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NSF 101: Graduate and postdoctoral researcher funding opportunities

The U.S. National Science Foundation supports research opportunities and provides stipends for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and scholars.

There are multiple ways to find these programs, including the funding search on NSF’s website and the NSF Education & Training Application , which is growing its list of opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

To help begin your search, opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are listed below. The principal investigator, or PI (a researcher who oversees a project), is often listed on these grants, along with their graduate students or postdoctoral researchers.

Graduate Student 

While funding for graduate students is often included in a PI’s research proposal, the following opportunities are also available for early career researchers. 

• Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Awards/Grants (DDRI/DDRIG) These programs help fund doctoral research in a variety of fields to help provide for items not already available at the academic institution. The funding provided cannot be used for items such as, but not limited to, tuition, stipends, textbooks or journals. The monetary amount listed in each DDRI/ DDRIG section does not include indirect cost associated with the project. The doctoral student should be listed as a co-PI on the grants with their advisor listed as the primary PI.

Archaeology Program- DDRIG : This program supports doctoral laboratory and field research on archaeologically relevant topics, with the goal of increasing anthropologically focused understanding of the past. Awards provide funding up to $25,000 per awardee.  

Arctic Science Section DDRIG : The Arctic Sciences Section offers opportunities for DDRI proposals in the following programs: Arctic Social Sciences supports research in any field of social science. Arctic System Science supports projects that address the relationships among physical, chemical, biological, geological, ecological, social, cultural and/or economic processes to advance our understanding of the Arctic system. Arctic Observing Network supports projects focused on scientific and community-based- observations; development of in situ or remote sensors and automated systems; design and optimization of coordinated and scalable observation networks; and management of Arctic Observation Network data, data accessibility and data discovery. Awards provide funding up to $40,000 for a maximum of 3 years. 

Biological Anthropology Program- DDRIG : This program supports research on human and non-human primate adaptation, variation and evolution. Awards provide funding up to $25,000 for up to two years.  

Cultural Anthropology Program- DDRIG : This program supports research that is focused on cultural anthropology research, including topics such as: Sociocultural drivers of anthropogenic processes (i.e., deforestation, urbanization); resilience and robustness of sociocultural systems; scientific principles underlying altruism, conflict, cooperation, and variations in culture and behaviors; economy, culture migration and globalization; kinship and family norms. Awards provide funding for up to $25,000 for up to two years.  

Decision, Risk and Management Science DDRIG : This program supports research on decision, risk and management sciences. This includes research in the areas of judgement and decision making; decision analysis and decision aids, risk analysis; perception and communication; societal and public-policy decision making; and management science and organizational design. Awards are for a maximum of 12 months. 

Economics DDRIG :This program provides funding for research focused on improving the understanding of the U.S. and global economy from macroscale to microscale, including all field of economics such as macroeconomics, microeconomics, econometrics, economic theory, behavioral economics and empirical economics.  

Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program- DDRI : This program supports basic scientific research about the nature, causes and/or consequences of the spatial distribution of human activity and/or environmental processes across a range of scales. The program welcomes proposals for empirically grounded, theoretically engaged, and methodologically sophisticated, generalizable research in all sub-fields of geographical and spatial sciences. Awards may not exceed $20,000 in direct costs. 

Linguistics Program- DDRI : This program supports research on human language, including syntax, linguistic semantics and pragmatics, morphology, phonetics, and phonology of individual languages or in general. Awards provide up to $12,000 for a maximum of two years. 

Dynamic Language Infrastructure- DDRI : This program supports research on building dynamic language infrastructure, which includes describing languages; digitizing and preserving languages; and developing standards and databases for analyzing languages. Provides funding up to $15,000 for up to two years. 

Graduate Research Fellowship Program This fellowship supports full-time master's or doctoral students earning their degree in a research-based program focused on STEM or STEM education. Students are the primary submitter for the fellowship. Fellows will be awarded a $37,000 stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance for three years of the five-year fellowship. For tips on applying, see our previous NSF 101 article on the fellowship program . 

Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students (INTERN) Supplemental Funding Opportunity   This supplemental funding opportunity is for graduate students funded by active NSF grants. PIs may submit for up to an additional six months of funding to allow students to participate in research internship activities and training opportunities in non-academic settings, such as the following: for-profit industry research; start-up businesses; government agencies and national laboratories; museums, science centers, and other informal learning settings; policy think tanks; and non-profit institutions. Students must have completed at least one academic year of their program. This funding request may not exceed $55,000 per student for each six-month period. A student may only receive this opportunity twice. In addition to the general INTERN opportunity, there are two topic-specific INTERN opportunities: 

Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students in Geothermal Energy Supplemental Funding Opportunity : This opportunity is provided by NSF in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. It maintains the same funding levels and requirements as the general INTERN program; however, funding may only be used for gaining knowledge, skills, training and experience in geothermal energy and technology.  

