Request for Proposals:
Engaged Course Development Grants
Consistent with our mission to serve ‘the community, the nation, and the world,’ learning
that connects academic and real-world experiences is central to the undergraduate
experience at Brown. – Building on Distinction: A New Plan for Brown
Background
The Engaged Scholars Program requests proposals from Brown University faculty and instructors from
all departments seeking to develop new engaged courses or revise existing courses.1 Engaged
scholarship refers to community-based inquiry by students and faculty in partnership with community
members outside of the academy. Its goal is to create high-impact learning experiences and
collaborative educational partnerships that address major social challenges and produce tangible public
benefits. By expanding its engaged curriculum, Brown can create more opportunities for students and
foster substantive university-community dialogues and partnerships aimed at creating a more peaceful,
just, and equitable society. Learn more about the Engaged Scholars Program on our website:
http://www.brown.edu/go/engagedscholars
Engaged Curriculum
Engaged courses help students connect their academic pursuits with real-world learning experiences,
enabling them to transfer and generalize their learning to contexts beyond the classroom. Such
experiences include collaborations with community partners, fieldwork outside of the classroom, and
applied research projects.
An engaged curriculum includes a range of courses:
1. Introductory courses that allow students to develop systemic analyses of societal problems or
community challenge(s).
2. Methods courses that initiate students into the theory and practice of disciplinary research
methods appropriate to understanding and analyzing societal problems and community
challenges.
1
The purpose of this grant program is to assist with building out engaged course offerings across the
undergraduate curriculum. Courses developed through this funding opportunity are not limited to Engaged
Scholars Program students.
3. Topical courses that investigate issues more deeply than introductory level courses. Ideally they
are designed to build on introductory and methods courses and involve longer-term community
partnerships with departments and/or faculty members.
4. Capstone courses (for seniors) feature advanced investigations of particular community/social
issues in collaboration with partner organizations.
Priority will be given to proposals for courses that identify clear engaged learning objectives, that
incorporate strong community engagement components, and that will be offered on an ongoing basis by
departments.
Course Design
Engaged learning objectives may include:
● Contextual: Increased knowledge of specific places and communities (local or global); history
and root causes of specific societal problems and community challenges
● Cognitive: Improvement of analytical skills; capacities for critical thinking and reflection;
capacities for interdisciplinary and integrative inquiry
● Attitudinal/Behavioral: Increased empathy, intercultural competency, collaborative capacity,
leadership skills; increased capacity for civic engagement, advocacy, social innovation
Community engagement components may include:
● Case studies investigating local communities, organizations, or challenges
● Guest speakers or panels representing relevant practitioner and/or community perspectives
● Site visits to organizations, neighborhoods, projects, exhibits, etc.
● Community-focused investigations by students, involving field assignments or other experiential
learning opportunities
● Team-based research projects developed in partnership with community organizations
● Reflective practices aimed at exploring students’ positionality and agency in community and
drawing connections between classroom work and community context
See additional resources for course development on the ESP website, under For Faculty:
http://www.brown.edu/go/engagedscholars. UC Berkeley’s Designing Community Based Courses
resource guide is of particular interest.
Application and Award Details
Faculty and instructors may request up to $4,000 for course development. Funds may be used for
material expenses related to course development; for guest speaker honoraria and travel, field trips,
and other course-related events during the semester when a course is offered; and to support students
who collaborate with faculty in designing and delivering the courses (RA/TA). (Note: Funds will be
disbursed when the course is listed in Banner. Please contact us with questions.)
Suggested proposal amounts are: $4,000 for developing a new engaged course, $2,000 to revise an
existing course to include engaged components, and $1,000 for TA support (suggested $10/hour for
undergraduates, $12-15/hour for graduate students; review 2015-2016 hourly rates and grade levels:
http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/student-employment/2015-2016-hourly-rates-gradelevels)
Course development proposals will be reviewed and awards recommended by a selection committee
appointed by the Dean of the College. Courses developed through these awards will be subject to the
standard review process of the College Curriculum Council.
Interested faculty and instructors are encouraged to consult with the Swearer Center on course
development and potential community partners. For more information, contact Allen Hance, Director of
Engaged Scholarship, Swearer Center, at: allen_hance@brown.edu or Jori Ketten, Assistant Director of
Engaged Scholarship, Swearer Center, at: jori_ketten@brown.edu.
Deadline: December 1, 2015
Engaged Course Development Grant Form
* Apply online using UFunds: https://apps.college.brown.edu/ufunds/ *
Instructor name:
Instructor title:
Instructor department:
Are you developing a new course or revising an existing course?
Course Title:
Semester of offering: Fall 2016 / Spring 2017 / Other (explain in course details below)
Course Type (select all that apply): Introductory / Methods / Topics / Capstone / Other (explain in course
details below)
Course details: Number of students, maximum enrollment, student eligibility criteria, limited
enrollment, how the course fits into the department's curriculum.
Brief description of course:
Describe your course development project.
Community Partnership (if applicable): Name and brief description of organization(s) involved with
course. Please characterize the nature and, if relevant, history and duration of the partnership(s)
between instructor/department and community partner organization(s).
Engaged Components: What types of engaged learning and/or research components will be
incorporated into the course?
Learning Objectives: What are the learning objectives of the course? What specific engaged learning
outcomes will it advance (e.g., critical thinking, civic engagement, intercultural competency, communitybased inquiry, team-building, leadership, empathy, etc.)
Budget: (Note: Funds will be disbursed when the course is listed in Banner. Please contact us with
questions.)
Department account number (batkey) and department financial contact: