Missouri S&T faculty are invited to apply for a spot in The Art of Grants, an eight‑week online professional development course hosted by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The program is open to Missouri S&T faculty for the first time this fall. It is designed to support faculty at all career stages who want to develop, refine or reframe a grant‑funded research agenda.

The program will run this fall from Tuesday, Sept. 8, through Friday, Nov. 6, and will be delivered entirely online and asynchronously through Canvas. Participants move through the modules as a cohort. The expected time commitment is approximately one hour per week.

Across eight modules, participants will work through the full grant development process, including:

• Idea development and finding funding opportunities, including Pivot and Grants.gov
• Types of grant proposals, including National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, state and local government, private foundations and contracts
• Defining the problem using logic models, theories of change and concept papers
• Building your team and managing the logistics of a collaborative grant
• Developing goals, objectives and specific aims aligned with sponsor priorities
• Research compliance, Institutional Review Board strategies, ethics and the use of artificial intelligence in grant writing
• Budget development and sustainability planning
• Evaluation plans and supplementary proposal materials.

Additional content addresses successful proposal writing, effective use of data and understanding proposal review processes. Participants receive weekly individualized feedback throughout the course.

The program is led by Dr. Alexis N. Petri, director of the UMKC Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence. He has worked with more than 35 externally funded grants from federal, state, regional and private sources.

There are no formal assessments. Participants are expected to complete engagement activities throughout the eight weeks. Successful completion requires a good‑faith effort and completion of at least 80% of activities.

S&T faculty who successfully complete the program will receive:

• $500 in faculty support funds
• A digital badge suitable for LinkedIn, faculty websites, myVita and email signatures
• Eligibility to apply for up to $6,000 in UMKC seed grant funding for projects that include substantive collaboration with UMKC cohort members.

The program is good for faculty in their first few years at S&T, as well as those seeking structured support and accountability. Modules are interdisciplinary, and participants select materials relevant to their own work, which makes this program serve faculty from all disciplines.

Participation begins with a brief application to help the program team understand each applicant’s interests and stage of development – not to evaluate a finished idea. A completed proposal is not required. For full consideration, applications must be received by Monday, Aug. 17. Selected participants will be notified by Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Apply online.

For questions, email Dr. Kate Drowne, associate provost for faculty affairs.