Other Grants for Instructors

With generous support from the CCIF, Chicago Studies is able to offer a limited amount of funding (up to $5000 per new course) to support instructors in the College in the research and development of new courses that focus on Chicago, its communities, and its surrounding region.  Funding may also be requested to significantly re-develop existing classes so that they have a Chicago focus, e.g. through the integration of experiential learning based in the city, or incorporate one or more Chicago-themed units.  Classes supported by this grant must fulfill the requirements for cross-listing as Chicago Studies (CHST) courses and should be offered at least twice in the first three years after development.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, Chicago Studies is particularly interested in proposals that:

• Explore Core themes with a recurring emphasis on Chicago (either experientially or in content);
• Could constitute "foundational"/introductory Chicago Studies classes for a discipline, e.g. "Chicago's Music Scene," "History of Chicago," "Economics of the Chicago region" etc.

Note that Chicago Studies does not offer unrestricted funds for course development.  However, monies may be used to support a wide range of pre-course activities, including travel, conference attendance, the hiring of graduate or undergraduate research assistants, the purchase of materials or datasets, the procurement of consulting services, etc.  An approximate budget must be submitted at the time of application for the grant; that application process includes a consultation with Chicago Studies' executive director to discuss the course proposal in more detail.

This application process is undergoing review during Summer 2023.  Look for a new application process effective August 1.

No matter what one's disciplinary perspective may be, Chicago affords abundant opportunities for learning...more, in fact, than can be exhausted in any single class.  Since 2015, the College has recognized this by sponsoring a range of multi-course offerings to go deeper into a specific Chicago-related theme, community, or historical era.

Chicago Studies Quarters are single-term "bundles" of 2-3 classes in which students may enroll simultaneously.  Traditionally offered in the Spring term (but available in other terms as well), CSQs offer a cohesive set of courses that join classroom instruction with experiential learning opportunities to give students a deep, first-hand understanding of the forces and communities that shape our city.  When structured as immersive quarters (i.e., with the same cohort of students completing all classes in the course bundle), CSQs are open to 20 undergraduates chosen through a competitive application process. However, Quarters may also be structured as course "bundles" wherein non-cohort seats in each participating class are made available to general registration, with reduced participation in experiential learning required of non-cohort students.  Regardless of their structure, Quarters engage students in multi-disciplinary learning enriched by para-curricular programming to familiarize them with aspects of Chicago that distinguish it as an exemplary world city.  Because of their significant inter-course connections and robust para-curricular engagement, CSQs are eligible for additional funding and support (see below) but also require more advance planning.

Apart from formal CSQs, Chicago Studies also offers other course "bundles" throughout the academic year as a way of highlighting simultaneously-offered classes that examine related Chicago topics or themes, often from different disciplinary perspectives.  As with non-immersive CSQs, Chicago Studies may facilitate pre-enrollment for students who wish to take all the classes in a bundle; depending on the instructors' wishes, Chicago Studies can also develop para-curricular opportunities that align with the classes' common theme(s) in addition to supporting in-class experiences.

Chicago Studies course sequences apply the logic of a quarter/bundle to courses that are offered across two or more terms in sequence within the same academic or calendar year.  This structure is especially useful for project-based classes that require more time than the nine-week quarter affords to reach a project goal, or for courses that introduce students to complex new skills that then require application to the city in some way.  Again, Chicago Studies can facilitate pre-enrollment for students who wish to take all classes in a sequence, and may also support instructors in developing para-curricular opportunities (including internships and/or research assistantships) that enrich or otherwise carry on the work of a particular sequence of classes.

Structured as an interdisciplinary learning community for its student participants, Chicago Studies Quarters, bundles, and sequences offer instructors opportunities for multi-disciplinary critique, collaborative assignments, and inter-class dialogue. Each included class is automatically eligible for up to $2,500 in experiential learning support as CHST cross-listed classes; this funding may be "pooled" by the participating instructors to use to support larger projects/programs, including across multiple quarters.  Chicago Studies' team also has additional programming funds dedicated to the support of multi-course learning experiences; these can be used to create para-curricular opportunities open to students in the related courses.

Because of the importance of cohort development in formal Chicago Studies Quarters, instructors in those may claim additional funds to support activities related to community-building, public presentation, etc. -- up to $1000 per three-course Quarter, intended for use specifically for those students enrolled in all CSQ classes.  CSQs, bundles, and sequences also receive priority consideration for other Chicago Studies grants, including research assistantships, undergraduate research support grants, new course development grants, and supplemental CCIF grants co-written with Chicago Studies to support more ambitious curricular innovations.  Finally, Quarters may also request to include a course offered by a community-based teaching scholar, dependent on availability of funds and with sufficient advance notice to permit a proper search and hire.

Instructors interested in participating in a future Quarter, bundle, or sequence should contact Chris Skrable, Executive Director of Chicago Studies & Experiential Learning and Assistant Dean of the College.  Chicago Studies will gladly consider interest from individual instructors OR from multiple-instructor teams who wish to develop a Quarter, bundle, or sequence around areas of common interest.

Although intended as an interdisciplinary experience, Chicago Studies is open to coherent Quarter, bundle, or sequence proposals sponsored by individual departments/programs, so long as their topics potentially appeal to a wide range of students and the specific courses included represent a range of methodological approaches.

For example, the 2019 immersive CSQ, "The Right to the Second City" -- sponsored by the Russian & Eastern European Studies department -- explored historic and contemporary immigration in Chicago, beginning with the experiences of Eastern European immigrants in the 19th and 20th Centuries and considering contemporary resonances.  Courses were variously cross-listed with REES, ENST, PBPL, and HIST, and the methodological approaches included both social scientific and humanistic considerations.  This Quarter was remounted in Spring 2023.

Departments or programs interested in sponsoring a future Chicago Studies multi-course experience should contact Chris Skrable, Executive Director of Chicago Studies & Experiential Learning and Assistant Dean of the College.