Professional Development Award

The UNC Network for Research Professionals (NRP) is proud to announce our 2026-2027 NRP Professional Development Award.

This award provides supplemental funding to help cover professional development opportunities for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or UNC Health employees whose work is focused on human subjects research. This funding mechanism is intended for individuals pursuing activities to further their career as research professionals and advancing the current workforce. It is not intended to support development activities related to strengthening or contributing to graduate or professional school applications.

The award covers work-related education and training and can be used for conferences, certificates, continuing education, classes or seminars, or similar instructional opportunities that are not already covered by other resources. Specifically, the award is designed to cover expenses related to the opportunity (e.g., registration, materials, travel). Courses for academic credit are not eligible for this award, as those may be accessed through the University’s education benefits or UNC Health’s educational assistance benefits.

Individual awards ranging from $100 ‐ $500 will be granted depending on strength of application. Based on the number and quality of applications, some selected individuals may receive partial funding for their requests.

Additional information about the award, eligibility, and application instructions can be found here.

APPLY NOW

Application deadline is September 30, 2026 at 5pm.

Professional development activities must occur between October 20, 2026 and June 30, 2027.

If you have any questions about the NRP or this award, please contact the NRP directly at nrp@unc.edu. We look forward to receiving your applications.

2025-2026

Noele’ Daniels
Stephanie Forlemu
Sienna Halterman
Sally Bobbitt-Hartwell
Margret Powell
Molly Pradhan