Fronteridades Graduate Microgrant: In This Frontera Moment
Call for Proposals
Purpose
The Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry invites currently enrolled University of Arizona graduate students to apply for the Fronteridades Graduate Microgrant: In This Frontera Moment, supporting interdisciplinary projects that respond to the current, rapidly evolving realities shaping life in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands.
Across the region, communities are navigating profound and ongoing changes in immigration systems, asylum processes, border enforcement practices, legal frameworks, environmental pressures, and public narratives. These developments are unfolding in real time and are reshaping the lived experiences of migrants, asylum seekers, Indigenous communities, border residents, and transborder families.
This microgrant prioritizes projects that engage the “in this frontera moment” impacts of shifting immigration and border conditions. We seek proposals that document, analyze, interpret, or creatively respond to the immediate realities facing border communities today. Grounded in Fronteridades: Nurturing Collaborative Intersections in the U.S.–Mexico Border, this program supports work that centers lived experience, amplifies underrepresented voices, and fosters interdisciplinary inquiry across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Fronteridades promotes an intersectional space where borders (fronteras) and humanities (humanidades) collide, coexist, and generate new forms of knowledge, creativity, and public engagement.
Award Amount: $2,000
Project Completion Deadline: July 31, 2026, by 11:59 PM MST
Eligibility
- Open to currently enrolled University of Arizona graduate students for the 2025-2026 academic year.
- Projects should meaningfully align with Fronteridades aims and priorities
- Projects must be interdisciplinary
- Students from ALL majors are welcome to apply.
Applicants from the following fields are specially encouraged to apply: cultural studies, literature, philosophy, history, languages, Indigenous studies, visual arts, performance studies, gender studies, communication, media arts, social sciences, and related fields.
- Applicants must be eligible to receive funding through the University of Arizona
What Are We Looking For
This microgrant prioritizes proposals that:
- Address current and ongoing changes in immigration systems, border governance, or migration policy
- Examine how these shifts are affecting border communities in real time
- Engage lived experience, community narratives, grounded research, or creative documentation
- Elevate perspectives that are historically underrepresented or misrepresented
- Demonstrate interdisciplinary collaboration or methodology
- Foster creative approaches to complex societal challenges
- Produce a tangible outcome that contributes to public dialogue, scholarship, or creative expression
Eligible Project Formats
All projects must result in at least one completed, tangible deliverable within the grant period. Projects may include, but are not limited to:
- Scholarly papers (whitepapers, journal articles, book chapters)
- Poetry, short fiction, or creative nonfiction
- Music composition or performance
- Dance or performance art
- Photography or visual art
- Fashion or material design
- Short films or video series
- Sculpture, drawing, or painting
- Multimedia storytelling
- Public humanities initiatives
- Community-engaged documentation
- Observational or place-based research projects
Submission Requirements
All applicants must submit their proposal no later than March 27, 2026. Your proposal must be uploaded as a PDF or Word document. Name your document using the naming convention “SubmitterLast Name_First Name_ProjectProposal2026”
All applications must include:
- Name & Contact Information
- Project Title
- 1-2 sentence project description
- Project type (one-2 words or short phrase – e.g. short film, research paper, photography series)
- Project Description (500-700 words): Describe goals and scope of your project, how it responds to the current border moment, its interdisciplinary approach, how it aligns with the mission of Fronteridades, the final deliverable, and a brief timeline for completion (must conclude before July 31, 2026).
- Personal background & motivation (100-200 words): Briefly describe your background and motivation for this project. Please do not disclose sensitive personal information.
- Budget Overview (1 page maximum): Overview including total amount requested ($2,000) and how budget will be allocated.
- CV or Resume
How to apply: Proposals must be submitted through the following https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1TYmYPHnl3yhgGO
The deadline to submit proposals is March 27, 2026, at 11:59 PM Mountain Time
Timeline
Call Opens: March 2, 2026
Applications Due: March 27, 2026, by 11:59 PM MST
Award notification: beginning April 2026
Project Period: April 2026 – July 2026
Final Projects & Report Due: July 31, 2026, by 11:59 PM MST
Selection Process: A review committee will evaluate the proposals and make recommendations to the Confluencenter Director. Applicants will be notified of the results beginning April 2026.
Award Distribution: Awards will be distributed in two installments following notification and receipt of a signed award agreement. The first installment will be disbursed upon receipt of the signed agreement, and the second installment will be deposited in May 2026.
Post-Award Commitments
Award recipients must:
- Submit a completed final deliverable in digital format
- Submit a brief final report (1–2 pages) summarizing outcomes
- Acknowledge Confluencenter and Fronteridades support in any publications or presentations
Acknowledgments: Award recipients should acknowledge Confluencenter’s support in any publications or presentations made possible by this award.
Contact: For questions about eligibility or the application process, contact Yadira Caballero, Program Manager, yadirac@arizona.edu.
ABOUT THE CONFLUENCENTER FOR CREATIVE INQUIRY
The Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry at the University of Arizona is a campus-wide research institute that unites three large and robust areas – arts, humanities, and social sciences – as a point of intersection for inquiry across all disciplines. CCI is a Consortium of Humanities Centers & Institutes member and has held a seat on its international board since 2014.
A PDF version of this call for proposals can be download here: