The Academic Innovation Fund, through the Office of the Provost, awards up to $1,000,000 annually to support the development of microcredentials and degree programs that expand opportunities for learners and strengthen the university as Kansas' first-choice education and business partner.

Priority consideration will be given to proposals that:

• Meet regional, national or international learner or workplace needs of the future.
• Drive curricular innovation and academic excellence through new and/or flexible rigorous disciplinary learning experiences.
• Align with the K-State Opportunity Agenda and the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan.
• Support the long-term financial viability of the university.
• Have a partnership with a business, industry or other community partner.

The Design, Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, or DASH, Award is an annual program that provides a one-time, one-year grant of $10,000 to support faculty research, scholarly or creative activities. This includes but is not limited to empirical and theoretical research, applied design and development, scholarship of teaching and learning, writing of books, and producing art, poetry, music, theater and other creative works.

The Secure Energy Initiative (SEI) invites proposals for seed funding of interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary projects that advance energy security through integrated technical, institutional, and social solutions. The Secure Energy Initiative (SEI) organizes its activities around four technical focus areas ("Pillars") and two enabling themes ("Crosscuts"), including:

• Advanced nuclear systemsdd
• Grid integration and reliability
• Grid-independent systems
• Advanced manufacturing and supply chain
• Workforce development
• Digital engineering

Across all focus areas, SEI emphasizes collaboration with organizations and communities that will ultimately use, regulate, or benefit from energy technologies and practices. This approach accelerates the translation of research into deployable solutions that improve energy security.

SEI seed funding is intended to support activities that position teams for larger externally funded projects and deployment-oriented initiatives. The program is intended to generate preliminary results, partnerships, data, tools, and implementation pathways that increase competitiveness for external funding opportunities.

SEI seed funding should be used to support use-inspired projects that advance the deployment, adoption, operation, and societal integration of secure energy systems. Basic research components are welcome when clearly connected to longer-term energy security outcomes and pathways to implementation.

The University Outstanding Scholar (UOS) Awards were created in 2024 to recognize outstanding faculty members who are on an accelerated path for academic distinction. The aims of this program are to reward and increase the recognition of Kansas State University’s most promising faculty, to identify potential faculty candidates for University Distinguished Professor and external award nominations and recognitions, and to increase retention of excellent faculty.

The UOS program recognizes up to nine full-time faculty members per year, from any school/college who hold the rank of tenured associate professor and does not have an administrative role. The award carries a permanent $10,000 salary bonus designation for the rest of their career.