External Funding Opportunities
Research Grant for Ph.D. Candidates, Smith Richardson Foundation
The Smith Richardson Foundation invites applications for its "World Politics and Statecraft Fellowship" research grant competition.
The World Politics and Statecraft Fellowship is an annual competition to support Ph.D. dissertation research on American foreign policy, international relations, international security, strategic studies, area studies, and diplomatic and military history. The Foundation will award up to twenty grants of $7,500 each. The results will be announced by February 8, 2013.
DEADLINE: October 17, 2012
The Freie Universitat Berlin is inviting postdoctoral fellowship applications for research in the following areas: area studies, humanities, plant sciences, and nanoscale.
FUNDS: Five fellowships with a yearly salary ranging from $27,775 to $35,947, plus additional allowances, for 18 months, with the possibility of a six-month extension.
ELIGIBILITY: Candidates must have completed the doctorate less than six years prior to the application deadline. Candidates may not be German citizens, or have lived in Germany for more than six months within the 24 months prior to the application deadline.
DEADLINE: September 30, 2012
The National Endowment for the Humanities, jointly with the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG), is inviting grant applications for projects to develop and implement digital infrastructures and services for humanities research. Each application must be sponsored by at least one eligible German individual or institution, and at least one U.S. institution, and there must be a project director from each country.
FUNDS: The program makes an average of four awards annually, ranging from $100,000 to $350,000 over up to three years.
ELIGIBILITY: Any U.S. nonprofit organization with IRS tax-exempt status is eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies and tribal governments. Individuals are not eligible. For the German partners, eligible applicants include scientific service institutions (such as libraries, archives, and media and computer centers), research institutes, and scientists or academics (Ph.D. required) from any discipline working at German research institutions.
DEADLINE: September 27, 2012
Research Development Grants, The UC Office of Research and Graduate Studies
The University of California Office of Research and Graduate Studies is inviting applications for one-time support of projects to stimulate multi-campus or system-wide research. Funds are to pilot or seed new projects that can demonstrate a strong system-wide benefit to UC research and enhance UC's ability to compete for funding, advance research discoveries, support innovative graduate student research, inform public policy or otherwise impact the lives of Californians. Supported projects include workshops or meetings to establish new initiatives, grant development or planning for such initiatives, public outreach, industry outreach, and other types of projects with system-wide benefit to UC research.
FUNDS: Awards offer up to $20,000. Matching funds are strongly preferred.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to faculty and staff at any UC campus, and in any field.
DEADLINE: Upcoming deadlines are July 30, November 1, and January 24.
The Social Science Research Council is inviting applications for the Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) Faculty Field Competition, from tenured humanities and social sciences faculty interested in training the next generation of researchers in interdisciplinary fields. Research directors guide the development of effective dissertation proposals within innovative fields by helping fellows to sharpen their research focus and identify appropriate methods of investigation and analysis. Annually, the program selects up to five research fields, each proposed by two senior faculty with different institutional affiliations and different disciplinary specializations. Faculty field research directors design and lead two workshops for student fellows, in coordination with DPDF staff, and serve as mentors during the fellows' summer pre-dissertation research.
FUNDS: Each field director receives a $10,000 stipend, and each field receives a $3,000 allowance to cover program expenses.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be tenured at the time of application, and must apply in pairs. Applicants must be based at different universities in the United States. Applicants must be trained in different disciplines or bring different methodological frameworks to their proposed research field.
DEADLINE: October 3, 2012
Organization of American Historians Awards
The Organization of American Historians is inviting applications for 21 awards and prizes in the field of American history. Topic areas include the Civil War, American frontier history, American social history, American intellectual history, and U.S. politics and political economy, among many other others.
DEADLINE: Deadlines are October 1, November 30, December 3, January 10, and May 1, depending on category.
Chinese Studies Grants, The Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation
The Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation is inviting grant and fellowship applications for research on Chinese studies in the humanities and social sciences. The foundation is particularly interested in research on the social, cultural, economic, or political development of Taiwan over the past few decades. The program provides support under six categories: Research, Scholar, and Conference/Seminar/Workshop Grants; Publication Subsidies; Doctoral Fellowships; and Dissertation Fellowships for ROC Students Abroad.
FUNDS: Research grants provide per diems and travel costs. Scholar grants provide up to $40,000, depending on seniority. Conference/Seminar/Workshop grants provide up to $25,000. Publication Subsidies range from $5,000 to $10,000. Both types of doctoral fellowships provide up to $15,000.