• Research Internships for Graduate Students at Air Force Research Laboratory Supplemental Funding Opportunity : This funding opportunity is for students supported on an active NSF grant to intern at a Air Force Research Laboratory facility. AFRL has several potential technology directorates available for students at locations across the U.S.: Aerospace Systems (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio), Information (Rome, New York), Materials and Manufacturing (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio), Directed Energy (Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico), Munitions (Eglin Air Force Base, Florida), Sensors (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio), Space Vehicles (Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico), 711th Human Performance Wing Training (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio). 

Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship This summer internship is for doctoral students in mathematical sciences through a partnership between NSF and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and E ducation. It provides students who are interested in academic and non-academic careers with the opportunity to learn how advanced mathematics and statistical techniques can be applied to real-world problems. Participants in the internship will receive a stipend of $1,200 per week during the 10-week internship. In addition, there is travel reimbursement for up to $2,000 for those who live more than 50 miles away from their hosting site. 

NSF Research Traineeship Program Graduate students can apply for this traineeship through their institutions, if available. These topics can range across the scientific spectrum. Current projects can be found by state . 

Research Experiences for Graduate Students Supplemental Funding These awards provide additional funding for graduate students with mentors who have an active NSF grant. Currently funding is available through the following programs:  

Cultural Anthropology provides up to $6,000 per student for research activities. 

Human Environment and Geographical Sciences at Minority Serving Institutions and Community Colleges provides up to $7,000 per student for research activities. 

Postdoctoral Scholars 

Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship This fellowship supports research investigating a field within astronomy or astrophysics for up to three years. The stipend is $75,000, with a fellowship allowance (i.e., expenses for conducting and publishing research, fringe benefits) of $35,000. 

Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship This fellowship supports postdoctoral fellows in atmospheric or geospace sciences. Atmospheric science includes topics such as atmospheric chemistry; climate and large-scale dynamics; paleoclimate climate; and physical and dynamic meteorology. Geospace science focuses on aeronomy, magnetospheric physics and solar terrestrial research. This fellowship provides up to 24 months of support. The stipend is $70,000 per year, with a fellowship allowance of $30,000.  

Earth Science Postdoctoral Fellowship This program supports the study of structure, composition and evolution, the life it supports and the processes that govern the formation and behavior of Earth’s materials. Researchers are supported for up to two years at the institution of their choice, including institutions abroad. The stipend is $65,000 per year, with a fellowship allowance of $25,000 per year.  

Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

This program supports postdoctoral fellows performing impactful research while broadening the participation of members of groups that are historically excluded and currently underrepresented in mathematical and physical sciences. This fellowship can last between one and three years. The stipend is up to $70,000 per year, with a fellowship allowance of $30,000 per year. 

Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships This fellowship has two options:  

• The Research Fellowship provides full-time support for any 18 months within a three-year academic period.  
• The Research Instructorship provides a combination of full-time and half-time support over a period of three academic years, which allows the fellow to gain teaching experience. Both options receive up to $190,000 over the fellowship period. The full-time stipend is $5,833 per month and the part-time stipend is $2,917 per month. In addition, the fellow will receive $50,000 in two lump sums ($30,000 in the first year and $20,000 in the second year) for fellowship expenses.  

Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships This fellowship supports research in topic areas such as: biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, physical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, ocean science and technology. This two-year fellowship with a stipend of $67,800 for the first year and $70,000 for the second year, with a fellowship allowance of $15,000 per year.  

Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Research Fellowships This fellowship supports postdoctoral research in any field of Arctic or Antarctic science. This two-years fellowship, with a stipend of $67,800 for the first year and $70,000 for the second year, with fellowship expenses of $15,000 per year.  

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology The Directorate of Biology offers a fellowship for postdoctoral researchers in one of three areas: 

• Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. This area requires a research and training plan that is within the scope of the Directorate for Biology and that enhances diversity within the field.  
• Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interaction between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. This area aims to understand higher-order structures and functions of biological systems. Research should use a combination of computational, observational, experimental or conceptual approaches. 
• Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. This area has a broad scope and supports postdoctoral training and research at the frontier of plant biology and of broad societal impact. Highly competitive proposals will describe interdisciplinary training and research on a genome wide scale. The fellowships are for 36 months and have a stipend of $60,000 per year, with a research and training allowance of $20,000 per year. 

SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships This fellowship supports postdoctoral research in the social, behavioral and economic sciences and/or activities that broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in these fields. Funding is up to two years and has two tracks available:  

• Fundamental Research in the SBE Sciences. This track supports research focused on human behavior, interaction, social and economic systems. 
• Broadening Participation in SBE Sciences. This track aims to increase the diversity of post-doctoral researchers in the social, behavioral and economic sciences. In addition to the research proposal, these applications should also answer the question: “How will this fellowship help broaden or inform efforts to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in the United States?” The stipend for this program is $65,000 per year (paid in quarterly installments) and the research and training allowance is $15,000 per year. 

SBIR Innovative Postdoctoral Entrepreneurial Research Fellowship This fellowship supports postdoctoral researchers at start-up companies through the Small Business Innovation Research program. By recruiting, training, mentoring, matching and funding these early-career scientists, this fellowship addresses the need of doctoral-level expertise at small, high-tech businesses. The base stipend is $78,000 per year with optional individual health and life insurance, relocation assistance (company dependent), professional conference travel allowance, and professional development funds.  

