Writing Across the Curriculum

Grants

Writing Across the Curriculum Grant Opportunities

Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) at George Mason University invites proposals from academic units seeking to enhance the intentionality and sustainability of writing instruction across disciplines. Two funding streams are available to facilitate innovative approaches to faculty support, course management, and curriculum development. 

  1. Capacity-Building Micro-Grants 
  2. Course and Curriculum Development Mini-Grants 

These grants will take the form of stipends to faculty who design, develop, and lead the proposed project and who will contribute to publicly available resources that will extend the reach and durability of that project. For this reason, successful grant proposals must demonstrate the sustainability and/or broad impact of the proposed project in relation to WAC’s mission of designing meaningful writing experiences across all disciplines. Funding will not be given for an individual faculty member’s effort to learn about WAC pedagogy or for bringing in external consultants or speakers. 

Available Funding

  1. Capacity-Building Micro-Grants
    1. Awards up to $1,500 total ($500 stipend per person)
    1. Support initial development and planning of writing initiatives
  2. Course and Curriculum Development Mini-Grants
    1. Awards up to $3,000 total ($1,000 stipend per person)
    1. Support comprehensive course redesign or curriculum development projects

Eligibility

  • Open to teams from all departments, programs, colleges, and schools at George Mason University; teams should include at least three members
  • Team members should be from the same academic unit (exceptions will be considered for interdisciplinary programs)

Timeline

  • Proposal Submission Deadline:
    • Priority deadline: December 9, 2024
    • Final deadline: January 12, 2024
  • Award Decisions Announced: January 24, 2025
  • Project Implementation Period: February 2025 – May 2025
    • Grant Conclusion: All work and payments must conclude by May 30.
  • Grant / stipend payout will be divided across the semester

Priority Areas

To enhance the intentional and sustainable integration of writing across the curriculum, WAC encourages academic units to invest in projects that effectively increase local capacity for faculty learning, course- or curriculum-development, or the systematic support of faculty teaching writing.  Projects can focus on writing-intensive courses or other courses that assign writing but wish to more effectively integrate writing, writing instruction, or assessment of writing.

Examples of possible projects include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Creation of curricular outcomes statement articulating desired writing abilities and outcomes for writing in a degree program
  • Development of curriculum map and plan for the intentional integration of outcomes for writing in a course sequence or curricular area
  • Development of course modules or materials designed for adoption by multiple instructors teaching in a course or curricular area
  • Pilot implementation and assessment of course modules or materials designed for multiple instructors teaching in a course or curricular area
  • Design of faculty development/training curricula and materials to support a current course, course sequence, or curricular area
  • Design for the assessment of writing in the major or across sections of a multi-sectioned course
  • Development of assessment related materials (e.g. course or program rubric)
  • Development of student-facing guides to writing in the major

Project Requirements and Deliverables

All funded projects must submit:

  1. A final report documenting project outcomes and implementation process
  2. Supporting artifacts demonstrating project completion
  3. Recommendations for adapting the project across different disciplinary contexts

Reports should clearly contextualize the project within the unit’s broader curriculum and provide detailed guidance for potential adaptation by other units or programs.

Grant recipients should plan to attend four awardee meetings during the award period; sessions will focus on writing instruction and curriculum design practices and provide time for teams to exchange ideas and receive feedback from attendees.

Teams should also anticipate presenting their work at a future Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference.

Submission

Please assemble all parts of the proposal as outlined by the submission guidelines into a single PDF, and email to WAC by 11:59 pm on or before the application deadline, with the subject line “2025 WAC Grant Proposal.”

Please email WAC staff (wac@gmu.edu) with any questions.