Large Project Grants

Large Project Grants offer funding often up to $30,000 to support in-depth, collaborative work that enhances teaching and the teaching life. These grants are designed for faculty teams, departments, or institutions pursuing strategic projects grounded in theological education. Proposals should be clearly aligned with Wabash’s mission and demonstrate potential for long-term pedagogical impact.

2026 Large Grant Request for Proposals

The Wabash Center is pleased to announce its request for proposals in 2026. Colleges, Seminaries, and Universities teaching religion and theology may submit proposals for up to $30,000 that may be used for a period of up to two years. Proposals may be targeted to establish new projects or enhance existing programs that support improving teaching and/or deepening the teaching life. All proposals must be focused on some aspect of improving teaching or the teaching life. The Wabash Center is especially interested in supporting programs that help faculty address one or more of the following objectives:

Strengthening teaching practices that attend to and respect minoritized, marginalized, or new immigrant populations of colleagues and/or students.
Enhancing teaching practices that are more fully aware of the teacher as a whole person for the health and wellbeing of the faculty community.
Drawing more fully on the arts, imagination, and creativity to enhance the experience of teaching and the teaching life.
Creating opportunities for faculty networking, faculty exchanges, faculty connection through retreats, excursions, and pilgrimages that help faculty expand their vision of teaching and the teaching life.
Enhancing teaching practices that more intentionally equip the teacher with practices of critical and imaginative reflection upon teaching.
Developing teaching practices centered on issues of justice, civic engagement, techniques of advocacy and activism for more learner-centered experiences.
Forming deliberate conversation groups to discuss and reimagine the classroom in a digital age.

We encourage you to consider such guiding questions as:

In what ways might faculty develop instruction based on newly formed/ing expectations of learners and faculty?
- In what ways might a narrative approach to pedagogy assist with newly-forming institutional identities and newly-forming communities in institutions;
In what ways may faculty be better prepared for teaching in unfamiliar and/or changing circumstances (i.e. teaching in urban locations, climate of national politics, climate grief, AI)?
- What might be some ways to navigate the classroom when the political climate begins to affect student engagement and learning in the classroom?
In what ways might faculty explore ways of teaching while grieving and/or teach students who are grieving?
- In what ways may grief and mental health impact the classroom? And what are ways to navigate the impact?
- How might we design multilayered conversations and practices that tend towards healing, restoration, and wholeness in one’s teaching identity?
- How might we create self-care and communal care practices to better navigate the increase of trauma and mental health concerns within higher education?
How might we better prepared to teach in an ever evolving, changing landscape?
- What does it mean to prepare our students to live in a multifaith world?
- What does it mean for our students to navigate a democracy that is slowly crumbling?
- How might institutions better engage in interreligious dialogue?
In light of the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, what are the new patterns of being a faculty member?
- How might schools consider how their faculty profiles are changing—the increase in contingency and adjunct faculty and the decrease of tenure-track and tenured faculty?
- What type of professional experiences are essential to bolster one’s teaching identity?
- How might we explore aspects of teacher’s professional lives that shape their teaching identity (i.e. context, community, narrative teaching identity, subject specialization/discipline, family dynamics)
In what ways might institutions tackle issues of social justice, equity and belonging?
- In what ways might our institutions design more ecology-based justice initiatives?
- In what ways might our institutions address issues of racism, bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination?
- In what ways might our institutions address LGBTQIA+ issues?
- In what ways are schools embracing the richness of racial diversity on the faculty as well as celebrating racial particularity?

We encourage you to consider such methodologies as:

Establishing cohort groups for critical and reflective conversations on poignant and complex topics.
Creating excursions, retreats, or pilgrimages to “go see,” then reflect upon the experience.
Making use of a case study methodology to bring to bear actual circumstances, events, and experiences for reflection.
Curating an inter-disciplinary conversation.
Organizing a faculty retreat that offers greater preparation from outside experts.
Conversations about the institutional support and ethos needed to sustain long-term commitment.
Hosting a series of workshops to obtain professional skills, build capacity, and equip faculty to navigate the changing climate of your particular context?
Creating a community of practice.

Note: Please be mindful that these resources cannot be used for curriculum and/or course development. Our mission is geared toward supporting faculty, which inevitably impacts student learning and course/curricula development. Also, as you write your proposal, pay close attention to the list of things that we do and do not fund.

2026 Special Focus

Educational Experimentation Grant:

Advancing Theology and Religion Education in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
(Exclusively for faculty who teach in seminaries and theological institution)

The Wabash Center invites proposals for grants up to $30,000 (for up to two years) from faculty in theological school or seminaries who seek to explore the pedagogical and ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in theological education. The integration of AI into higher education offers unique opportunities and challenges. This initiative aims to 1) equip faculty with critical insight and creativity to navigate the evolving technological landscape, 2) support the development of AI literacy in theological education, and 3) explore how AI reshapes the teaching life, learning environments, and academic values. Ultimately, this grant focuses on educational experimentation with AI as a tool, challenge, and context for teaching theology and religion to strengthen theological education.

