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Snite Museum Course Development Grant Guidelines

The Snite Museum of Art offers faculty from any discipline at the University of Notre Dame financial support to develop new courses or to revise existing courses to place the Museum’s collection, exhibitions, and practices at the center of teaching and research. The Snite Museum’s objective in offering these funds is to further integrate the practice of teaching with works of art into the academic curriculum of the University.

Grant recipients will receive ample support from Snite Museum staff in designing museum experiences and integrating them into their course teaching. Staff will consult with grant recipients on selecting works of art and connecting with other resources that support course goals. Snite Museum staff can also advise on pedagogical approaches to teaching with the collection or in various Museum spaces. Applicants are encouraged to contact Bridget Hoyt, curator of education for academic programs, at hoyt.14@nd.edu to discuss ideas prior to applying.

Applications are accepted at any time for future semesters. Grants awards will not be considered for courses being taught in the current semester. 

 

Eligibility

Faculty of all levels (tenure and non-tenure track, graduate students, postdocs with longer appointments, and staff members with teaching responsibilities) are invited to apply individually or in collaboration with other faculty members.

Funding

Awards are granted in amounts not to exceed $3,000 per course. Funds can be dispersed during planning stages (the summer or semester before the course is taught) or during the semester the course is taught. Funds not used by the end of the semester during which the course is taught will revert to the Snite Museum.

Snite Museum grant funds may be used to support:

• Research on collection objects and related collection objects, including but not limited to:

  • Travel expenses for the grant recipient

  • Graduate and undergraduate summer student research assistance

• Teaching materials, including but not limited to:

  • Books, supplies, and research materials (excluding computer hardware)

• Visiting Scholars and Experts

  • Travel expenses to campus for visitors who can uniquely help teach with the Snite Museum’s resources

• Visits to other Museums

  • Travel expenses for a class trip to another institution whose collection can better help students understand works in the Snite’s collection

Review

All proposals will be reviewed and responded to within three weeks of the application due date. Given the fixed pool of resources for each year, proposals will be reviewed with the following criteria in mind:

• Depth of course integration with the Museum’s resources and frequency of Museum visits over the course of the semester;

• Relevance of the course topic to the Snite Museum’s collection and learning through works of art;

• Ability of the Snite Museum to support the course proposal with financial and staff support;

• Multidisciplinary explorations of the collection that help the Museum understand its collection and practices in new ways;

• Potential of new research or academic content, including academic publications, to support the scholarly mission of the Snite Museum;

• Commitment to teaching the course more than once, especially if teaching with the permanent collection as opposed to temporary exhibitions (Faculty designing courses related to temporary exhibitions are still encouraged to apply);

• Alignment with the Snite Museum of Art’s mission and values.

To Apply

• Fill out this Application with brief information about your proposed course or course renewal.

• Upload:

  • A brief proposal (no more than 2 pages single spaced) detailing:

    • Rationale - what is your interest in designing or redesigning this course to include a focus on the Snite Museum?

    • Course content - how will the course be structured? How will the Museum fit into it? Which areas of the Snite Museum’s collection do you hope to employ?

    • Museum pedagogy - how do you hope to use the museum? How will students interact with its resources (during class, outside assignments, etc.) and how often?

    • Museum support - what support do you anticipate needing from museum staff?

    • Any other funding sources sought

  • A detailed budget with explanations for budget items.