Funding &
Opportunities



A multitude of sustainability-focused and -related funding opportunities exist across the University of Pittsburgh. Learn more about student, faculty, and research opportunities below!

Student Professional Opportunities

EcoReps (2, Housing)

Part-Time
Apply Now

CSB SMB Climate Corps Fellow

Part-Time
Apply Now

Center for Sustainable Business Fellowships (8 in Fall/Spring)

Part-Time
Apply Now

Pitt Faculty & Staff Funding Opportunities

Global Engagement Sustainability Grants

This program is designed to enhance the university’s mission of interdisciplinary excellence in sustainability research and education beyond the campus. Faculty members and professional staff from ALL disciplines across ALL campuses of the University of Pittsburgh are encouraged to apply. Each award will be one year in duration. The GES is a program to enable people to share, develop and expand their research, teaching or professional practice beyond the campus. The aim of the GES is to encourage engagement activities with partners beyond the general campus and region. These include national and international partners anywhere in the world, from either inside or outside of higher education, working in areas that strongly align the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

John C. Mascaro Faculty Programs in Sustainability

Faculty members from ALL disciplines across ALL campuses are encouraged to apply. This program is designed to enhance the university’s mission of interdisciplinary excellence in sustainability research and education.

Research Seed Grants in Sustainability

The goal of this program is to catalyze the formation of convergent research teams focused on sustainability and associated solutions.

Global Studies Center Faculty Fellowship

This $20,000 annual faculty fellowship from the Global Studies Center selects an outstanding University of Pittsburgh faculty member whose scholarship supports the Center’s mission. This award is designed to advance and showcase faculty research whose research aligns with the GSC’s research initiatives in Global Health, Migrations, Contested Cities, and Critical World Ecologies.  Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate that they have already made significant progress in planning or executing a project that promises to have a significant impact in their field. Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Sustainable Business Research

The Center for Sustainable Business has research funding available for students and faculty interested in the following areas.

– Decarbonizing Middle America: Wicked problems impeding the just transition and clean & circular economies
– ESG Rosetta Stone: Raising sustainable business literacy across functions, levels, and industries
– Workforce 100%: Turning rhetoric into action for work forces 100% representative of their communities.

Pitt Sustainability Challenge

The University of Pittsburgh has active sustainability efforts and initiatives across disciplines, domains, and scales — including pursuing carbon neutrality by 2037. To help take our work to the next level, the Pitt Sustainability Challenge awarded $300,000 to an integrated, impactful, durable, and feasible solution to advance carbon neutrality with lasting benefits for the Pitt community.

Sample Funded Projects

Pitt Sustainability Challenge Winner – Ecotone Renewables

Summer Undergraduate Research Project:
Pitt Sustainability Dashboards

Bifacial Solar Panels from underside

Solar Picnic Tables