Key Areas of Exploration

Required Focus: AI Literacy

All proposals must include a focus on developing AI literacy among faculty—helping educators critically engage with the technologies shaping their contexts. This includes:

Developing essential knowledge of AI technologies and their implications for teaching and learning.
Reflecting on ethical considerations, including bias, data privacy, and the influence of AI on academic integrity and human dignity.

Additional Foci

In addition to AI literacy, applicants should select one or more of the following areas to focus their projects:

Understanding & Experimenting with AI and Its Role in Education

Offer professional development to assist faculty in gaining essential knowledge of AI technologies to integrate and make informed decisions about their classroom use.
Develop pedagogical skills and approaches to ensure students are fluent in AI practices
Building interdisciplinary networks for knowledge sharing and innovation in AI between the AI sector and faculty who teach theology and religion
Explore and experiment with AI tools that empower educators and enhance instructional practices

AI Ethics and Justice

Explore ethical considerations, including biases in AI tools, privacy concerns, representation, digital literacy, and the implications for academic integrity.
Foster awareness of how AI intersects with issues such as social justice, equity, and human dignity.
Investigate how current patterns of inequity might be disrupted or reinforced with/through AI.

Optimizing Teaching, Learning, and Student Advancement with AI

Investigate how AI can streamline administrative tasks, personalize learning experiences, and foster deeper engagement with course content.
Experiment with AI tools to enhance skills development, critical thinking, and theological reflection among students.

Assessing AI Accuracy, Assessment, and Authenticity

Evaluate the reliability of AI-generated content and its role in student assessments.
Design methodologies for ensuring authenticity in AI-assisted student work, considering the boundaries between assistance and authorship.

Grant Guidelines and Eligibility

Funded Projects should:

Advance faculty preparedness to teach in an AI-rich environment.
Address ethical and practical challenges associated with AI in theology and religious academies.
Produce sharable resources, insights, or practices for the broader academic community.
Participate in a Wabash-sponsored event to share insights and learnings (AAR session, online gathering)

AI Disclosure Requirement

Please include a brief statement describing how AI tools were used (if at all) in developing your proposal and how they may be used during the project. Transparency in tool usage will help us collectively learn about responsible integration of AI in academic life.

Submitting a Project Grant Proposal

3 parts need to be included in a Wabash Center Project Grant Application.

You will be prompted to attach the required documents (pdf format) to the online application, including a signed copy of the Grant Information Form, the Proposal Narrative & Budget, and an Institutional Letter of Support.

You will be prompted to attach a signed copy of the Grant Information Form, the Project Proposal, and the signed Institutional Letter of Support to the online Grant Application.

Part 1 – Grant Information Form

The Grant Information Form requests information necessary for the consideration of your proposal, including contact information, grant project dates, amount of the grant request, and a 150-word proposal abstract. The Grant Type to select is “Project.”

This form requires contact information for and signatures from:

The Project Director/s: The person/s responsible for providing narrative report on grants, typically the person/s overseeing the administration of the grant and writing the project proposal to apply for the grant.
The Financial Contact: The person responsible for receiving the check and providing financial reports of expenditures for the institution. This should be a different person than the project director.
The Authorization Contact: The person authorized to sign grant contracts for the institution.

Part 2 – Proposal Narrative and Budget

No longer than 12 pages long (single-spaced), CV limited to 4 pages, and page numbers required.

The Project Proposal must follow an outline of the seven elements indicated below.

Successful proposals will include specific examples, demonstrate thoughtful reflection about the project’s presenting problem, identify and address relevant pedagogical questions, attend to the alignment of the design with the goals, and provide clear plans for evaluating, assessing, and responding to what was learned during the course of the project.

Project Proposal Outline

Title of Proposed Project
Give us a central idea of what the project will explore
Framing Question or Problem
A good framing question or problem can help you identify what you do not understand and articulate why you must pursue it. It can also help you identify what strategies and activities can be most helpful and who might collaborate in the work. Ask yourself: What do you want to know? What is the student learning issue at the heart of this project? What classroom practice will this project address? What is the pedagogical issue or problem that this project is seeking to address and why does it matter?
Project Goals
List the goals for this project. What do you hope to accomplish or learn? What will this grant help you to do that you couldn’t do without funding? At the conclusion of the grant project, what change will have occurred as a consequence of this grant project?
Description of Activities
What is the scope of work envisioned for this grant project? What activities will be planned and carried out? How will these specific activities meet the needs of your context and help those involved with the project explore particular teaching and learning challenges? Include a timeline of activities envisioned.
Supportive Literature
Briefly, describe what others have done when working with the pedagogical issues or question that you want to pursue. What literature have you consulted and how will that literature inform your project?
Assessment, Evaluation, and Response
How, when, and who will provide the midway assessment? How will you know if the grant activities are effective or whether the project should be revised? When the project is complete, how will you know that your objectives have been met? Who will be assessing what was learned? Who will be responding to what was learned, and how will they get this information? What connection will be made to a larger, public audience (if applicable)?

