Virginia Tech® home

Pathways Annual Grants

Ut Prosim Pathways grants

Deadline for submission: January 15, 2026

We have a unique opportunity in higher education to teach the upcoming generation the skills needed to talk across differences and work in collaboration with others to solve intractable problems. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) has called attention to this opportunity, naming civic learning a top priority for Virginia colleges and universities. This year’s Pathways grant program seeks to answer that call.

The Pathways Ut Prosim grant will support efforts to develop students’ civic knowledge, values, and skills within the disciplinary context of a Pathways course or minor. It seeks to support you in providing opportunities for your students to engage in civic problem solving by addressing issues of public concern in your discipline or content area. 

Grant recipients will receive $3,000 and may request additional funding for materials, stipends for community partners, or wages for students to help with the revision and/or delivery of the course/minor.

Proposals must thoughtfully and meaningfully integrate civic learning and engagement throughout the course/minor, and/or bring together faculty and students from different disciplines to work together across fields on a common societal issue. For example, instructors from sociology and communication could bring their classes together to work on a public awareness campaign to bring attention to an issue of public concern on campus, with the sociology students identifying the issue, and the communication students creating the public awareness campaign.

Priority will be given to proposals that include sustained and meaningful integration of civic learning, as well as to those that serve students from a multitude of majors.

If you have an idea for a Pathways grant that does not fit this call, please reach out to Jenni Gallagher. It is possible that other grant proposals will be accepted.

  1. To support the inclusion of civic learning and engagement across the Pathways curriculum.
  2. To support the incorporation of high-impact pedagogies across the Pathways curriculum.
  3. To support the growth, expansion, cohesiveness, and interdisciplinarity of Pathways minors.

Redesigning an existing Pathways course or minor to help students develop the content knowledge, civic skills, cultural awareness, and motivation to be active, informed citizens of their communities (local, state, national, and global). 

Proposals should include student-centered, high-impact pedagogies that allow students to acquire and practice civic skills, inside or outside of the classroom. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Community-based learning 
  • Problem-based learning focused on issues of public concern
  • Action research and projects
  • Structuring your course around one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals
  • Frequent, substantive class discussions on topics of public concern related to the course content
  • Frequent engagement with outside speakers/activists/experts on topics of public concern related to the course content

Successful proposals will thoughtfully and meaningfully integrate civic learning throughout the course, teaching civic content, values, skills, and/or action through the lens of the course’s discipline. The course does not need to teach all four aspects of the civic learning framework, but should extensively integrate at least one, and ideally two or three.

Need more information about teaching civic engagement before you write your proposal?

Read about the Civic Engagement Learning Spiral and check out the Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement (CLDE) Coalition resources.

  • Grantees will participate in four cohort meetings over the course of the 2026 calendar year (two in the spring 2026 semester and two in the fall 2026 semester). The first two cohort meetings will provide professional development on civic learning frameworks and pedagogies. Grantees will then have the summer to work on course/minor revisions. During the last two cohort meetings in the fall 2026 semester, grantees will share their progress with the group and provide feedback to each other.
  • Submit the revised course/minor to academic governance in Fall 2026 semester (if necessary).
  • Submit a brief progress report by December 20, 2026.
  • If requested, grantees must be willing to share your work with the larger Pathways community (e.g., present at the Summer Institute or CHEP).

Pathways grants will support the work of an individual or a team of faculty members. Each grantee will receive $3,000. We do not have any requirements for how you use the funds (e.g., as a stipend or for professional development), but please check with your unit’s fiscal manager to determine if your unit has any restrictions on how the funds can be used. Funds will be distributed to your department/school in late February or early March, and your department/school will be responsible for disbursing the funds to you.

Depending on the university’s future budget allocations, there may be an opportunity to request additional funding for implementation costs in the upcoming fiscal year. 

Submit proposals via the Microsoft form. The deadline for submission is January 15, 2026.

Please email Jenni Gallagher with any questions.