Funding

Yale instructors are invited to submit an application for funding up to $500 in support of an existing course. Expenses that can be covered by these grants may include, but are not limited to, classroom supplies, fees and expenses for field trips or in-class projects, travel to educational conferences that directly inform one’s teaching or course content, honoraria for classroom guest speakers, and software technologies, which meet digital accessibility standards, to support teaching.

IEF awards are intended to be quickly available prior to or during the academic semester. Funding may not be used to reimburse costs already incurred. The IEF is not intended to defray the costs of general faculty professional development, such as attending a professional society in one’s disciplinary area, nor is it intended as part of salary or additional compensation for Yale faculty and staff. Computers, monitors, and other hardware are also not eligible for an IEF as departments and schools should provide these as part of one’s appointment at Yale. Rather, the IEF is intended to assist in fostering pedagogical methods, technologies, materials, or techniques for which no other funding sources are available.

Eligibility

All Yale instructors of record, including tenured and tenure-track faculty, clinical instructional faculty, lecturers, lectors, and part-time acting instructors (PTAIs) are eligible to apply for the Instructional Enhancement Fund. To promote equitable distribution of awards throughout our community of Yale instructors, funds are restricted to one award per instructor, per academic year, and to a total of three awards per five-year period. For questions regarding individual eligibility, please contact faculty.teaching@yale.edu.

Deadlines

IEF will not be offered for 2025-2026 while we revise our funding opportunities for instructors. Please visit this website for future updates.

The IEF has two awards cycles: one for the fall semester and one for the spring semester.  Applications will open August 15 for the fall semester and December 1 for the spring semester. Applications will remain open until funds are depleted. The Poorvu Center recognizes that not all Yale instructors teach each semester and ensures that an equal amount of funding is available each cycle. 

Application

Instructors may apply via the brief IEF Qualtrics application form, which consists of the following components: 

• Instructor Information (Name, Net ID, Email, Course Number & Title, School or Department)
• Proposed Project (Suggested length: 4-6 sentences per prompt)
  • A brief description of the project you intend to use the funds for
  • How the proposed project aligns with course learning goals and objectives
  • How the proposed project will engage students in active and reflective learning
  • Plans to assess impact of the proposed project on student learning, including what evidence you will collect
  • Considerations on how the proposed project will be equitable for all students
  • Considerations on how the proposed projecte will be accessible for all students, including those with documented or undocumented disabilities
• Funding Request (Requested amount up to $500, itemized budget, and other available funding sources)

Examples of previously funded applications are available as a download at the bottom of this page. Please note: Qualtrics does not offer a save function, so applicants may want to draft their responses in another location (e.g. Microsoft Word) before entering into the application form. 

Funding Decisions

Funding decisions are typically made within two weeks of receiving proposals. Upon completion of their project, award recipients are greatly encouraged to share their reflections on how the project went with the Poorvu Center’s Teaching Development and Initiatives team (faculty.teaching@yale.edu (link sends e-mail)). We use this feedback to report back to donors, secure continued funding, and recognize instructor creativity in communications and events.  

Questions and Consultations

Contact us at  faculty.teaching@yale.edu (link sends e-mail) with questions about the fund or the application process. The Teaching Development and Initiatives staff are available to consult with applicants as they prepare their application and as they implement their funds.

Previous IEF Award Features

We invite you to explore articles written about projects funded by the Poorvu Center’s Instructional Enhancement Fund: 

• Erin Morelli (2019 Awardee): “Midwifery Students Riddle Their Way Through Escape Room”
• Daniel HoSang (2021 Awardee): “New course on anti-racist education allows for collaboration with Connecticut teachers”
• Hi’ilei Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart (2022 Awardee): “New first year seminar, Indigenous Food Sovereignty, partners with the Yale Farm to host a Fall Feast focused on indigenous foods”