Securing Funding For Your Dissertation Research

Overview

• Why?• When?• Where?• How?• What works?• ??

Why?

• Great exercise• Get Feedback• Fully consistent with the requirements of your

doctoral program• Financial Resources (release form work,

equipment, travel, assistance)• Prestige • Career booster

When?

• As soon as you have a concept or an idea for a study

Where? Sources of Funding

• More than a hundred of scholarships, fellowships, grants, awards http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/ber/webpages/Grad_Dissert_Seminar_2005.html

• My list• Google• Personal Contacts

My List

http://www.naeducation.org/Adolescent_Literacy_Pre-Doctoral_Fellowship.html#TopOfPage http://www.spencer.org/programs/fellows/dissertation.htm http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2001/nsf01113/nsf01113.htm http://www.hfg.org/df/guidelines.htm http://programs.ssrc.org/dpdf/ http://www.aauw.org/fga/fellowships_grants/american.cfm http://www.woodrow.org/newcombe/ http://www7.nationalacademies.org/fellowships/ http://www.rotary.org/foundation/grants/index.html

How?• Take initiative• Identify sources of funding (3-5 sources)• Print out and read calls for proposals– Funding priorities (literacy, science, character, etc)– Eligibility (US citizen, female, etc)– Deadlines– Follow ALL instructions (font, page limit, etc)

• Write your narrative• Contact program officer• Have your peers and professors review your work • Allow plenty of time for revisions, securing recommendation

letters, preparing budgets, getting MSU approvals, etc. (3-6 months)

What Works?• Strong core concept/idea• Excellent academic writing• Well thought-out research methodology• Your ideas are tailored to address the funding priorities of

the agency• Personal resume demonstrates potential (evidence of

awards, publications, etc.)• Attention to detail: what are submission requirements:

deadlines, page limit, approvals, etc)• Get feedback from as many people as possible, plus a

program officer!!! • Be persistent: if you get rejected, apply again

Final Thoughts

• Similar to a personal resume: you need to convince your grant-readers that you are the best

• Not applying is a sure way to never get funded!• Once you have ONE narrative, you can send it

around until you get funded.• The art of writing proposals:– http://fellowships.ssrc.org/art_of_writing_proposals/