Eligibility & Expectations

All academic general faculty, tenure-eligible and tenured faculty, and permanent administrative staff who regularly teach undergraduate courses at UVA may apply.

Funds are limited. Instructors may only submit one proposal per academic year. Except when Experiments or Small Pilots are scaled up (see Funding Details), instructors may not submit proposals for the same project more than once. Projects funded through the A&S Learning Design & Technology team's Learning Technology Incubator (LTi) program are not eligible for Thrive grant funding.

Instructors may apply for funding at three levels:

1. Experiments: This grant-level allows individual faculty to innovate at the course-level and request up to $2,000; no assessment plan needed and minimal reporting requirements.

2. Small Pilots: This grant-level allows 2-4 faculty to innovate at the course- or program-level and request up to $10,000; moderate assessment and reporting requirements.

3. Large Pilots: This grant-level allows multiple faculty to scale up efficacious innovations at the program-level and request up to $20,000; substantial assessment and reporting requirements.

Funds might pay for faculty or staff wages;* graduate student wages, or student wages when employed as undergraduate learning, teaching or research assistants, or course design partners; course materials, activities, or other course-related experiences; necessary learning technologies; or other project-related costs that fall within normal procurement guidelines for state funds. While grant funds may help cover related professional development expenses, they should be used to extend UVA Education Benefits, not replace them.

All grant funds must be spent by May 1, 2024. All unspent funds will be returned to the Office of the Provost.

*Faculty may use grant funds for summer salary only; faculty overload pay is not allowed. When any wages are requested, proposals should make clear how dedicated instructor or student time will advance the innovation project. Include appropriate academic fringe rates when developing your budget.

At the end of the grant period, all recipients are required to submit a summary of grant activities to the Center for Teaching Excellence. Recipients of Small and Large Pilots are also required to submit detailed summaries of assessment efforts and findings.

Dissemination of results of Thrive grant projects is encouraged, and the CTE’s Innovations in Pedagogy Summit is one potential outlet.