Dissertation Funding at a Glance
Doctoral students who have completed all requirements for the degree (course work, exams, and dissertation proposal acceptance) except the dissertation often need funding or support in order to conduct their dissertation research. Faculty research grants or departmental awards support some, but others may be interested in fellowships and grants that support dissertation research and dissertation writing.
The length and scope of dissertation funding fellowships and grants vary; some are intended to support year-long research projects at multiple sites, while others may fund a short-term project at a single research facility or archive.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of opportunities to fund dissertation research. The George Washington University subscribes to two databases, The Illinois Researcher Information Service (IRIS) and the Community of Science (COS) Funding Opportunities Database, both of which provide information on funding opportunities. Links to them can be found in the Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships website: http://www.gwu.edu/~fellows/fellows.html Please note: Both of these databases must be accessed from a campus computer.
Another option for searching for dissertation funding in some fields (e.g., the humanities) is to go directly to the archive, library, collection, or agency in which you want to do research. Often an internet search on the particular facility will reveal opportunities for small research grants that may be missed by databases such as IRIS and COS.
Students should be prepared to begin seeking funding at least one year in advance of the start of the research. Deadlines occur throughout the year; however, most deadlines are in the fall and early spring, with decisions and appointments announced by late spring and early summer. Smaller grants to conduct research at archives and libraries may have rolling deadlines or several deadlines per year.
The following links list a sample of dissertation funding opportunities. Divided into broad categories of study, they provide a starting point for most students’ searches for dissertation funding. In addition, the George Washington University Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships can provide guidance to students. The office can be reached at 202-994-6822 or via email at gradfell@gwu.edu. We’d appreciate hearing if you win a fellowship so we can publicize your success!
Fellowships for a Wide Range of Disciplines
These awards support women doctoral candidates completing dissertations and scholars seeking funds for postdoctoral research leave or for preparing completed research for publication. Applicants must be U.S citizens or permanent residents. One-year postdoctoral research leave fellowships, dissertation fellowships, and summer/short-term research publication grants are offered. The dissertation award provides $20,000 for completion of a dissertation in any discipline except engineering.
Local competitions include the Cosmos Club Program of Grants-in-Aid to Young Scholars, Economic Club of Washington Doctoral Research Fellowships, and the Consortium Research Fellows Program. These fellowships provide small grants to cover expenses such as travel, equipment, and photocopying that may not be covered by other funding sources.
Allows U.S. seniors, graduate or professional students, or alumni to conduct research abroad for one academic year . While the U.S. Fulbright Program is not a dissertation research fellowship, it allows for dissertation research as part of the proposal. Doctoral students should have their dissertation proposal approved by the time of application.
Provides grants to U.S. doctoral students through their colleges or universities to conduct research in other countries in modern foreign languages and area studies for periods of 6 to 12 months. While this program does not fund proposals focusing on Western European topics, travel to Western Europe to consult or research human or material resources not available in the U.S. on a non-Western European topic can be funded. Students must apply through the Office of Research Services.
CLIR offers approximately ten fellowships for dissertation research in the humanities in original source materials – primary sources in the holdings of archives, libraries, historical societies, museums, and related repositories. Research may be conducted in the U.S. or abroad.
Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowships for Minorities
Predoctoral fellowships support study toward a Ph.D. or Sc.D.; dissertation fellowships offer support in the final year of writing the Ph.D. or Sc.D. thesis. Some of the eligible fields are: anthropology, archaeology, art history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, earth sciences, economics, engineering, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, sociology, and urban planning.
Available to postdoctoral scholars and doctoral candidates, Gilder Lehrman Fellowships in American History support research in the following five New York City archives: The Gilder Lehrman Collection, on deposit at the New-York Historical Society, The Library of the New-York Historical Society, The Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The New York Public Library Humanities and Social Sciences Library, and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (NYPL).
IREX sponsors a broad range of fellowship opportunities for masters, predoctoral, and postdoctoral research. One such opportunity is the Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) Program. This program provides fellowships to U.S. scholars for overseas research on contemporary political, economic, historical, or cultural developments in selected eastern European and former Soviet states relevant to US foreign policy.
