The Honors College Challenge Grant initiative provides competitive funding to support East Texas A&M faculty and staff as they create or enhance innovative learning opportunities for Honors students. These funds may be used to directly support student activities or to indirectly support faculty and staff participation in professional development, curriculum/co-curriculum design, or other related activities.
Honors College Challenge Grants may be used to develop Honors education through:
Assisting with the costs of attending an institute, workshop, or conference focused on innovative pedagogy, curriculum design, or program assessment.
Supporting course and assignment design.
Supporting curriculum development at the department or program level.
Supporting strategic planning for honors partnerships at the unit, school or college level.
Developing opportunities for honors students to engage with partners in education, business, industry, government, and nonprofits.
All full-time faculty and staff involved in Honors educational programming at the university are eligible to apply for an Honors College Challenge Grant. Both individual and team applications are welcome. It is anticipated that funding awards will range from $1,000 to $8,000. Any requests for reassigned time must also be approved by the appropriate administrative channels within the university unit or college.
To be considered for the Honors College Challenge Grants, fill out the online application. Each application should include a brief (up to 1000 words) narrative that provides an explanation of the goals, a list of specific deliverables, and a clear connection to Honors education outcomes. In addition, please attach a proposed budget, a timeline for implementation, and other supporting documents.
Preference will be given to proposals that:
Support the Honors College’s core goals: connect, create, and contribute.
Develop, implement, or promote the use of high-impact practices or other transformative pedagogy for student learning.
Expand or support broad student access to Honors programs.
Show the potential to be sustainable and/or scalable.
Demonstrate a clearly defined need for the funding.
Provide clear and measurable outcomes, including SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound), assessment, and/or clearly identified deliverables.
Proposals will be selected by the dean of the Honors College in consultation with members of the Honors Council and content experts using the criteria listed above. Acceptance of an Honors College Challenge Grant award signifies willingness to participate in Honors College staff and faculty workshops and community of practice during the 2025-2026 academic year.
The Honors College Challenge Grant application process timeline includes:
December 10, 11:30 a.m.:Information session
December 16, 2024: Application opens
January 22, 2025, 3 p.m.:Information session
January 24, 2025: Priority application deadline
March 3, 2025: Proposals due
April 4, 2025: Awardees announced
April 29, 2025: Onboarding meeting
February 28, 2026: Mid-project report due
June 30, 2026: Deadline to spend funds; Project outcome report due to
the dean of the Honors College
Eligibility for future Honors College funding opportunities requires the timely submission of an outcome report. Any technology purchased with the grants belongs to East Texas A&M University.
The Honors College will host informational sessions on Tuesday, December 10, at 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday, January 22, at 3 p.m.. Stop by to learn more about this opportunity, workshop ideas, and collaborate.
Questions? Contact Honors College at HonorsCollege@tamuc.edu.
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