Plan for Dissemination
How will you disseminate what you learn through the grant project? Blogs, podcasts, essays, etc.? In what specific ways will you share what you’ve discovered through the grant project?

Line Item Budget and Budget Narrative
In consultation with your institution’s financial officer, build a budget to support the activities projected, delineating yearly estimates if requesting a multi-year grant. Provide a brief narrative in support of each line item expense. Make sure the budget is congruent with how expenses can be allocated at your institution.
Read: Grant Budget and Expense Guidelines (pdf)

Part 3 – Institutional Letter of Support

This letter should be written by the appropriate dean, department chair, provost, president, principal, or rector in order to demonstrate the institutional rationale and support for the project, as well as how the institution will respond to the things that will be learned during the grant project.

If the project director holds one of these offices, the letter of support should be written by someone higher in the institution.

This letter must be signed on institutional letterhead, scanned and attached to the online application.

Policy on Deadlines for Program Deadlines

The program deadlines are meant to facilitate application by a wide array of participants, as well as create fairness in the selection process. Program deadlines also assist administrative staff who work to support each group and all programs. The Wabash Center will, when we see the necessity, extend the deadline of an application process. We will rarely, if ever, extend the deadline for individual requests. We ask participants, as well as recommenders, to respect these important deadline boundaries. Adherence to deadlines foster fair-mindedness and a spirit of collegiality. Should an issue need to be arbitrated, please be in touch with the Director of the Wabash Center.

Large Project Grant Orientation: TBD

Description:

This mandatory meeting is intended to better acquaint project leaders with Wabash Center staff and with the spectrum of projects in the grant cycle. During the conversation, grant leaders will:

describe their project’s vision, aims and implementation strategies;
get acquainted with Wabash reporting requirements;
confirm dissemination strategies for projects;
address ways their project might gain traction for institutional change in the context.

APPLY

Deadline: February 10, 2026

Links

Grant funds can be spent on items and activities such as:

Childcare, elder care, house sitting to support attendance to group gatherings
Meals or groceries for gatherings
Travel, meals, lodging (retreat center, hotel, conference center, rented house)
Stipends (meager) for participation in the group
Equipment, supplies, materials to support group meeting and discussions
Honorariums for guest resource persons with group
Entrance fees or tickets for cultural events, museums, concerts, etc.
Germane services (e.g., coaching, gym memberships, spa, spiritual direction, workshop registrations, etc.)

**Activities and items NOT Funded:**

The Wabash Center generally does not fund:

Research
International travel
Travel for attendance to disciplinary conferences
The preparation of textbooks
Research focused primarily on field content and only secondarily on teaching
Publication of conference papers or books, or production costs of other media
Stipends for writing the grant proposal or making application for the grant
Home utilities should group convene online
Items designated as gifts, presents, offerings or donations
Travel, meals, lodging expenses should family or friends accompany participant on an extended conversation

Please note that the grants of the Wabash Center are not intended for the use of underwriting the ordinary, ongoing work of the professorate, much of which is already supported by the home institution or department. The grants funds are meant to be used to support and strengthen teaching and the teaching life. The above lists are not exhaustive. All projects and budget expenditures must be in alignment with the Wabash Center mission.

Wabash Center Mission

Successful grant proposals will demonstrate:

A clear focus on an issue or question of teaching or the teaching life within higher education
Readiness to learn on the part of the project director
A set of project activities that will explore the central question or issue
Alignment in its focus, goals, activities, and assessment
An institutional readiness to listen and respond to what is discovered during the grant project
A strategy to disseminate the learnings of the project within and/or beyond the school
An allocation of grant monies for work the institution could not ordinarily do

Eligibility Requirements

The Wabash Center gives grants to accredited universities, colleges, or seminaries in the United States and Canada and occasionally to non-profit organizations providing services to improve teaching and learning at institutions of higher education. The project director will ordinarily be a full-time faculty member in religion or theology. In colleges or universities without a department of religion or theology, we will consider, on a case-by-case basis, project directors from other departments whose primary teaching responsibility is in the area of religion.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

When preparing a grant proposal, we strongly recommend that you consult and learn from others’ experience.

Grant Coaching

The Wabash Center understands our grants program as a part of our overall teaching and learning mission. We are interested in not only awarding grants to excellent proposals, but also in enabling faculty members to develop and hone their skills as grant writers.

We strongly encourage you to be in conversation with us as you develop your ideas for a grant project into a formal proposal. We will gladly give you feedback on your ideas and draft proposal.

There is no guarantee that a grant that has gone through our coaching process will be funded—funding decisions are made by a separate Advisory Committee—but we will help you present the project in the clearest and most coherent way.

Direct Questions to:

Sarah Farmer, Ph.D.
Associate Director
farmers@wabash.edu