The Lincoln Institute offers annual dissertation fellowships to students of land policy at different stages of their academic careers. As recipients of a Lincoln Institute fellowship, students contribute to the tax and land policy knowledge base.
The Udall Foundation awards fellowships to doctoral candidates entering the final year of writing dissertations concerning environmental public policy and/or environmental conflict resolution. Dissertation fellowships are intended to cover both academic and living expenses and carry a stipend of a maximum of $24,000.
The Dissertation Support Program is a fellowship program that provides support during dissertation research. Students should apply in the year prior to the beginning of their dissertation research program, but not until they can describe their intended research in general terms. This fellowship is open to all U. S. Citizens, but with emphasis on recruitment of applications from historically underrepresented minorities and women.
Includes the Ford Foundation Predoctoral, Dissertation, and Postdoctoral Fellowships for Minorities, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowships in Biological Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Energy Integrated Manufacturing Predoctoral Fellowships.
These fellowships provide students and scholars opportunities to pursue independent research projects in association with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff.
SSRC fellowship and grant programs provide support and professional recognition to innovators within fields, and especially to younger researchers whose work and ideas will have longer-term impact on society and scholarship. Some of the Fellowships offered are the International Dissertation Field Research Fellowship and the SSRC-Mellon Mays Predoctoral Research Grant.
The Wenner-Gren Foundation pursues its two major goals -- advancing basic research in anthropology and building an international community of anthropologists-through several funding programs. The Dissertation Fieldwork Grants are awarded to individuals to aid doctoral dissertation or thesis research.
Programs include fellowships for graduate study, professional development for teachers, educational opportunities for women and minorities, relating the academy to society, and national service. For instance, The Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowships in Women’s Studies encourage original and significant research about women that crosses disciplinary, regional, or cultural boundaries.
Engineerig and Applied Sciences
Predoctoral fellowships support study toward a Ph.D. or Sc.D.; dissertation fellowships offer support in the final year of writing the Ph.D. or Sc.D. thesis. Some of the eligible fields are: anthropology, archaeology, art history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, earth sciences, economics, engineering, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, sociology, and urban planning.
Annual scholarship to assist engineering students with an interest in water resources from around the world in pursuing an education in engineering.
The IBM Ph.D. Fellowship Program is intended to honor exceptional Ph.D. students in disciplines of mutual interest fundamental to innovation and on demand business. Some of the topics of interest are: Business analytics, business transformation and services innovation, information management and analysis, computing infrastructure, and deep computing.
The Link Foundation offers fellowships in the area of simulation and training in the area of ocean engineering. The foundation provides 2-year fellowships of $25,000/year for students working toward a Ph.D. degree.
Education and Human Development
Dissertation research fellowships support research relevant to the field of career education. This may include, but is not limited to, areas such as accreditation criteria and practices, emerging technology, distance education, and instructional development.
The research grant program provides grants to Principal Investigators (PIs) to conduct research on postsecondary education using the NCES and NSF national databases or to conduct studies that increase understanding of a specific issue area identified by the NPEC Executive Committee as critically important to the postsecondary education community.
Student-Initiated Research (SIR) Projects support doctoral student research focusing on special education and related services for children and youth with disabilities and early intervention services for infants and toddlers.
Encourages scholars from a wide range of disciplines whose dissertations show potential for bringing fresh and constructive perspectives to formal or informal education worldwide.
AICPA awards fellowships for minority doctoral students to enable more minorities to enter and move ahead in the accounting profession and academe. Fellowships of up to $12,000 are awarded once a year to full time minority accounting scholars who show significant potential to become accounting educators.
The doctoral dissertation award is designed to stimulate research and development of new knowledge in the fields of insurance and business, and to increase the number of qualified teachers of insurance and business at U.S. colleges and universities. Awards are given in two categories: Business and Insurance and risk management.
Office of Fellowships | Graduate Funding Opportunities Home | GW Home