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Individual Postdoctoral Research Fellowship This fellowship is for postdoctoral researchers to enhance their research knowledge, skills, and practices of STEM education research. If the fellowship is granted, the fellow is expected to remain affiliated with the host organization and PI sponsoring them. The fellowship can last up to two years with an annual stipend of $70,000, with fellowship expenses of $15,000.  

Multilevel 

CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service This program is for students earning their associates, bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree in cybersecurity. A stipulation of the program is that the recipients must work after graduation in a cybersecurity mission of the federal, state, local or tribal government for an equal amount of time as the scholarship's duration. It will provide full tuition and fees plus a stipend of $27,000 per academic year for undergraduates and a stipend of $37,000 per academic year for graduate students, in addition to a professional allowance of $6,000 for all levels. 

NSF-NIST Interaction in Basic and Applied Scientific Research This supplemental funding request is for NSF-supported researchers to collaborate with researchers at a National Institute of Standards and Technology facility. It can be used for travel expenses and per diem associated with on-site work at NIST. It is available for NSF-supported PIs, co-PIs, postdoctoral scholars, graduate and undergraduate students and other personnel associated with the research. PIs should contact their NSF program director for their award before applying. 

This extensive list shows the ways in which NSF helps train the next generation of STEM researchers. If you are interested in learning more about any of these programs, reach out to contacts listed on the award webpages.  

If you are interested in awards for high school students, undergraduates and post-baccalaureate scholars, check out our previous NSF101 for more information! 

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External Funding for Ph.D. Students

External fellowships and grants are awarded by an organization or agency outside of Georgetown University. If you are looking for information about scholarships and fellowships offered by Georgetown University, please visit Merit-Based Financial Aid .

When to Apply

Many external fellowship competitions have deadlines six to twelve months before funds are awarded, so plan ahead and be proactive! Students should have a good grasp on their funding needs for the different stages of doctoral study, particularly as pertains to research or fieldwork support and writing grants. If you are an applicant to Georgetown University, please review our advice to applicants searching for external funding . 

Sample Humanities or Social Sciences Timeline

Sample sciences timeline, featured funding opportunities.

Most external fellowships are open to graduate students at universities nationwide, but some funding organizations restrict eligibility to specific partner universities. Georgetown University is a participating institution for the following funding opportunities for doctoral students.

Finding External Funding Opportunities

There is not one master database of all available external fellowships, so students should explore many avenues when searching for funding. Students should review the links below and also consult with faculty and classmates for advice about awards specific to their field of study. Each fellowship will have its own eligibility requirements and selection criteria, so students are encouraged to review the resources below to identify possible options to discuss before scheduling an appointment with the Office of Graduate Fellowships & Awards.

Fellowship Advising

The Office of Graduate Fellowships & Awards is available to support current Georgetown University graduate students on the Main and Medical campuses. The Office is able to work with graduate students enrolled at the Law Center or School of Continuing Studies for select funding opportunities . Unfortunately, assistance is not available to individuals currently applying to Georgetown graduate programs.

We are also available to provide individual feedback on essay or proposal drafts for external fellowships.  Before submitting a draft, students should have it reviewed by their advisor or another faculty member.

• Undergraduate Student Education Research Training
• Minority Dissertation Fellowship Program
• AERA Fellowship Program on the Study of Deeper Learning
• Funded Dissertation Grants
• Funded Research Grants
• Professional Development Courses
• External Fellowship and Funding Opportunities
• AERA Online Job Board
• Virtual Research Learning Center
• Voices from the Field

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Call for Dissertation Grant Proposals AERA Grants Program Seeks Proposals for Dissertation Grants

Deadline: May 30, 2024

With support from the National Science Foundation, the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Grants Program seeks proposals for Dissertation Grants. The AERA Grants Program provides advanced graduate students with research funding and professional development and training. The program supports highly competitive dissertation research using rigorous quantitative methods to examine large-scale, education-related data. The aim of the program is to advance fundamental knowledge of relevance to STEM education policy, foster significant science using education data, promote equity in STEM, and build research capacity in education and learning. Since 1991, this AERA Program has been vital to both research and training at early career stages.   

The Grants Program encourages the use of major data sets from multiple and diverse sources. It emphasizes the advanced statistical analysis of data sets from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other federal agencies. The program also supports studies using large-scale international data systems (e.g., PISA, PIRLS, or TIMMS) that benefit from U.S. federal government support. In addition, statewide longitudinal administrative data systems (SLDS) enhanced through federal grants are also eligible for consideration. The inclusion of federal or state administrative information that further expands the analytic capacity of the research is permissible. The thrust of the analysis needs to be generalizable to a national, state, or population or a subgroup within the sample that the dataset represents.

