Internal Funding Opportunities
Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (RSCA) Awards
The RSCA program supports Faculty research, scholarship, and creative activity with funds from the Office of the Chancellor's and the Office of the Provost. This support for faculty scholarship raises the visibility of the California State University as an institution that values faculty RSCA.
2027-2028 CSUCI Competition for RSCA
- The 2027-2028 RSCA competition opens for application on September 11th, 2026 in InfoReady.
- DEADLINE FOR RSCA PROPOSALS is 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11th, 2026
- Award Cycle: 2027 - 2028
- Project Timeline: July 1st, 2027 - June 30th, 2028
- Discipline/Subject Area: All disciplines
- Progress Reports: 6-month, 12-month, and 18- month progress reports will be due in December 2027, June 2028, and December 2028. Progress Reports are required to be submitted in InfoReady and progress report notifications will be sent out via email.
All members of Unit 3 - Faculty, Librarians, Coaches, and Counselors are eligible to apply for and receive RSCA awards.
RSCA awards are intended as one-time grants, not as a sole or continuing source of support for a particular line of professional activity. Higher priority will be given to:
- Individuals who have not received RSCA funding in the past three years;
- Probationary, tenure track faculty at critical stages of their careers, during which research support is essential;
Please note that all RSCA grant funds awarded are Research & Sponsored Programs (Stateside) funds and awardees are responsible to ensure that funds are spent by fiscal-year-end. Funds not expended by the fiscal-year-end date are forfeited and returned.
The RSCA Request for Proposals and RSCABudget Template can provide vital information to support the application process. Both are also available within the InfoReady application. The budget template may be used for planning purposes and is not required.
InfoReady Review Portal for the RSCA and PDCG Programs
Provost Direct Cost Grant Program
The Office of the Provost is pleased to provide funding through the Provost’s Direct Costs Grants (PDCG) Program to help defray one-time, direct costs associated with research and creative activities; specifically, costs related to the dissemination of completed work.
Eligible expenses may include translation, indexing, article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, and other one-time costs associated with sharing completed scholarship or creative work, such as videos, recordings, shipping, payments to collaborators, sound editors, and similar services. When requesting publication fees, the applicant must indicate whether they are the primary (usually first) or senior (usually last or corresponding) author. Expenses related to the continuation of research or creative activities are not eligible. Costs that require ongoing investment, maintenance, or upkeep are not considered one-time expenses and will not be funded.
DEADLINE FOR INITIAL REVIEW is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, October 26th, 2026.
DEADLINE FOR ROLLING APPLICATION is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 25th, 2027.
Applications received by 11:59 p.m. on October 26th, 2026, will be included in the initial review cycle and considered together for the first allocation of available funds. Following the initial review deadline, applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis through January 25th, 2027. Rolling applications will be reviewed approximately every two weeks and considered for funding in the order received, subject to the merits of the proposal and availability of funds. This extended application period is intended to provide faculty with flexibility when eligible dissemination costs arise later in the academic year while allowing sufficient time to process and expend awards before the end of the fiscal year. If funds remain after that time, additional applications may be considered if the timeline for expending the cost is feasible.
The PDCG Quick Guide can provide vital information to support the application process.
InfoReady Review Portal for the RSCA and PDCG Programs
CSU Systemwide Funding Opportunities
STEM-Net: Faculty Interdisciplinary Research Grants Program CSU Bachelor's Degree Innovation Catalyst Grants CSU BiotechnologySearch Tools
Pivot-RP
Research and Sponsored Projects has implemented Pivot-RP, a web-based tool that provides access to a “global source of funding opportunities” and allows users to connect with potential collaborators at CSUCI, across the CSU and beyond. Pivot-RP is available to all faculty, staff, and students.
Pivot-RP Start Guide (PDF, 864KB)
CSUCI Sponsored Subscriptions
The services listed below are password protected and offer searchable funding opportunities and other services. If you would like information on how to access these database subscriptions, please contact Research & Sponsored Programs.
American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Grants Resource Center
External Funding Opportunities
Federal Grants
Federal Grants Notification Service: Grants.gov
State of California Funding Opportunities
California Grants Portal: https://www.grants.ca.gov/
California State University (CSU) Affinity Groups
https://www.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/research/Pages/campus-research-collaborations.aspx