Research Grants from
The Catholic Biblical Association of America for the Promotion of Biblical Scholarship

   APPLICATION FORM    Checklist     Guidelines
Grant Recipients

Applications will be accepted beginning September 15, 2027!

Next Application deadline: November 15, 2027! 

PART I: Guidelines

Purpose of the Grants from the CBA

The Catholic Biblical Association of America seeks to promote Biblical Scholarship by providing financial assistance for specific projects advancing these goals. Accordingly, the CBA is offering funding for appropriate biblical projects under the title: Research Grants from the CBA for the Promotion of Biblical Scholarship.

CBA will accept applications for grants that deal with Biblical Scholarship broadly conceived. Some examples are:

• Biblical Scholarship (particularly original research by Catholic scholars)
• Archaeological Research (see also Archaeological Fellowships)
• Research Projects 

No funds can be applied to past projects, but only to future ones. Normally, funds are given for a project that last one year, one semester, or for a short program (e.g., during the summer). In exceptional circumstances, projects longer than a year would be required to apply for grant money each year. 

Eligible Applicants

The CBA accepts applications only from Full Members of The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) who have paid their membership dues at the time of application. One application, per individual, per year will be accepted for review and possible funding. 

If members of the CBA Committee for Research Support desire to make an application, they must recuse themselves from the committee’s work for the year in which they apply for a grant.

Typical and Maximum Grant Awards

The typical grant will be between $2,000 and $15,000 unless circumstances warrant otherwise.

Application Process and Guide

Applications will be available in English only through The Catholic Biblical Association of America to its membership. If the applicant is working on the project with an Institution or Organization, the name and signature of an official representative of the sponsoring Institution / Organization is required on the application form.

Results of applications will be communicated to each applicant concerning their application.

Applications will be evaluated on the basis of merit. Preference is normally given to applicants who have not received a grant from the CBA in the recent past. Recipients of research grants from the CBA, such as sabbatical grants or dissertation fellowships, are expected to present their supported research in a Research Report or panel at the Annual General Meeting within two years of receiving the grant.

Post-Award Expectations

All applicants that receive funds from the Research Grants of the CBA will sign a grant agreement containing conditions in addition to those described herein. No project is officially funded until both parties approve and sign a CBA grant agreement. CBA reserves the right to withhold money or cancel a contract for due cause.

Project funding begins  with the signing of an agreement and extends through the period agreed to according to the project time line, up to one year. If the grant money is not used within two years of grant notification, it will be automatically canceled. 

The CBA may request distribution rights for funded projects proposed by individuals. The times at which the CBA would exercise these rights are negotiable.

All individual grant recipients agree by their applications to include acknowledgment the help of The Catholic Biblical Association of America in their final products.

All recipients of the Grants from the CBA will be required to submit a mid-project and a post-project final report. Guidelines for completing this report will be provided to the awardees in the agreement. In general, all final reports will document how the funds awarded were used assess the project's outcomes in relation to defined goals, and detail the audience and effectiveness of the project.

Recipients of Grants from the CBA will normally be expected to present a portion of their funded research to CBA membership within two years of the conclusion of their grant period. Grant recipients are especially encouraged to deliver a research report or other (e.g., Continuing Seminar, Task Force, panel) presentation of their funded research at the AGM.

Note: monies remaining over and not accounted for will be returned to The CBA by three months after the end date of the project agreed upon in the contract.

Summary of Application Process

• Applications received by CBA (cba-office@cua.edu) by November 15. 
  N.B. if within a week of submitting your application, you have not received from the CBA Office an email response confirming receipt of the application, please check your SPAM folder and if it is not there, call the office (202-319-5519) and leave a message.
• CBA notifies applicants by January 15.
• Preparation and signature of grant agreement.
• Payments to recipients by electronic transfer (bill.com), or wire transfer. International Scholars funds will be disbursed via wire-transfer, so you will need to provide the following information to the CBA Office
  (cba-office@cua.edu):
     1. The name of the Bank, street, and city:
     2. IBAN:  
     3. BIC /SWIFT:
     4. Account number:
     5. Name of the account holder/beneficiary, street, and city:
• Follow-up and evaluation.

Funding of any future projects is conditioned on receipt of reports for previous project(s).

