Faculty Seed Grants

The Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) awards faculty seed grants to support preliminary explorations of environmental issues that show promise for further scholarship. The awards are intended to seed the most exciting and innovative projects that could not be tackled without support from the Center. Since 2003, the Center has awarded 34 faculty seed grants worth over $1 million.

The awards are available through a competition open to all Harvard faculty members, regardless of any past affiliation with the Center. A portion of the funding will be reserved for faculty members who have not done prior environmental research. There is no limit to the size of an individual proposal, although smaller requests are encouraged as they will allow the Center to support a broader diversity of projects.

The Center will conduct one grant competition per academic year, and will announce awards within two months after each deadline.

All successful proposals must address significant environmental problems. The primary selection criteria will be the importance and innovativeness of the proposed work. Risky projects that might be difficult to fund through federal agencies or private foundations are particularly encouraged. In general, the awards cannot be used to support faculty salaries, although exemptions for junior faculty are possible.

Interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged as some of the most exciting environmental research involves several disciplines. However, proposed work within a single discipline is also encouraged if it represents a significant departure from previously funded research. Proposals may involve collaborations between two or more faculty members, but this is not a requirement.

Past Faculty Research Project Awards