ELIGIBILITY: See individual grant category. If you are interested in applying to this foundation, please contact UCI's office of Foundation Development: Marge Brannon, Director (email mbrannon@uci.edu), or Jim Crawford, Senior Director (crawforj@uci.edu).
DEADLINE: Applications for Research and Scholar grants, and for both types of Dissertation fellowships, are due October 15. Applications for Conference/Seminar/Workshop grants and for Publication Subsidies are due September 15 and February 15.
Teaching and Development Grant, The National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is inviting grant applications to support faculty members in the teaching and development of a new course that will foster intellectual community through the study of an enduring question. This question-driven course will encourage undergraduates and teachers to grapple with a fundamental concern of human life addressed by the humanities, and to join together in a deep and sustained program of reading in order to encounter influential thinkers over the centuries and into the present day.
FUNDS: Awards offer up to $25,000 over 18 months to three years. Cost-sharing is not required. The program makes an average of 19 awards annually.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to U.S. nonprofit academic institutions. Individuals and graduate students are not eligible.
DEADLINE: September 13, 2012
IRES Research Grants, The National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications to support the development of globally-engaged U.S. science and engineering students capable of performing in an international research environment at the forefront of science and engineering. The IRES program supports active research participation by students enrolled as undergraduates or graduate students in any of the NSF-funded research areas. Students participate in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the IRES program.
FUNDS: $2.25 million is available for 12 awards.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to U.S. academic institutions and nonprofit, non-academic research organizations.
DEADLINE: August 21, 2012
Conservation Activities Grants, The National Geographic Conservation Trust
The National Geographic Conservation Trust is inviting grant applications to support conservation activities around the world. The trust will fund projects that contribute significantly to the preservation and sustainable use of the Earth's biological, cultural, and historical resources.
FUNDS: Most grants range from $15,000 to $20,000.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants need not have Ph.D.s or other advanced degrees, but must provide a record of prior research or conservation action as it pertains to the proposed project. Funding is not restricted to U.S. citizens. Researchers planning work in foreign countries should include at least one local collaborator as part of their research teams. If you are interested in applying to this foundation, please contact UCI's office of Foundation Development: Marge Brannon, Director (email mbrannon@uci.edu), or Jim Crawford, Senior Director (crawforj@uci.edu).
DEADLINE: None.
Security Studies Research Grants, The Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is inviting grant and cooperative agreement applications for security studies research on countering weapons of mass destruction and weapons of mass effect (WMD/WME). The program will support innovative research on WMD/WME counter proliferation, nonproliferation, and strategy. "Security studies research" refers to investigations in all disciplines and domains that expand knowledge for national defense, and could improve policy and international relations for combating WMD. Disciplines include, but are not limited to, political science, sociology, history, biology, chemistry, economics, homeland defense, and public policy.
FUNDS: Approximately $6 million will be available for awards ranging from $75,000 to $250,000.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to U.S. universities and other research institutions outside the Department of Defense.
DEADLINE: July 1, 2013.
Social, Behavioral, Economic Sciences Dissertation Grants, The National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation's Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences is inviting grant applications to enable doctoral students to improve the quality of dissertation research. These grants provide funds for items not normally available through the student's university. Additionally, these grants allow doctoral students to undertake significant data-gathering projects and to conduct field research in settings away from their campus that would not otherwise be possible. Proposals are judged on the basis of their scientific merit, including the theoretical importance of the research question and the appropriateness of the proposed data and methodology to be used in addressing the question.
FUNDS: $2.5 million is available for 200 to 300 awards.
ELIGIBILITY: The proposal must be submitted by the dissertation advisor(s) on behalf of the graduate student who is at the point of initiating or already conducting dissertation research. The student must be enrolled at a U.S. academic institution, but need not be a U.S. citizen.
DEADLINE: Deadlines vary depending on sub-discipline.
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, The Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is inviting grant and contract applications for fundamental research to counter weapons of mass destruction. The program provides support for research, educational programs, or other efforts. The goal is to reduce, eliminate, and counter the threat and effects from chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives. DTRA seeks to identify, adopt, and adapt emerging, existing and revolutionary sciences that may demonstrate high payoff potential to Counter-WMD (C-WMD) threats.
FUNDS: A total of $500 million is available for 15 to 30 awards annually, ranging from $150,000 to $500,000 annually for up to five years.
