2025-2026 FUNDING CYCLE

FRI GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH SEED GRANT

FRI: Feminist Research Institute Graduate Student Research Seed Grants are intended to support interdisciplinary graduate student projects on women, gender, and sexuality. Support for individual activities, such as research assistance, research-related travel, or research materials, may be requested. We support early phases of research, such as pilot studies or initial research efforts. Projects should yield outcomes that enable graduate students to apply for external funding or complete their thesis/dissertation research, thereby enhancing the impact and visibility of creative research at the University of New Mexico. These grants are one-time awards, and applicants should design projects that can be completed during one academic year. Providing funds for new and emerging work is a priority for this program.  Applications are welcome from all academic disciplines, including the arts, humanities, and sciences.  

DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 15, 2025

HOW TO APPLY  

Submit your proposal and apply here.

AWARDS  

Depending on the project's scope and stage, funds may be requested ranging from $500 to $1,500.  

ELIGIBILITY

All graduate students at the University of New Mexico are eligible. Individuals who receive funding are eligible to reapply two years after the conclusion of their project (e.g., if your project concludes in 2026, you may apply again for the 2027-2028 cycle). 

 

APPLICATION PROCEDURE 

Applications will be accepted here.

Your proposal should include the following five items:

1. PROJECT ABSTRACT
  • 250-word summary accessible to a general reader. If awarded, we will use this description on our website and on social media.

2. PROJECT NARRATIVE

  •  In no more than two (2) pages, please include the following: 
    1. BACKGROUND/PROBLEM STATEMENT:  Provide context on why this project is needed. 
    2. GOALS & OBJECTIVES: What does this project hope to achieve (include proposed research questions/topics of exploration), and how does it contribute to the mission of the FRI? 
    3. ACTIVITIES: Include proposed project activities, methods used, and an estimated timeline. 

3. ITEMIZED PROJECT BUDGET


4. BUDGET JUSTIFICATION

  • Describe your project's budget in no more than two (2) pages.
    • Outline budget expenses, including their justification.
    • Please list any other funding sources (and amounts) you are receiving or applying for this project.  If applicable, explain why you need additional funding for the ones listed in your budget justification.  

5. CURRICULUM VITAE

  • A maximum 10-page CV will be accepted. 

SELECTION CRITERIA

Reviewers will score the applications based on EACH of these five criteria: 

  1. QUALITY and significance of the scholarly or creative activity proposed.
  2. CENTRALITY of research on women, gender, and/or sexuality. 
  3. VALUE of the project to faculty career development (in terms of scholarly, training, or obtaining further external funding) or students. 
  4. INCLUSION of an intersectional approach (including appropriate attention to race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, culture, social class, nationality, religion, disability, or other social differences). 
  5. IMPACT of the project to further knowledge about historical or contemporary issues, topics, or phenomena within New Mexico and the greater Southwest region.  

Answering the following questions will strengthen your proposal and reflect the fact that our evaluation criteria may differ from those of other funders: 

  1. Why should FRI fund this project? How does your project fit FRI's goal of funding intersectional feminist research?
  2. Why is your project necessary for the field of feminist, gender, queer, or transgender studies? What impact will it have?  
  3. How will your work contribute to the study of women, gender, or sexuality at UNM? 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • The FRI Board will complete reviews. 
  • Human Subjects Review: Compliance with all appropriate regulations governing the conduct of research will be required. Research proposals involving human subjects will be subject to project review and approval by the relevant IRB. It is the applicant's responsibility to obtain IRB approval promptly to prevent research delays. For the application's purposes, you do not need IRB approval before submitting it for consideration.  

POST-AWARD EXPECTATIONS

  • Acknowledge FRI support in presentations and publications resulting from the funded project. 
  • Inform FRI of resulting funding, presentations, and publications for publicity purposes. 
  • Deliver a public presentation on the research project within a year of the award disbursement. 
  • Provide FRI with a written final grant report at the project's end. 
  • Research travel should be completed by August 15, 2026. All travel reimbursements must be submitted within 15 days after returning. 

QUESTIONS? 

For more information, please contact:

Director, Dr. Francisco J. Galarte at galarte@unm.edu or femresin@unm.edu. 

 

⇒APPLY ONLINE⇐ 

 

Previous Recipients

2019-2020

Carmela Roybal, "Intersectionality and Lived Experiences of Inequality: Intergenerational Addiction, Opiod Use, and the Constrained Choices of Women Caregivers in Rural New Mexico"

2018-2019

Soumyajit Chakraborty, "Gender Roles of Return Migration in Developing Economies: A Case Study of Nepal."

2017-2018

Yuka Doherty, "Femininity Politics in the Post-Colonial Japan Empire: The roles of Filipinas from 1941-2017."

