline.
  4. FASS aims to ensure that resources to support speakers and events are allocated equitably across the Faculty.

Please direct questions about the FASS Visiting Speakers Fund to the Associate Dean, Research.

Please apply using the link below.

Rapid Response Fund

The Rapid Response Fund supports continuing faculty members in FASS to address current topics of general interest both promptly and publicly. It offers a $5000 grant to support public events addressing current topics.

Details and criteria

A maximum of $5,000 will be available once per calendar year for continuing FASS faculty members to host an event. Multi-Faculty events will be supported only if other Faculties match FASS support (to a maximum of $5,000).

Applications may be submitted at any time to the Associate Dean, Research from FASS TRACS; support is contingent on availability of funds in the Dean's Office. All applications must be supported by Department, School or Program Chairs/Directors.

FASS Rapid Response Fund events must be explicitly targeted for community engagement and must be open to the public. Faculty members will be expected to work with the FASS Communications Officer to publicize their event.

A brief report must be provided to the FASS Dean’s office within one month of the event. Unused funding exceeding $500 must be returned to the FASS Dean’s office.

The following principles will be applied in decisions regarding funding requests.

  1. All applications for FASS funding must demonstrate some level of departmental financial support.
  2. Budgets in applications should be reasonable, reflect an efficient use of resources, and provide as much detail as possible.
  3. Decisions regarding FASS funding in support of SSHRC Connection Grant will be considered quarterly, no earlier four weeks before the Connection Grant application deadline.
  4. FASS aims to ensure that resources to support speakers and events are allocated equitably across the Faculty.

Please direct questions about the FASS Rapid Response Fund to the Associate Dean, Research.

Please apply using the link below.

Retirees Research fund

The Retirees Research Fund provides support for retired FASS faculty members to conduct research. It provides a $5,000 grant to support the research of retired FASS faculty.

Details and criteria

A maximum of $5,000 will be available once every 24 months for a retired FASS faculty member. Funding is for research activities only; support to attend conferences, for example, will not be provided.

Applications may be submitted at any time to the Associate Dean, Research; support is contingent on availablility of funds in the Dean's Office. A brief report must be provided to the FASS Dean’s office after the research is complete; recipients are expected to work with the FASS Communications Officer to share the results of their research.

The following criteria will be applied in decisions regarding the funding request.

  1. Priority will be given to those retirees who have not yet received a FASS Retiree Grant. Retirees applying for a second (or third) Retiree Grant will be asked to wait until January of a fiscal year to submit their application, to ensure that there are funds available for Retirees submitting their first  request for support.
  2. Normally, FASS will not approve applications for a second (or third) Retiree Grant in support of a project that has already received the maximum amount of support from FASS.
  3. Budgets in applications should be reasonable, reflect an efficient use of resources, and provide as much detail as possible. FASS is unlikely to provide support for meals or per diems.

Please direct questions about the FASS Retirees Research Fund to the Associate Dean, Research.

Please use the FASS Retirees Research Fund application form to apply.

* FASS Retirees Research Fund.pdf
FASS Retirees Research Fund application form

Kickstarter Seed Grant

The FASS Kickstarter Seed Grant provides research funding for one or two faculty members that brings greater visibility and external engagement to FASS research and/or that cultivates projects that are likely to secure external funding.

Details and criteria

FASS is launching a new, one-time grant program to support faculty members in advancing their research to achieve greater visibility and/or external support. The competition is open to any FASS faculty member who submits a proposal. Up to $10,000 per faculty member will be awarded over a period of up to two years. If more than one faculty member is involved, the maximum amount awarded is $15,000 over two years. Support is available for a wide variety of scholarly purposes (but not teaching buyouts), which should be closely tied to the research objectives.

Budget will be governed by the usual ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Budget Guidelines and Travel and Business Expenses policy— see Research Personnel costsResearch Travel and Subsistence, and the Award Management Guidelines for eligible expenses. Priority will be given to those projects that bring greater visibility and external engagement to FASS research and/or that cultivate projects that are likely to secure external funding. Examples of possible expenses include (but are not restricted to):   

  • Open Access Publication Fees
  • Travel Costs 
  • Seed money for creating a partnership or collaboration
  • Funds to purchase or gather data
  • Funding for student training and support
  • Funds to run a workshop or conference at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV
  • Funds to develop translational materials bringing your research to a wide audience

See the following attachments for additional Kickstarter Seed Grant criteria:

* Kickstarter Seed Grant Budget Form.xlsx
Budget form - Please complete and attach to your online application form

View past recipients of this grant.

Kickstarter Seed recipients

Breaking Barriers Interdisciplinary Incentive Grant

The Breaking Barriers Interdisciplinary Incentive Grant funds research proposed by teams from at least two disciplines, and ideally will also involve a faculty member or members from outside of FASS. The aim of the research is to deepen our understanding of the world’s most pressing issues or aim to create solutions or otherwise address these problems.

Details and Criteria

FASS is launching a new grants programme, Breaking Barriers, to encourage interdisciplinary scholarship.  For this competition, the Dean’s Office seeks interdisciplinary grant applications from teams led by FASS researchers. As prioritized in What’s Next: The ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Strategy, the research proposed by these teams should aim to deepen our understanding of the world’s most pressing issues or aim to create solutions or otherwise address these problems. Teams should explain how their research advances the strategic priorities of FASS and/or the University as a whole. For a non-exhaustive list of ideas about what kinds of topics might be strategic priorities for the University, see ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV’s Strategic Research Plan, the President’s What’s Next: The ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Strategy, or propose another area of research and explain why it makes sense for FASS/¶¡ÏãÔ°AV to develop that area of research.Proposals should draw on research from at least two disciplines, and ideally will also involve a faculty member or members from outside FASS.

See the following attachments for additional Breaking Barrier Interdisciplinary Incentive Grant criteria:

* Breaking Barriers Budget Form.xlsx
Budget form - Please complete and attach to your final proposal online application form

View past recipients of this grant.

Breaking Barriers recipients