ELIGIBILITY: The program supports accredited degree-granting colleges and universities, industrial, commercial (including small businesses), and nonprofit research entities that demonstrate a significant contribution minimum of 30% of total value) by one or more universities.
DEADLINE: Pre-proposal white papers (Phase I) are due March 1 and July 2. Full proposals will be by invitation. The program closes September 30, 2014.
Student Study Abroad Scholarships and Fellowships - The National Security Education Program
The National Security Education Program is inviting applications for the Boren Scholarships and Fellowships, which enable U.S. undergraduate and graduate students, respectively. to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. Applicants should identify how their study abroad program, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security, broadly defined.
FUNDS: Undergraduate scholarships offer up to $20,000, graduate fellowships up to $30,000.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be U.S. citizens at application time. All Boren Scholars and Fellows must agree to a service commitment.
DEADLINE: Applications for the graduate fellowship program are due January 31.
Science, Technology, and Society - The National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications for scientific research on the interface between science (including engineering) or technology, and society. STS researchers use diverse methods, including those of social science, history, and philosophy. Proposals should be transferrable (generate results that provide insights for other scientific contexts that are suitably similar). They should produce outcomes that address pertinent problems and issues at the interface of science, technology and society, such as those having to do with practices and assumptions, ethics, values, governance, and policy.
FUNDS: $7 million is available for 40 awards.
ELIGIBILITY: PI eligibility limit varies by the mode of support.
DEADLINE: February 1 and August 1.
Economics Grants, National Science Foundation
TOPIC: The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications for research on the processes and institutions of the U.S. economy and of the world system of which it is a part. This program also strengthens both empirical and theoretical economic analysis as well as the methods for rigorous research on economic behavior. It supports research in almost every area of economics, including econometrics, economic history, environmental economics, finance, industrial organization, international economics, labor economics, macroeconomics, mathematical economics, and public finance.
FUNDS: Recent awards have ranged from $7,000 to $749,000.
ELIGIBILITY: NSF welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists, engineers and educators.
DEADLINE: The full proposal target dates are January 18 and August 18.
Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences Grants, National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications for scientific research on decision making by individuals, groups, organizations, and society. Disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, doctoral dissertation research, and workshops are funded in the areas of judgment and decision making; decision analysis and decision aids; risk analysis, perception, and communication; societal and public policy decision making; management science and organizational design. The program also supports small grants that are time-critical (Rapid Response Research -- RAPID) and small grants that are high-risk and of a potentially transformative nature (Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research -- EAGER).
FUNDS: Recent awards have ranged from $8,000 to $475,000.
ELIGIBILITY: NSF welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists, engineers and educators.
DEADLINE: The full proposal target dates are January 18 and August 18.
Innovation and Organizational Sciences Grants, National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications for scientific research on organizational phenomena, including innovation and innovation management, as well as other aspects of organizational effectiveness, competitiveness, dynamics, change or evolution. Levels of analysis include, but are not limited to, individuals, groups, organizations, cross-organizational phenomena and/or institutional arrangements. Intellectual perspectives include organization theory, strategy, organizational behavior, social or industrial psychology, technology and innovation management, organizational sociology, entrepreneurship, organizational economics, communication sciences, information sciences, public administration, or decision and management sciences. Research methods may span a broad variety of qualitative and quantitative methods.
FUNDS: Recent awards have ranged from $42,000 to $795,000.
ELIGIBILITY: NSF welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists, engineers and educators.
DEADLINE: The full proposal target dates are February 2 and September 3.
Cultural Anthropology Grants, National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications for innovative basic scientific research about the causes, consequences, and complexities of human social and cultural variability. Cultural anthropologists analyze human social and cultural behavior holistically. This integrated approach makes anthropology a valuable research tool for understanding the modern world. Because cultural patterns are emergent over time and space, there is no single natural scale for ethnographic and ethnological analysis.
FUNDS: Recent awards have ranged from $3,000 to $315,000.
DEADLINE: January 15 and August 15 for senior and dissertation research proposals, January 16 and August 16 for scholars proposals, and March 1 for REU supplement proposal.
German History Postdoctoral Fellowships - The German Historical Institute
TOPIC: The German Historical Institute is inviting postdoctoral fellowship applications for research on one of three areas: American history and German-American relations from the early modern period to the present; international history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; and twentieth century German and European history.
FUNDS: The stipend offers 25,000 Euros for six to 12 months.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to American scholars working in one of the research
areas above.
