The Arts-Integrated Grant Program
The Arts-Integrated Grant Program supports University of Michigan’s students and faculty who work across disciplinary boundaries and center their project work in the arts. These grants strengthen a research ecosystem that meaningfully integrates the arts across a wide range of other disciplines by providing seed and development funding to incentivize creative work across the institution. The goal is to promote convergent research and work that addresses complex problems that cannot be solved through a single disciplinary lens.
About the Grants:
What they fund: collaborative projects blending creative practice (art, music, theater, design, storytelling, media, etc.) with engineering/technology (computing, fabrication, data, robotics, XR, materials, etc.).
Who participates: typically cross-campus teams of students, faculty, and/or staff (depending on the grant), often with partners from different schools/colleges.
Why they exist: to jump-start interdisciplinary work that supports experimentation, relationship-building, and early results that can lead to bigger projects, publications, performances/exhibitions, or external funding later.
What the money is used for: practical project needs like materials, prototyping/fabrication, equipment rentals, production costs, documentation, and event/showcase expenses (exact rules can vary by year).
What is usually produced: some kind of public-facing outcome, ie. a demo, exhibit, performance, screening, installation, workshop, or presentation, plus documentation of what was made/learned.
Sponsoring units include: School of Information; School of Music, Theatre & Dance; College of Engineering; Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design; Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning; and Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum.
Arts-Integrated Grant Program (AIGP)
About
The AIGP Faculty Grants support interdisciplinary faculty teams pursuing research that meaningfully engages the arts, design, engineering, and/or information sciences in partnerships that develop new knowledge or solutions to complex problems. This program is designed to promote and accelerate practical, hands-on, and productive collaboration across schools and colleges at the University. Each award may provide up to $10,000 per year, the project length should span no more than one calendar year. The program anticipates three to five awardees each year.
Eligibility
- Teams may be any size, but must include at least two members:
- The lead must be from a sponsoring unit, however any co-leads can be from any unit on campus (i.e., cross-unit collaboration is required).
- Can only receive one grant in a 12-month period.
- New projects and collaborations may receive preference for initial funding.
- Unsuccessful applicants may be invited to revise and resubmit.
Criteria
- Is collaborative and interdisciplinary, with art or design as a central tenet
- Is relevant and significant to advancing disciplinary practices, perceptions, or capabilities in the proposal’s domains
- Explains impacts beyond the specific domains/communities directly involved
- Includes a detailed, realistic budget aligned to the work proposed
Deadlines
The application opens on May 4, 2026 it will be open until June 12, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
Decisions will be made by end of July.
Awards are eligable for spending starting August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027.
-- AIGP Application (Faculty)
Applicants will be asked to submit a project abstract, a detailed narrative proposal (no more than 1500 words), list of research team members (including graduate assistants or external partners), and a project budget. Please submit any relevant literature, citations, precedents, images, web links, prior work, or other documentation that will help the committee understand the impact and rationale for the project.
The detailed project budget should reflect the described project activities and include any other requested or acquired funding sources. If anticipated costs for the overall project exceeds the AIGP granting amount, please explain what portions of the project this grant will fund or what funds will be used to complete the project.
Undergraduate Student Art-Integrated Grant
USAI Grants support graduate student and faculty research projects that integrate the arts or design with other disciplines. Individual grants up to $1,500 support existing research as well as new areas of inquiry.
Request for proposals will open Fall 2026.
Graduate Student Art-Integrated Grant
Supports graduate student research and interdisciplinary student projects that integrate arts/design with other disciplines (especially engineering and the sciences), with funding available for existing research efforts or new areas of inquiry. Awards provide up to $3,000 for individual graduate research grants supporting arts-centered interdisciplinary projects. Preference is given to projects with at least two collaborators from at least two different schools or colleges.
Request for proposals will open Fall 2026.
See Past ArtsEngine Projects
To view all previously awarded ArtsEngine Projects, please use the link below: