Advancing Academic-Research Careers (AARC) Award

Please read carefully, as several requirements for AARC have changed in 2012.

Purpose

The AARC Award is intended to support the academic-research careers of junior-level faculty in the field of communication sciences and disorders (CSD). Unlike a traditional research grant, the AARC award provides funding for mentored development of both teaching and research skills. Up to six awards of $5,000 each will be awarded in 2012.

Two awards will be dedicated to applications that focus on mentored activities related to both the teaching and conduct of clinical practice research. Clinical practice research in CSD refers to research that focuses on the prevention, identification, assessment, and treatment of communication and related (e.g., swallowing and balance) disorders. ASHA has expanded funding to include these two additional awards to accelerate the generation of clinical practice research needed to support evidence-based practice.

Applicants work in conjunction with mentors to develop mentored teaching and research plans tailored to the applicant's career stage. The plans, which propose specific teaching and research activities that will be completed under the guidance of the mentors during the 18-month funding period, are submitted as part of the AARC application. Examples of acceptable activities include, but are not limited to:

Mentored teaching activity examples:

• Learning new teaching or mentoring techniques
• Attending or presenting at a conference on the scholarship of teaching and learning
• Leading a mentoring program such as a journal club
• Incorporating theories of teaching/learning into your own courses
• Incorporating contemporary technologies (e.g., social media, telepractice) or instrumentation (e.g., fMRI) into coursework and student mentoring
• Developing new curricula or unique learning opportunities such as problem based learning, interprofessional education, distance learning, or student research opportunities

Mentored research activities examples:

• Learning a new research methodology or technique
• Attending or presenting at a research conference
• Participating in a training course on data analysis
• Training in another research lab
• Preparing a research manuscript or grant application
• Conducting a feasibility study or collecting pilot data

Eligibility Requirements

• Research doctoral degree (PhD or equivalent)
• Full-time tenure or non-tenure track faculty appointment in a CSD department in an academic institution in the U.S. (postdoctoral fellows are not eligible)
• Primary responsibilities include teaching and conducting research
• Fewer than six years of teaching/research experience or are below the level of associate professor
• ASHA member
• Mentoring team must be composed of at least two mentors; one to support the applicant's teaching plan and one to support the applicant's research plan. All mentors must have research doctorates. At least one mentor must be a faculty member in a CSD department.

Application Material Requirements

Application materials must be submitted as pdf attachments. Please see the application instructions for detailed descriptions of what to include in the following required materials:

• Completed application form (will be available shortly)
• Cover Letter
• Mentored Teaching Plan
• Mentored Research Plan
• Budget proposal for the 18-month funding period
• CV
• A letter of recommendation from each member of the applicant's mentoring team
• Letter of support from the applicant's department chair (or equivalent)

All application materials must be submitted as PDF attachments to academicaffairs@asha.org by May 15, 2012.

View former AARC Award recipients.

Questions? Please visit the AARC FAQs. Still have questions? Contact the Academic Affairs and Research Education unit at academicaffairs@asha.org.