PSC-CUNY Research Award Program

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs corroborates PSC-CUNY as one of the premier sources of reinforcement to the York College Faculty and Staff.

The Professional Staff Congress- City University of New York (PSC-CUNY) Research Award Program is an internal grant program. PSC-CUNY has been established as a major vehicle for the university's encouragement and support of senior faculty research with external funding.

PSC-CUNY seeks to enhance the university’s role as a research institution, further the professional growth and development of its faculty, and provide support for established and young scholars.
Awards granted by PSC-CUNY are distributed by the University Committee on Research Awards, a faculty committee, and administered by the Research Foundations of CUNY (RF CUNY).
There is a preference for Junior Faculty in the allocation of funds.
The application process is completed with the PSC-CUNY Grants Proposal electronic system on the Research Foundation's Website.
Funding supports activities in the creative arts and all research in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Including but not limited to, research related to curriculum development, improvement in teaching, the adaptation of standard educational techniques to special clientele, and lastly, the relationship between technical occupational training and the liberal arts curriculum.

There two grant award types:

Track 1: up to $7,000 (or 85% of annual PSC-CUNY funding)
Track 2: $7,001 to $15,000 (or 15% of annual PSC-CUNY funding)

Eligibility

All full-time members of the instructional staff and untenured members of the faculty, who are on the regular university payroll processed through the Office of Comptroller of the City or State of New York, are eligible to apply.

To see a full list of all funding requests allowed for these PSC-CUNY grant awards, please see the General Application Guidelines set by the agency.

PIs with, or receiving, external grants or funding direct costs totaling $100,000 or more, in the year of the submission, are NOT eligible.

To have access to this funding opportunity, a proposal must involve original research or creative activities by the principal investigator (PI). Grants will not fund the following activities:

Activities supporting the fulfillment of degree requirements.
Any costs related to the writing of textbooks.
Any costs regarding the development of a curriculum for specific courses or programs.
Purchasing one's own intellectual property - considered indirect compensation.

Eligible PIs may receive up to two awards during any 3-year period

Only one award may be a Track 2 award, during any 3-year period

Further Information on PSC-CUNY Awards

Reassigned Time and Extensions

Please note that approval or receipt of an award does not guarantee an institution's acceptance of a PI's request for reassigned time. Release time must be justified in the proposal budget. Rates for reassigned time are as follows:

For Academic Year 2025-2026: $6,024.60 (3-credit); $7,530.75 (4-credit)
For Academic Year 2026-2027: $6,986.40 (3-credit); $8,733 (4-credit)
For Academic Year 2027-2028: $7,100 (3-credit); $9,466.67 (4-credit)

Release time for 4 credit hours or more is limited to Track 2 awards. However, beginning Academic Year 2027-2028 Track 1 Awards will not support requests for reassigned time, and ALL release time will be limited to Track 2 awards.

Note: Both Track 1 and 2 Awards are subject to review only by the discipline-based review panel to which they are submitted. The review panels are not permitted to modify budget proposals; Successful applications will be fully funded.

Therefore, the appropriateness and relevance of the budget to the proposal is an important review criterion.

The grant period will last for one year, from July 1st to June 30th.

If a six-month extension is required, the period to use the funds will be granted. Awardees must submit the extension request by email to the program administrator before the end of the grant period.
Please be aware that Only One Extension Period Will Be Granted.

Preparing Your PSC-CUNY Application

All eligible applications must be submitted through the PSC-CUNY Grants Proposal system on the RF CUNY website, and must include a:

1) Completed Profile section
2) Completed Applications section
3) A Project Description attached as a PDF document

4) And, once an award is accepted and received, a Final Project Report attached as a PDF document, submitted before March 1st following the end of the grant period
If you are applying for a new Research Award within a 3-year period, you can attach the Final Project Report from an immediate prior completed Award.
For more information on the Application and Project Description, please refer to the General Application Guidelines
For the Google Form to submit your Final Project report, please see the Final Project Report Submission Form

PSC-CUNY Awards Post-Award Information

Award Extensions

PSC-CUNY Awards have a grant period of one year from July 1 to June 30.
One six-month extension (until December 31) may be granted upon request to PSC_CUNY@rfcuny.org.

Budget Changes

All PSC-CUNY Award funds granted to a PI must be spent as delineated in the research project abstract.
To reallocate awarded funds PIs must email a request to PSC_CUNY@rfcuny.org.

Final Reports

All faculty members receiving a PSC-CUNY award are required to complete a PSC-CUNY Research Award Final Project Report. The Final Project Report must be emailed to PSC_CUNY@rfcuny.org.

Acknowledgement of Grant Support

Publications, performances, and presentations including visual and electronic media should contain the following acknowledgment of support: "Support for this project was provided by a PSC-CUNY Award, jointly funded by The Professional Staff Congress and The City University of New York."
For more information regarding award expenditures, please see the Award Expenditures Instructions for Payment document.

For more information regarding PSC-CUNY, please visit the PSC-CUNY Award Program Webpage; for more on Post-Award requirements, please see the Post-Award PSC-CUNY Research Program webpage. For help regarding Grants and Contracts, please contact the RF Grants & Contracts Key Contacts Alexis Davis, Daphne Karawita, or John Hemminger.