The Grants Program is open to field-initiated research and welcomes proposals that:

• develop or benefit from advanced statistical or innovative quantitative methods or measures;
• analyze more than one large-scale national or international federally funded data set, or more than one statewide longitudinal data system (SLDS) or incorporate other data enhancements;
• integrate, link, or blend multiple large-scale data sources; or
• undertake replication research of major findings or major studies using large-scale, federally supported or enhanced data.

The Grants Program encourages proposals across the life span and contexts of education and learning of relevance to STEM policy and practice. The research may focus on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to such issues as student achievement in STEM, analysis of STEM education policies, contextual factors in education, educational participation and persistence (pre-kindergarten through graduate school), early childhood education and development, postsecondary education, and the STEM workforce and transitions. Studies that examine issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion across STEM topics and/or for specific racial and ethnic groups, social classes, genders, or persons with disabilities are encouraged.

Applicant Eligibility Dissertation Grants are available for advanced doctoral students and are intended to support the student while analyzing data and writing the doctoral dissertation. Proposals are encouraged from the full range of education research fields and other fields and disciplines engaged in education-related research, including economics, political science, psychology, sociology, demography, statistics, public policy, and psychometrics. Applicants for this one-year, non-renewable award should be advanced doctoral students at the dissertation writing stage, usually the last year of study. Applicants may be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents enrolled in a doctoral program. Non­U.S. citizens enrolled in a doctoral program at an U.S. institution are also eligible to apply. Underrepresented racial and ethnic minority researchers as well as women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

Data Set Eligibility The dissertation research project must include the analysis of large-scale data. The data set can originate from one or multiple sources, including (1) federal data bases, (2) federally supported national studies, (3) international data sets supported by federal funds, or (4) statewide longitudinal administrative data systems (SLDS) enhanced through federal grants. Although the emphasis is on large-scale education data sets and systems, other social science and health-related databases that can advance knowledge about education and learning are eligible for consideration.

Many national data resources, including important longitudinal data sets, have been developed or funded by NCES, NSF, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Institutes of Health, or other federal agencies. International datasets such as PISA, PIAAC, TIMMS, and others are supported. If international data sets are used, the study must include U.S. education.

NCES has enhanced and improved SLDS through grants to nearly every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and America Samoa. This federal investment has produced state-level data from pre-K to grade 12, through higher education, and into the workforce. Many SLDS are available for analysis and can be used to address salient issues in education research or linked with other data sets.

Data Set Access The data set(s) of interest must be available for analysis at the time of application. Use of public or restricted-data files is permissible. Prior to receiving funding, students must provide documentation that they have permission to use the data for the research project. In many cases, graduate students will gain access to restricted files through a faculty member or senior scholar.

Data Sharing All data or data-related products produced under the AERA Grants Program must be shared and made available consonant with ethical standards for the conduct of research. Grantees are expected to place article-related data, [1] codebook or coding procedures, algorithms, code, and so forth in an accessible archive at the time of publication. Also, at a reasonable time after completion of the dissertation research, all data or data-related products must be archived at the AERA-ICPSR Data Sharing Repository supported by NSF and located at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan. AERA provides guidance to facilitate the data sharing and archiving process.

Dissertation Grant Award

Award Component 1, $27,500 Stipend . AERA will award each grantee up to a $27,500 stipend to study education, teaching, learning, or other education research topics using one or multiple large-scale databases. The funds can be used for research-related expenses such as tuition, living expenses, travel to secure data enclaves or scholarly conferences, books, computer equipment, and other expenses directly related to conducting this research. As part of the proposal, applicants provide a budget that outlines anticipated research-related expenses. AERA encourages cost sharing from universities in the form of tuition assistance, office space, university fees, and other expenses. In accordance with AERA's agreement with NSF, institutions cannot charge overhead or indirect costs to administer the grant funds. In addition to the funding, grantees will be paired with a Governing Board member who will serve as a resource and provide advice and feedback to grantees and monitor grantees’ progress.

Award Component 2, AERA Research Conference. Grantees will participate in an AERA research conference held in Washington, DC. During this 2-day conference grantees will participate in seminar-type sessions on substantive, methodological, and professional issues. Also, they will have the opportunity to network and interact with the Grants Program Governing Board, senior scholars and researchers, other graduate students who use large-scale datasets in their research, and representatives from key federal agencies such as the National Center for Educational Statistics, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education. The award will cover all travel and lodging expenses for grantees to participate in the conference.

Award Component 3, AERA Annual Meeting Capstone Research Institute. Each spring AERA holds its Annual Meeting which brings together over 15,000 researchers, scholars, and policy leaders to present their research, share knowledge, and build research capacity through over 2,000 substantive sessions. Grantees will take a data analysis or appropriate methods course while attending the AERA Annual Meeting. The grantees will present their research in an invited poster session along with other graduate students who received dissertation support from AERA and other prestigious fellowship programs. Finally, grantees will participate in a Capstone conference directly after the Annual Meeting that will address issues such as building a research agenda, searching for a faculty appointment, and publishing research. Grantees must include travel and lodging expenses to the Annual Meeting in their budget.

