Dr. Victor Lofgreen

University sites offer a wide variety of guides to writing grants and links to grant sources. You will want to build a list of links to relevant funding organizations: federal, state, and local agencies and private foundations.

I developed this list from a short Google search for “Dissertation Grants.” From the list of Web sites returned from this search, I chose the programs that seemed to be appropriate for students in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Your search results will be more focused because your search topic will be more specific.

You are looking for several things in your search. Your goal is to find an agency or foundation that will give you money to carry out your study. The best find is a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a study that matches your dissertation topic. When you find this document, you then request an application form or packet from the agency and begin the application.

The second-best find is a program description that tells you the agency funds research or action grants in the cognitive area of your dissertation. In this case, you will want to get on the mailing list to receive an RFP when the next funding cycle is announced.

The third-best find is a searchable directory of funding agencies and the areas where they provide support to research or action programs. Searching a directory like the Federal Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance will yield this kind of result.

Here are some Web links to help start your search:

• Walden University: Grants, Fellowships, and Funding Opportunities
• Federal Grants Wire
• HUD Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program
• National Science Foundation
• APA Dissertation Research Award Program
• The American Occupational Therapy Foundation
• Social Science Research Council
• Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad
• The Robert D. Hodgson Memorial Ph.D. Dissertation Fund
• Midwest Nursing Research Society
• The Spencer Foundation
• The Wenner-Gren Foundation
• Duke University, Office of Research Support
• The University of Texas at Austin, Office of Graduate Studies