PART II: Instructions for Preparing a Grant Application

• Application Form (pdf)
• Grant Guidelines & Instructions (pdf)
• CBA Indirect Cost Policy (pdf)
• Document Naming Protocol (pdf)
• Checklist (pdf)

Only grant applications from Full Members of The Catholic Biblical Association of America who have currently paid their CBA membership dues will be considered.

Project Title: Please give the project a short, descriptive title.

Project Description and Budget: All applications must clearly state the project's purpose, activities, costs, resources, relevant experience of the applicant or project principals, desired outcomes and systems of accountability. Describe the area and people to be effected directly by the project. Applications must include a complete financial budget. Indicate on the application form the amount asked from CBA.

Signatures: All applications must be signed by the primary CBA member heading the project.

Deadline: Submit all application materials as an attachment to the CBA (cba-office@cua.edu) with the Subject line: Research Grants from the CBA Application by November 15.

All applications must be submitted with the electronic form provided. In order to assist you in submitting all required materials, we have provided a list below that recapitulates the required information.

A properly completed application will include all of the following items sent to
cba-office@cua.edu as attachment to a single e-mail with the subject line - Research Grant Application. Please refer to the Document Naming Protocol when saving your documents.

1. Completed Grant Application Form
   
   
2. Proposal including:
   1. Detailed Description of Project (A clear statement of the thesis, scope, and argument of the project).
      Requests for travel funds must explain  why the travel is necessary for the project.
   2. Goals and objectives
   3. Benefits and Importance of the Project
   4. A one-page bibliography of secondary sources most directly relevant to the project.
   5. Distribution / Promotion of Results
      
      
3. Relevant Experience of Applicant(s)
   See #1 in Criteria below.
   
   
4. Proposed Detailed Budget
   1. Major costs associated with this project  
   2. Total cost of project
   3. Other sources of funding / sources / amounts  
   4. Amount requested from the CBA (this also is to be included in the application form)
   5. Include things such as: if an applicant on sabbatical is on reduced or no salary, or whether the replacement cost of a course release is based on percentage of the applicants’ salary or institutional calculations.
      CBA Indirect Cost Policy
      
      
5. Proposed Timeline
   
   
6. Evaluation Process—how will you assess the project when completed? 
   
   
7. CV of Applicant(s)—no more than four (4) pages single-spaced.
   

PLEASE NOTE:

• In saving documents, use the Document Naming Protocol.
• All pages of the application, other than the completed form, must be standard letter size (8.5x11 inches or A4), 12-pt. standard Roman font (e.g., New Times Roman).
• Citations (social science or humanities style) are included in page and word counts.
• The committee will not consider incomplete or incorrectly formatted applications.
• You may wish to use the checklist to assist you in assembling your application.

General Guidance

Be concise, but thorough. Emphasize the facts. Answer only the questions asked. If citing statistics, provide original sources. Do not include attachments (e.g., brochures, newsletters, newspaper clippings, etc.) unless directly relevant to a program for which funding is requested. 

N.B. The CBA Office will acknowledge receipt of all applications via a reply email. If you have not received an email response, please check your SPAM folder. If there is not a response, call the CBA Office (202.319.5519) and leave a message. The staff will return the call within business hours (M-F, 9am-5pm).

Criteria employed by the CBA Committee on Research Support

1. Eligible applicants should be involved in the CBA, e.g., attending annual meetings periodically, being part of a CBA board, committees, publishing in CBA venues such as CBQ, CBQMS, etc. The application should be specific about this involvement as well as the relevant experience of the applicant(s).
2. Proposals should be specific about the contribution the project makes to biblical scholarship, especially Catholic biblical scholarship.
3. Proposals should include a one-page bibliography of salient relevant works pertaining to the topic.
4. Applications from members who have been in the CBA for at least three years will be prioritized or favored in the vetting process.
5. Applications will be evaluated on the basis of merit.
6. Preference is normally given to applicants who have not received a grant from the CBA in the recent past. 
7. CBA grants are not meant to fund doctoral studies.
8. The committee will not consider incomplete or incorrectly formatted applications.

Contact

The Catholic Biblical Association of America
431 Caldwell Hall
The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20064 
United States

Phone: 202.319.5519 (Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM, Eastern, leave a message) 
Email: cba-office@cua.edu