Informational Webinar Applicants are encouraged to watch the informational webinar to learn more about the AERA Grants Program and discuss the application process..

Project Dates AERA is flexible on research project start dates, depending on what is best for the applicant. The earliest date a grant may start is approximately three months following the application deadline. Alternatively, an award start date several months or more after that may be requested.

Funding Restrictions Dissertation Grantees may not accept concurrent grant or fellowship awards from another agency, foundation, institution or the like for the same dissertation project that is funded by the AERA Grants Program. If the awardee is offered more than one major grant or fellowship for the same project for the same time period, in order to accept the AERA Grants Program Dissertation Grant, the other award(s) must be declined. Awardees may accept Research Assistant or Teaching Assistant appointments at their doctoral institutions and may have additional employment.

If the applicant is employed by a contractor of NCES, NSF, other federal agency, state agency, or other entity that provides the dataset proposed for the project, the dissertation research must not be considered part of the applicant's work responsibilities. An additional letter from the applicant's employer is required as part of the application submission, stating that the dissertation project is separate from the applicant's job duties. This letter must be sent electronically by the deadline to [email protected] .

Evaluation Criteria Evaluation criteria include the significance of the research question, the conceptual clarity and potential contribution of the proposal, the relevance to an important STEM education policy issue, the strength of the methodological model and proposed statistical analysis, and the applicant’s relevant research and academic experience. Additionally, the review criteria include the following: What is already known on the issue? How might this project inform STEM education policy? How does the methodology relate specifically to the research question? Does the applicant know the data set? Does the analytic plan fit the question and the data? How does this project promote equity in STEM education and learning? Is the applicant qualified to carry out the proposed study? Reviewers will be members of the AERA Grants Program Governing Board. Due to the large volume of applications received, the AERA Grants Program is unable to provide individual feedback on unfunded proposals.

Reporting Requirements Dissertation Grantees will be required to submit a brief (3-6 pages) progress report midway through the grant period. A final report will be submitted at the end of the grant period. The final report consists of an extended dissertation abstract (3-6 pages), a statement of research dissemination and communication activities and plans (1-3 pages), and the complete approved dissertation. It should be submitted electronically to [email protected] . All reporting requirements and deadlines are outlined in the award letter.

Funding Disbursement Funding will be linked to the approval of the progress report and final report. Grantees will receive one-half of the total award at the beginning of the grant period, one-quarter upon approval of the progress report, and one-quarter upon approval of the final report. Grants are awarded through the grantee’s institution. In accordance with AERA's agreement with NSF, institutions cannot charge overhead or indirect costs to administer the grant funds.

Considerations in the Development of the Proposal Applicants are strongly encouraged to read Estimating Causal Effects: Using Experimental and Observational Designs , by Barbara Schneider, Martin Carnoy, Jeremy Kilpatrick, William H. Schmidt, and Richard J. Shavelson prior to submitting a dissertation grant proposal. Selection bias is a recurring issue during the review process and should be addressed in the proposal.

Applicants should choose research topics that can be supported by the samples and variables contained in the proposed data set(s). Applicants should also be familiar with the User Guides and/or Manuals (e.g., use of design weights and design effects) of the specific data sets. Applicants should be familiar with statistical methods and available computer programs that allow for sophisticated analyses of the selected data.

Applicants should explicitly address the curricular content when it applies. Applicants are encouraged to capitalize on the capacity of large-scale data sets to examine diverse populations, including racial, ethnic, social class, and gender groups. Studies are encouraged that promote or inform diversity, equity, and inclusion for underrepresented population as well as across STEM topics. The proposed topic must have education policy relevance, and the models to be tested must include predictor variables that are manipulable (e.g., course work in mathematics, instructional practices used by teachers, parental involvement). Studies focusing on STEM education policy are strongly encouraged. Studies that model achievement test data should clearly define the achievement construct and identify the kinds of items to be used to operationalize the topic of interest. Also, when planning to use existing sub-scales, the applicant should describe why these sub-scales are appropriate and how they will be applied. Existing sub-scales provided by NCES or other agencies may not be appropriate for the proposed construct.

Dissertation Grant Application Guidelines AERA Grants Program

Application Deadline All applications for the AERA Grants Program must be completed using the AERA online application portal by 11:59pm Pacific time on November 20, 2023 . An applicant may submit only one proposal to the AERA Grants Program for review at any one time. Due to the large volume of applications received, the AERA Program is unable to provide individual feedback on unfunded proposals.

Submission Information Please enter the background information requested in the proposal submission portal. This includes the applicant’s contact and background demographic information. Also, enter the proposal title, amount of funding requested, and the start and end dates of the project.

Dataset(s) used: Name data set(s) used (e.g., ECLS­K, ELS:2002, IPEDS, CCD, AddHealth, SLDS-State, PISA, and so forth). Proposals must include the analysis of at least one large-scale federal, international, or state administrative data system.

Dissertation abstract Enter the abstract of your proposed research project (250 words maximum).

Contribution to the field Briefly describe the potential contributions this research will make to the field of education (250 words maximum). You may cut and paste or type into the text box.