DEADLINE: None.
Vatican Film Library Fellowships - St. Louis University
TOPIC: St. Louis University is inviting fellowship applications to use the collections of the Vatican Film Library, which includes microfilms of manuscripts from the Vatican Library and other institutions, as well as Jesuit historical documents. The library supports research in history, philosophy, theology, literature, art, science, etc., in addition to paleography, codicology, illumination, text editing, library history, and other studies.
FUNDS: The living allowance offers $2,250 per month for two to eight
weeks.
ELIGIBILITY: Fellowships are open to post-doctoral scholars and doctoral candidates formally admitted to a Ph.D. program who are working on their dissertations.
DEADLINE: October 1, March 1, and June 1.
US Department of State Student (Undergrad and Grad) Internships, Fellowships and Paid Programs
Are you a graduate and post-graduate student who wants the chance to impact the world? The U.S. Department of State offers a number of life-changing internships, fellowships and programs in Washington, D.C. and abroad.
The U.S. Department of State offers six different internships, fellowships and paid programs to help you get a jump start on your career while still an undergraduate student. Most of our programs offer both pay and access to medical benefits.
DEADLINES: Ongoing
Social Science Research Council Fellowships
A core component of the Council’s work throughout its modern history has been the development and administration of competitive or institutional peer-reviewed fellowship and grants. Council fellowship and grants programs are strategic – they are targeted to a problem, promote individual and institutional change, generate new knowledge and build networks. They typically distinguish themselves through a commitment to excellence and innovation; the promotion of interdisciplinarity; the linking of social science training on key themes to broader research or field-building agendas; and the creation of ongoing research capacity-building networks via workshops, fellows conferences, summer institutes and other activities that complement research grants and work to develop national and international networks of scholars around topics of critical public concern.
The Council approaches fellowships, grants and associated activities with special emphasis on the growing internationalization of social issues. SSRC fellowship and grants programs engage themes ranging from global issues facing the U.S. and Japan, to security, drugs and democracy in Latin America, to approaches to the study of contentious politics. Our largest fellowship program, the International Dissertation Research Fellowship, supports the next generation of scholars in the humanities and social sciences pursuing research that advances knowledge about non-U.S. cultures and societies. Since 1997, the program has funded some 400 graduate students to conduct research in more than 100 countries on a wide range of subjects
The SSRC retains a core commitment to improving the production, and the conditions for production, of social science knowledge. This knowledge, now, and the capacity for its generation in the future, form the irreducible bases for responsible and effective action to improve the world.
DEADLINES: Ongoing.
Multi-Campus Research Opportunities Grants - The University of California
TOPIC: The University of California Office of the President is inviting grant applications for the Research Opportunity Fund, which provides seed funding to initiate multi-campus or system-wide research projects. The program supports new projects that are intended to spawn larger, long-term, externally-funded programs that can increase UC's competitiveness, advance research discoveries, impact the lives of Californians, inform public policy, or support innovative graduate student research.
FUNDS: Awards offer up to $20,000.
ELIGIBILITY: Funding requests must have a UCOP sponsor, who will take responsibility for the award, and work with the awardees to produce a product or result.
DEADLINE: Requests may be submitted to ORGS throughout the year, and will be considered on a quarterly basis.
We the People: U.S. History and Culture - NEH Grant
The National Endowment for the Humanities is inviting grant applications for projects under the "We the People" program, which supports projects that explore significant events and themes in U.S. history and culture. "We the People" proposals may be submitted in all of the agency's programs.
American Studies Library Fellowships (AAS)
The American Antiquarian Society is inviting short- and long-term fellowship applications for research in residence using the AAS collections, which document the life of America's people from the colonial era through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Collections include books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, broadsides, manuscripts, music, graphic arts, and local histories.
FUNDS: Stipends range from $1,350 to $50,400 depending on length and
type of fellowship.
DEADLINE: Applications for Creative and Performing Artists and Writers fellowships are due October 5, for post-dissertation fellowships October 15, and for short- and long-term fellowships January 15.
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Research Grants and Dissertation Fellowships
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation sponsors scholarly research on problems of violence and aggression. The foundation provides both research grants to established scholars and dissertation fellowships to graduate students during the dissertation-writing year.
Research Grants
The research grants program welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence and aggression. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence and aggression in the modern world. HFG awards research grants to individuals for individual projects and does not award grants to institutions for institutional programs. HFG ordinarily makes awards in the range of $15,000 to $40,000 a year each for periods of one or two years. The annual deadline for research grant applications is August 1 for a decision in December.
