Professional Development Fund Grants

Professional Development Fund Grant

In-Unit faculty can apply for up to $2,000 to support continued and new intellectual achievement and professional growth.

Guidelines

Applications will be accepted throughout the entire academic year. You may access and submit an application using the link below. The deadline for inclusion in the current pool of applications will be the last day of each review cycle.

Online Application

Review CYCLE	APPLICATIONS INCLUDED FOR REVIEW	award decision announced
September-October	Received before October 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm	November 2025
November-December	Received before December 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm	January 2026
February-March	Received before March 31, 2026 at 11:59 pm	April 2026

PDFG Committee

name	college	term ends
Sunny, Cijy	CAS	2027
Essary, Jessica	COE	2027
Zare, Zahra	DKSOE	2027
Zhao, Fan	LCOB	2027
Carlin, Anna (Chair)	LIB	2026
Belanger, Brigitte	MCHHS	2027
Carpenter, Stefan	TWS	2026
No Representation	UAS
Karatum, Osman	WCE	2026

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have multiple activities in an academic year can I submit them in one application?
Toggle More Info
If an activity is partially funded, can I submit again for the remaining expense (unfunded portion)?
Toggle More Info
Can I apply for funding to reimburse expenses that I’ve already incurred?
Toggle More Info
Can I receive funding for more than one activity per year?
Toggle More Info

YES – But each activity requires a separate submission, and awards cannot exceed $2000 per year.

*Caveat* - We ask the faculty only submit one activity per review cycle to help manage the review load. Please apply for your earliest activity first!
Can I apply for funds for this year, and submit a separate application for next year?
Toggle More Info

YES – But they must be separate activities, and submitted separately, and the total cannot exceed $2000 per year.

This is NEW to this year’s review cycle! Please also see Caveat on multiple submitting multiple activities.
If I need the full amount in my proposal (I have no other funding mechanism and do NOT want a partial award), is there a mechanism for this?
Toggle More Info

YES – If you are not able to use a partial award, you can indicate this in the application.

*Caveat* - Applications that are not able to use a partial award will be less likely to receive awards.
Can I use my PDFG award for something other than what I applied for?
Toggle More Info

NO - While it can be frustrating and disappointing to have your plans change, the committee wants to keep this process as fair as possible for all faculty. Applications for funds are reviewed and scored on merit and decisions about fund allocations are made based those scores. If you are unable to use the funds for the activity for which you applied, please notify the committee at pdfg@fgcu.edu. This will help us make those funds available for a future review cycle. You can always submit a new application for another activity to be reviewed in the next cycle.
When should I apply for funds? I want to make sure I am funded before I commit to travel or before I use department funds.
Toggle More Info

There are three award notification dates-late November, late January and late April. Use these dates your guides. Remember that you can apply the year before an activity if you would like to lock in those funds.

Example: If your activity is in March, you can apply by the Oct 31 before to get a decision in November or apply by Dec 31 to get a decision in January. Both options will get you a decision before your activity.

Example: If your activity is in October, you could apply by March 31 in the previous academic year to get a decision before your activity.