Funder: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Due Dates (Anticipated): September 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: One-year awards; 2025 divisional averages: $17,000 arts and humanities, $66,000 biological sciences, $56,151 physical sciences
Summary: Supports UW–Madison research, scholarly work, and pilot studies, including backup funding for external grant applications.
Key Information: Limited to eligible UW–Madison faculty and permanent PIs; each applicant may submit only one application.
Description
The Fall Research Competition is administered by UW–Madison’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), using a gift from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). It supports research across arts and humanities, biological sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences, with priorities set separately by each division. An important goal is to help internal research investments lead to external funding wherever possible.
Applicants may seek “insurance” funding for pending external proposals or support for pilot studies that develop new research directions and preliminary data. Insurance awards provide limited backup support when an external proposal is unsuccessful, rather than replacing the full external budget. Arts and humanities support also encompasses scholarly writing and creative work, including original artworks, repertoire development, and new approaches to set design.
