VPA Student Grant Program

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) offers small financial awards to outstanding and deserving full-time undergraduate and graduate students in art, creative arts therapy, communication and rhetorical studies, design, drama, film and media arts, and music who may need financial assistance to engage in programs, activities, internships and residencies that can move them forward in their disciplines.

Proposals for the VPA Student Grant Program are assessed on the clarity and feasibility of proposed activities, the expression of need for funding, and the potential contributions of the project or activity to the applicant or to the arts community.

For academic year 2026-27, the VPA Student Grant will have two competitions. The Fall 2026 deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28. The Spring 2027 deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8.

VPA student grants range from $300 to $1,300, depending on the volume and quality of applications, as well as the availability of funding each semester. Undergraduates may request funding up to $800, while graduate students may request funding up to $1,300. While individual projects are always welcome, projects with the potential to impact or include cross collaboration with students from other VPA units are encouraged.

Applicants must be graduate or undergraduate students enrolled full-time in a department or school within the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Previous recipients of graduate or undergraduate awards from the Office of Academic Affairs or the Office of Academic and Career Advising are eligible to apply; however, preference will be given to those who have not received funding from these mechanisms.

Applicants are required to individually prepare and submit their applications. Even if a group of student applicants is working on the same project or attending the same conference, each applicant must independently draft and submit their own materials. Group submissions, collaboratively prepared applications, co-writing or shared content between applicants are strictly prohibited. All submissions must reflect the applicant's personal effort and perspective. Any indication of duplication or collaboration in the application process will result in disqualification. While guidance from mentors or advisors is permitted, all submitted materials must be solely the applicant's own work.

To apply, applicants must attend one or more grant information sessions sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs and the SOURCE. The first information session is Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, at noon. The spring information session will be held Friday, Jan. 29, at noon (registration will open the first week of the spring semester). Subsequent Zoom information sessions will be held after each in-person session. However, to attend a Zoom session, applicants must complete the single registration form and provide proof of a class or work conflict with the in-person session. Attendees of a 2025-26 information session are eligible to apply in 2026-27.

Applicants must upload a detailed budget that has been completed using the budget template provided for download on the application page. Justification for costs must be included for each line item in the budget. Examples of allowable costs include (but are not limited to):

• Travel costs for conference or research travel or other academic-related activities

• Registrations for external training, workshops or other professional development costs

• Performance, production or exhibit-related costs

• Art supplies, set props or other materials.

Unallowable costs include:

• Payments to any Syracuse University full-time or part-time faculty, staff or student (salary, stipends, honoraria)

• Course related costs (e.g. tuition, fees, etc.)

• Software, computers or other related technology

• Costs incurred prior to the submission of the grant request

• Reimbursement for payments to third parties for services rendered (e.g. transcription costs, photography, videography, editing), as these cost must be approved for and paid by the University directly through approved contracts

For Fall 2026 VPA Student Grants, funds awarded must be processed for reimbursement before Friday, May 14, 2027. School and department internal deadlines may vary – check with your departmental administrator. Funds not spent by this deadline will be returned to the College for reallocation to other applicants. Requests for extensions are not allowed.

Deadlines for expenditures for spring awards will be Friday, May, 14, 2027, for May 2027 graduates, and Aug. 16, 2027, for students not graduating in May.  

For questions regarding the VPA Student Grant Program, contact Senior Associate Dean Seyeon Lee (slee80@syr.edu) or Christina Leigh Docteur (cdocteur@syr.edu) in the Office of Academic Affairs, or by phone at (315.443.0137).