Mariko Thomas, "The Keepers of Plants: Women, Healing, and Plant-Human Relationships in New Mexico."

2016-2017

Amy Gore, "Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, E. Pauline Johnson, and Zitkala-Se: Indigenous Women Writers."

Laura Powell, "Exploring the Participation of Indigenous Ecuadorian Women in Nineteenth-Century State Building."

2015-2016

Alexis MacLennan, "Governing 'Good Science:' The Language of Health Risk and Sound Medical Practice in Texas Abortion Legislation."

Benjamin Summer Abott, "Remembering Socialism, Forgetting Feminism: John F.M. Lawson's 'In the Wave of Time'."

Godfried Asante, "(Re)producing the Ghanaian/African Queer Subject: Ideological Tensions and Queer Subjectivities in Post-Colonial Ghana."

Kelly Hunnings, "Women in the Margins: Reconfiguring Pastoral Space in Ann Yearsley's 'Clifton Hill'."

Julie Williams, "Miss Atomic Bomb and Domestication in Cold War Era Las Vegas."

2014-2015

Anna Calasanti, "Abortion for Export: Impact of Texas Abortion Restrictions on Class, Race, and Reproductive Health in New Mexico."

Sandra Lara, "Protecting our Families and Communities: Child Sexual Violence Cases in Coahuila, Mexico, 1876-1931."

Natalie Latteri, "On Saints, Sinners, and Sex in Medieval Apocalypses."

Julia Youngs, "Ele Resiste, Ella Recuerda: Representations of Gender and Narratives of Dictatorships in Brazil and Argentina's Memorial Museums."

2013-2014

Julia Hellwege, "Constituency, Identity, and Surrogate Substantive Representation: Minority Women in U.S. State Legislatures."

Kelly Hunnings, "Patronage, Poetic Identity, and Domestic Tensions: Jane Wiseman and Mary Leopor, 1717-1746."

Jennifer McPherson, "'Not Your Mother's PTA:' Uncovering the Work of the National Parent Teacher Association."

Megan Speciale, "Sexual Ideology in the Classroom: A Critical Examination of Sexuality Counseling Pedagogy."

2012-2013

Angelina Gonzalez-Aller, "Going to Work: Informal Processes and Gender in the U.S. Congress."

Erin Hegberg, "Making Ends Meet in 19th Century Territorial New Mexico: New Mexican Ceramics and Identity."

2011-2012

Carson Morris, "Female Desire, Lesbians, and Productive Sexuality in Cold War Chile."

Julie Williams, "The Changing Landscape of a Peripatetic Philosophy: Health and Home in the Life of Mary MacLane."

Erin Murrah-Mandril, "Ghosts in the Archive: Recovering the Work of Adina de Zavala."

2010-2011

B. Erin Cole, “A Single-Family City: Zoning, Race, Sexuality, and Neighborhoods in Denver, 1956-1989."

V. Gina Diaz, dissertation research on Chicana lesbian feminist art.

Suzanne Dunai, "Cooking for the Patria: Education, Feminism, and Consumerism during the Franco Regime."

Christine Kozikowski, "Reading Privacy in Middle English Texts 1350-1450: Private Space, Public Face."

Elena Avilés, “Mi/My lengua franca: Manipulating a Chicana Cultural Heritage in Art and Literature.”

Pamela Gravagne, "The Becoming of Age."

2009-2010

Lucinda Grinell, “'Lesbianas Presente': Lesbian Activism, Transnational Networks, and Cold War Politics in Mexico City, 1968-1996.”

Stacey Kikendall, “The eye of Glorvina met mine”: Vision Gender and Imperialism in the “Wild Irish Girl.”

Kathleen McIntyre, “Contested Spaces: The Rise of Protestantism in Oaxaca, 1920-1994.”

Emira Ibrahimpasic, “Muslim Women’s Identities in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Leigh Johnson, “Historical Romance and Representation: Jovita Gonzalez and Eve Raleigh’s Collaboration and Correspondence.”

Jennifer A. Sandoval, “Outsourcing Fertility: A Critical Analysis of Surrogacy in India.”

Kellie Sawyer, “Philadelphia’s Straight History/Gay Nightlife: Tourism and ‘Diversity’ in the U.S. Nation’s ‘Freedom Capital.’”

2008-2009

Elaine Nelson, “Sex and Commercial Tourism in the Black Hills: The Legacy of Deadwood's Prostitution Industry.”

Ashley Carlson, “From Housekeeping to Volcanoes: Sarah Stickney Ellis on Female Education.”

2007-2008

Sarah Guengerich
Jocelyn Salaz
Emira Ibrahimpasic
Lavinia Nicolae
Robin Runia
Lena McQuade
Michele Leiby
Sarah Payne