Dissertation Fellowships
Ten or more dissertation fellowships are awarded each year to individuals who will complete the writing of the dissertation within the award year. These fellowships of $20,000 each are designed to contribute to the support of the doctoral candidate to enable him or her to complete the thesis in a timely manner. It is only appropriate to apply for support for the final year of Ph.D. work. Applicants may be citizens of any country and studying at colleges or universities in any country. The annual deadline for dissertation-writing applications is February 1, for support to begin September 1 of that calendar year.
Fulbright Graduate Research Abroad (State)
The U.S. State Department is inviting applications for the Fulbright Program, which enables U.S. students to undertake international graduate study in more than 140 countries worldwide. The program supports individually designed study and research or an English Teaching Assistantship. In addition, travel only grants are available to Italy, Germany, and Hungary, and supplement funding from other sources, such as grants that do not provide travel or the student's own funds.
DEADLINE: September 6 is the deadline for submission of proposals to
UCI's internal review.
FUNDING: The full grants and teaching assistantships offer round-trip transportation to the host country, maintenance costs for the academic year, and limited health benefits, with the potential for additional benefits. Travel only grants offer round-trip transportation and limited health benefits, plus mid-term enrichment activities and orientation or language programs, if available in the host country.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to U.S. citizens who are Master's or doctoral candidates and demonstrate a capacity for independent study or research, together with a general knowledge of the history, culture, and current events of the countries to which they are applying.
Science, Technology, and Society Grants - The National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications for research on historical, philosophical, and sociological questions that arise in connection with science, engineering, and technology, and their respective interactions with society. STS has four components: 1) Ethics and Values in Science, Engineering and Technology (EVS), 2) History and Philosophy of Science, Engineering and Technology (HPS), 3) Social Studies of Science, Engineering and Technology (SSS), and 4) Studies of Policy, Science, Engineering and Technology (SPS).
APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 1 and February 1 (annually).
FUNDING: $9 million is available for 40 awards ranging from $10,000 to $400,000, depending on granting mechanism. Eight types of awards range from dissertation support to standard research grants.
ELIGIBILITY: PI eligibility limit varies by the mode of support.
Click here for further information.
Cultural Anthropology Scholar Awards - The National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications to support methodological training by cultural anthropologists who are active researchers. The purpose is to help cultural anthropologists upgrade their methodological skills by learning a specific analytical technique which will improve their research abilities.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 16 and January 16 (annually).
FUNDING: $100,000 is available for two awards.
ELIGIBILITY: NSF welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists, engineers and educators.
Click here for further information.
Academy Scholars at Harvard College - Pre and Post-Doctoral Fellowships at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies.
The Academy Scholars Program identifies and supports outstanding scholars at the start of their careers whose work combines disciplinary excellence in the social sciences (including history and law) with a command of the language, history, or culture of non-Western countries or regions. Their scholarship may elucidate domestic, comparative, or transnational issues, past or present.
The Academy Scholars are a select community of individuals with resourcefulness, initiative, curiosity, and originality, whose work in non-Western cultures or regions shows promise as a foundation for exceptional careers in major universities or international institutions.
Academy Scholars are appointed for 2 years by the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies and are provided time, guidance, and access to Harvard facilities. They receive substantial financial and research assistance to undertake sustained projects of research and/or acquire accessory training in their chosen fields and areas. The Senior Scholars, a distinguished group of senior Harvard faculty members, act as mentors to the Academy Scholars to help them achieve their intellectual potential.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 1 (annually).
ELIGIBILITY: The competition for these awards is open only to recent Ph.D. (or comparable professional school degree) recipients and doctoral candidates. Those still pursuing a Ph.D. should have completed their routine training and be well along in the writing of their theses before becoming Scholars; those in possession of a Ph.D. longer than 3 years are ineligible.
FUNDING: Post-doctoral Scholars will receive an annual stipend of $48,000, and pre-doctoral Scholars will receive an annual stipend of $28,000. This stipend is supplemented by funding for conference and research travel, research assistants, and health insurance coverage. Some teaching is permitted but not required.
Click here for further information.
DAAD Fellowships from The German Academic Exchange
The German Academic Exchange offers a range of study and research grants to undergraduates and graduate students for summer or school-year study in
 Berlin.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Varies.
Click here for further information.
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