RFP: TLC Grants, 2017-2018

The Teaching and Learning Center is pleased to open the application process for 2017-2018 Teaching and Learning Center Grants. This program supports doctoral and masters students at the CUNY Graduate Center as they develop, plan, implement, and reflect upon creative approaches to teaching and learning. The goal of this program is to foster experimentation in the classroom, and to contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning at the City University of New York and beyond.

TLC Grants of up to $2,500 will support the planning, execution, and public reflection upon a teaching and learning project, and which will make a broader contribution to conversations about teaching and learning. Examples of the kinds of proposals that might be funded include class assignments involving archives (digital or physical) or cultural institutions, cross-course collaborations, assignments that integrate writing into quantitative disciplines, the construction of a new series of teaching guides for the TLC website, creative mapping or data visualization projects, research on teaching and learning, a workshop series or seminar on a specific pedagogical strategy, the purchase of software or hardware to facilitate a specific course or set of projects, and the beginning phases of research and development of educational technology tools, platforms, and projects. Descriptions of previously funded projects are available on our web site.

Funding from TLC Grants can fund both the labor that goes into teaching and learning activities and offset the costs of goods, services, or experiences that are central to a project. TLC Grant winners will be expected to design their project in regular consultation with TLC staff, launch or implement the project in Spring 2018, reflect on the project on our blog, Visible Pedagogy, and make a public presentation about the project at Teach@CUNY Day in Spring, 2018 or at the GC Digital Showcase. Applications for collaborative projects are strongly encouraged, and may be funded at up to $3750. The TLC also encourages collaborative projects designed in partnership with applicants to the Provostโ€™s Digital Innovations Grant program. If you are submitting a collaborative grant proposal, please note in your project description the nature of the collaboration and your partners.

To Apply:

Applicants must be a doctoral or masters student currently enrolled and in good academic standing at the Graduate Center.

Proposals must include the following, submitted in a single PDF by email to tlc@gc.cuny.edu by midnight on October 9, 2017. Please put โ€œTLC Grant Applicationโ€ in the subject line, and save your PDF as lastnamefirstnameTLCGrant.pdf:

  1. Applicant Information:
  • name
  • program at the GC
  • contact information (email, mailing address, and phone number).

2. Abstract: 100-200 word statement summarizing the project and how it represents a creative, experimental approach to a pedagogical opportunity or problem

3. Narrative: up to 1000 words. Description of the project, including a timeline for development and deployment, key benchmarks, and a statement about the projectโ€™s significance and potential impact.

4. Budget: an itemized description of how the funding will be used, not to exceed a page. Instructor labor should be priced at the Adjunct Lecturer hourly rate of $89.12 per hour.

5. Short CV for all grantees: no longer than two pages.


Proposals will be evaluated by a review committee according to the following criteria:

  • feasibility
  • creativity
  • clarity of purpose
  • detail and appropriateness of budget
  • contributions of the project to the scholarship of teaching and learning
  • replicability and sustainability

Applicants will be notified about the status of their proposals by the end of October. Please direct any questions about the application process or the TLC grants initiative to tlc@gc.cuny.edu. Applicants are welcome to request meetings with TLC staff to talk through ideas for their proposals.