• Statement of how this research advances the current state of knowledge in the field, substantively and/or methodologically
• Theoretical or conceptual framework for the research
• Brief review of relevant research/policy literature
• Research questions, hypotheses to be tested
• Description of methodology including the data set(s) and justification for selecting data file to address research question; any additional or supplemental data sample (e.g., groups used, exclusions to sample, and estimated sample sizes); rationale for variables used; and specification and clarification of variables and analytic techniques
• Data analysis plan and/or statistical model or formulas, appropriately defined
• Brief dissemination plan for this research including proposed conferences to present the findings and potential scholarly journals to publish the research  
• Variables list: A categorized list of the variables from the NCES, NSF, or other data set(s) that will be used in this research project. (2 single-spaced pages maximum)  
• References cited (not part of page limit)  
• Budget . Awards for Dissertation Grants are up to $27,500 for 1­year projects. The budget must include funds to attend the AERA Annual Meeting. The funds can be used for research-related expenses such as tuition, living expenses, travel to secure data enclaves or scholarly conferences, books, computer equipment, and other expenses directly related to conducting this research. AERA encourages cost sharing from universities in the form of tuition assistance, office space, university fees, and other expenses. In accordance with AERA's agreement with NSF, institutions cannot charge overhead or indirect costs to administer the grant funds. There is no specific template for the budget. It may be a simple 2­column format or a more complex spreadsheet. (no page limit)  
• Research and academic employment history
• Relevant graduate courses in statistics and methodology
• Relevant publications and presentations
• Relevant professional affiliations and/or memberships

Please combine items 1-5 as one PDF document and upload on online application.

Letter(s) of support: The letter(s) must be sent separately, by the faculty member. One substantive letter of support is required from the applicant's primary faculty dissertation advisor that includes an indication of the applicant's current progress toward the degree and expected date of completion, and of the student's potential for success in his or her anticipated career path.

If the applicant is from a discipline other than education, a second letter of support from a faculty advisor who has an education research background is also required if the primary faculty advisory does not specialize in education research. Although this second letter should focus mainly on the applicant's qualifications, research experience, and potential, it should also include a brief paragraph on the advisor's own education research experience.

Further Questions Contact George L. Wimberly, Co-Principal Investigator, AERA Grants Program ( [email protected]) or 202-238-3200 if you have questions regarding the application or submission process. NOTE: All awards are contingent upon AERA's receiving continued federal funding.

Visit the AERA Grants Program Website at http://www.aera.net/grantsprogram .

[1] Awardees with access to data under restricted access provisions are expected to archive a detailed specification of the data set so that others can request the same data under the same or similar restricted conditions. 

Funding database

Phd and early career  research  funding  .

While some PhD programmes offer a stipend that covers your tuition and living expenses, other programmes require you to attain funding yourself. If you are doing an independent research project, you might also need funding to support yourself.

 If you need funding for your PhD, we recommend starting by reading this simple introduction to PhD funding and advice on how to apply for funding . You might also find it useful to review these country guides .

Database of PhD funding opportunities

Once you have a better sense of how PhD funding works in general, our database of specific funding opportunities can help you find funding for your project. This database is different from others in that it only features funding opportunities that are relevant for some of our recommended research directions .

The database includes funded PhD programmes, university grants and scholarships, and sources of funding from other organisations such as non-profits and philanthropic foundations. By default it only shows funding opportunities that are currently open. You can see closed opportunities by editing the filtering criteria.

If you know of other funding opportunities that are relevant to some of our prioritised research directions, please message [email protected] . Sophie will also be very happy to hear from you on how useful the database was to you and whether it helped you find funding that you may not have found otherwise. We are a non-profit project, so these testimonials of impact are very important for us.

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Funding Options for PhD Students

Pursuing a PhD is a significant commitment of your finances and time. From tuition, living expenses, books, travel, research, and other costs, doctoral programs can cost over $100,000. Determining how to pay for this investment in your education and future career can feel like a full-time job all on its own.  The good news is that PhD candidates have several funding options beyond taking out daunting student loans. 

Whether you’re currently applying to PhD programs or you’re already admitted, this blog will teach you how to reduce the financial burden of a doctoral program through scholarships, assistantships, employer assistance, and more. With the right planning, funding your PhD without breaking the bank is possible. 

How Do I Fund My PhD? 

There are more ways than ever to fund a PhD program . Below, we’ve broken down some of the best ways to pay for your graduate education. 

Look for Fully-Funded PhD Programs 

In a fully-funded PhD program , students typically join the department as faculty members. This means working for the university in some capacity, like through teaching assistantships and research assistantships. In these positions, PhD students get paid to teach courses, TA for professors, and help students in their own academic journeys. Research assistantships allow PhD students more time to focus on the research for their dissertation and provide research to their institution.  Fellowships are also a popular option for PhD students. These programs can be paired with assistantships or other funding opportunities, and they help you focus on your research. 

