Instructional Enhancement Fund

Part-time or Full-time instructors may apply for this funding.

Overview

The Instructional Enhancement Fund (IEF) provides Yale instructors with up to $500 in funding to support innovative pedagogical opportunities for existing courses. The IEF seeks to reduce barriers to allow instructors to implement timely creative or responsive ideas to enhance their students’ learning experiences. Note: The IEF is on hiatus for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Important Dates

August 15: Applications open at 9 a.m. ET for the fall semester.
December 1: Applications open at 9 a.m. ET for the spring semester.
Funding decisions are typically made within two weeks of receiving proposals. The application portal will close once funds are depleted.

How to Apply

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.

Instructors may apply by completing this brief IEF Qualtrics application form. Applications are rolling and funding is allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis once applications are reviewed. Instructors will be asked to respond to six prompts about their proposed project and provide an itemized budget for the funding request. Applicants can review examples of previously funded applications. Please note that Qualtrics does not offer a save function, so applicants are encouraged to draft their responses in another location before entering into the application form.

Funding Guidelines

Funding may support:

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
software technologies that meet digital accessibility standards to support teaching

Funding may not support:

general faculty professional development such as membership in a professional society
computers, monitors, and other hardware that departments and schools should provide as part of one’s appointment at Yale
salary support for instructor(s)
reimbursement for previously incurred expense
subscriptions to digital platforms that have not been through Yale IT’s accessibility check