Apply for Scholarships and Grants 

Both scholarships and grants are helpful ways to cover your tuition costs and other expenses like travel and rent. Most schools have special scholarships for graduate students, so research what opportunities they provide for students to make the most of their PhD experiences. 

Don’t Forget the Small Scholarships 

If you only focus on the more prominent and national fellowships, you’ll miss out on smaller scholarships and niche funding options . Scholarships exist for countless circumstances and unique research paths, so make sure you know all the options available and apply to more than one scholarship. 

Choose a Graduate Program With More Than One Fellowship and Grant 

Sometimes, the competition for funding can get intense, especially if there are only a few options for PhD students at your institution. When you’re considering PhD programs, take some time to research each school’s fellowships, grants and scholarships to find a school that has plenty of options for their programs. Doing this research ahead of time will help you stress less in the application process. 

Ask Your Employer to Help 

Depending on your field of interest, your employer may be willing to help cover some of your expenses if you prove that a PhD will help you excel in your position and field. Even if they can’t help you cover the total cost of tuition, your employer can help you manage your workload as you start PhD classes, and they might be able to connect you with relevant industry partners and internships. 

Don’t Rely On Just One Funding Source 

As you apply for PhD funding, you should ensure you can receive funding from multiple sources. Take funding preparation seriously and have an action plan in case one of your supporters falls through. Not only will it set you up for success in your program, but it might take worrying about your funding off your plate. 

SMU: Fully-Funding PhD Students Every Semester

At SMU, we understand the importance of getting a graduate education and how crucial proper funding is. That’s why we offer various funding options for our graduate students, including scholarships, assistantships, grants, and more.

To learn more about what funding opportunities are available for SMU students, check out our guide to getting your doctoral degree . You can also request more information .  Ready to make SMU part of your PhD experience? Apply now to secure your spot! 

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Funding Your Research

Internal funding, our phd program provides students with a fund, in addition to the ceu doctoral scholarship, that they can use to travel to conferences or do research abroad..

For students enrolled in 2022 and earlier, CEU and the  Academic Cooperation and Research Support Office provide grants, awards and other opportunities during the academic year for enrolled PhD students to fund their research. The following are internal funding sources available to them, scroll down to see internal funding opportunities available to all of our PhD students as well as  external funding opportunities.

The Doctoral Research Support Grant Program (DRSG)

Is designed to help students enrolled in CEU doctoral programs wishing to spend time researching or studying at another recognized university, institute, or research center. Deadline is twice per academic year.

For eligibility, deadlines and application form, click here:  Doctoral Research Support Grant. 

The Winter School Grant

Offered once a year for students who wish to attend a Winter School whose courses are necessary for their research and are not offered at a CEU Department. This is a competitive grant.

To read more about eligibility, deadline and requirements, click here:  Winter School Grant .

The Summer School Grant

Offered once a year to doctoral students who have passed their comprehensive exam. The Summer School should be of demonstrably high academic quality and fit the research topic of the attending student. This is a competitive grant.

To read more about eligibility, deadline and requirements, click here:  Summer School Grant .

The Research and Travel Grants

During the academic year there are several deadlines for grants to cover conference travel expenses, field and archival research, and short term research.

To read more about these grants, review the Student Travel and Research Grant Policy and access the application forms, click here:  Research and Travel Grants .

Write-up Grant

The write-up grant is designed to help doctoral students to complete their thesis when they have exhausted their normal 36 months of scholarship and they intend to complete the thesis during the write-up grant period. The grants are not automatic, and they are awarded on the basis of need and merit. The duration of the grant is maximum six months. The amount of the grant equals the regular PhD stipend.

To read the write-up grant policy, click here:  Guidelines on Write-up Grant Applications | Official Documents (ceu.edu)  (requires CEU login).

Available to all enrolled CEU students

The following are available to all enrolled students in our program, no matter their enrollment date.

The  Erasmus+ Mobility Program

Students may participate in the Erasmus+ Mobility Program for studying or being trained abroad several times, totalling up to 12 months maximum per each cycle of study (master/doctoral).

The Student Awards

Each academic year, there are three awards that doctoral students are eligible for, depending on the stage of their studies: the Academic Achievement Award for First-Year Doctoral Students, the Award for Advanced Doctoral Students, and the Best Dissertation Awards.

For eligibility and deadlines, click here:  Student Awards .

The  Presidential Awards for PhD Students

Established by CEU Rector Michael Ignatieff and his wife Zsuzsanna Zsohar, these awards are intended to recognize the achievements of exceptional doctoral students enrolled in the second year of a PhD program.

For eligibility and deadlines, click here:  Presidential Scholar Awards .

The Global Teaching Fellowship

CEU works with partner universities around the world to provide teaching experience via fellowships.

For more infomation on the fellowship, the list of partner universities, eligibility and deadlines, click here:  The CEU Global Teaching Fellowship Program .

CEU Postdoctoral Fellowships

CEU and the Institute for Human Sciences ( Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, IWM ) in Vienna supports recent CEU doctoral graduates who have received a doctoral degree from CEU not earlier than three years prior to application, who wish to conduct research as Postdoctoral Fellows at the IWM.

2021 was the first year when this joint fellowship was offered. For eligibility, application information and next call's deadline, please review ACRO's website:  CEU-IWM Postdoctoral Fellowship | Academic Cooperation and Research Support Office .

Open Access Publishing Agreements

The CEU Library supports open access through journal license agreements with publishers that include both reading access and waivers of article processing charges (APCs). 

To see which agreements are available and the process to publish open access, click here:  Open Access Publishing for CEU Authors .

External funding

Grants, fellowships and awards are available for phd students from a number of outside agencies, including state and non-state sources. below are some that may be relevant for dsps students., apsa awards and travel grants for the american political science association annual meeting.

The American Political Science Association is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 13,000 members in more than 80 countries. With a range of programs and services for individuals, departments, and institutions, APSA brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions, and occupational endeavors within and outside academe to deepen our understanding of politics, democracy, and citizenship throughout the world.

APSA awards recognize the work of scholars who make outstanding contributions to political science research -  APSA Awards Travel grants are designed to provide funding for attendance at the Annual Meeting -  APSA Travel Grants .

See eligibility and deadlines on their website.

Austrian Political Science Association

The Austrian Political Science Association (ÖGPW) supports funding requests from its members for travel costs, publishing subsidies. Every year they give the ÖGPW Young Talent Award to an outstanding dissertation in political science.

CRDF Global  

CRDF Global funds projects with the goal of advancing civilian-oriented science and entrepreneurship around the globe.

DAAD Scholarship Database

Here you can find information on various kinds of DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) funding for foreign students, graduates and postdocs, for research or study in Germany.

ECPR Funding Opportunities

The European Consortium for Political Research provides a range of funding streams to scholars to support both their individual careers and the wider development of the discipline. Each year they provide grants to help PhD Students and early career scholars from full ECPR member institutions participate in their events.

EURAXESS offers you a wealth of information on and links to funding opportunities at European and national level.

European Data Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (EUROLAB) at GESIS - Research Grants  

Individual researchers from outside Germany who want to work on  data available at GESIS  may apply for support to access EUROLAB for a period of one month. The call for applications for a EUROLAB Grant is published once per year (in September).

Georg Eckert Institute Fellowships at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media

These fellowships support research motivated by the desire to promote understanding among nations through education, international education and didactics research on the methods, content and objectives of teaching, and international textbook research. The call is published in June and applications need to be submitted by September 15.

German Historical Institute Fellowships

The institute awards a number of fellowships each year to serve several different purposes and provide opportunities for different types of scholars to pursue research projects that draw upon primary sources principally located in North America.

Harry Frank Guggenheim Emerging Scholar Awards

Recognize promising graduate-student researchers in their final year of writing a doctoral dissertation examining a salient aspect of violence. 

Application opens in November, but consult the official website for updated information.

Herder Fellowship   at the The Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe 

This fellowship is addressed to PhD students and postdocs. It allows a short-term, intensive research stay in the collections. The fellows will have the opportunity to present their projects within the framework of the meetings of the Herder Institute Research Academy. 

Historical Archives of the European Union  

The International Visegrad Fund (IVF) and the European University Institute (EUI) are jointly launching a new grant programme for scholars from Central and Eastern Europe interested in European integration to conduct research at the Historical Archives of the European Union (EUI). They have two deadlines per year.

Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy

Small grants to support emerging scholars, from any country and any university in the world. ​Designed to promote scholarship with a social policy application; and to encourage projects that address contemporary issues in the social sciences. Awarded once a year, with deadline in December.

International Studies Association

The ISA travel grants program has been created to provide junior scholars, senior graduate students and scholars from low-income countries some assistance to enable them to attend conferences that would otherwise be out of reach for all but the better paid, senior faculty. Only ISA members may qualify for an ISA Annual Convention travel grant. See the website for deadlines.

John Templeton Foundation Grants

The Foundation offers grants in support of research and public engagement in our major Funding Areas. We invest in bold ideas from contrarian thinkers — ideas that cross disciplinary boundaries and challenge conventional assumptions. And we fund innovative programs that engage the public with these ideas, in an effort to open minds, deepen understanding, and inspire curiosity.

"Junior Fellowship" Program of the Momentum Institute

The Momentum Institute Scholarship is primarily aimed at students of economics and related social science disciplines in their master's or doctoral studies.

Knowledge Management Fund

An annual fund that awards grants for 9-month projects for events, research ideas and other initiatives that contribute to improving the quality of knowledge generated by the Security & Rule of Law field, and its subsequent uptake. 

Laura Bassi Scholarship

This scholarship from Editing Press offers editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed, within their disciplines. The scholarships are open to every discipline and are awarded three times per year: December, April, and August. 

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are the European Union’s reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training. They contribute to excellent research, boosting jobs, growth and investment by equipping researchers with new knowledge and skills, and foster research cooperation across borders, sectors and disciplines.

Mladena and Dianko Sotirov Visiting Fellowship - LSE IDEAS

Sotirov Fellows study Bulgaria and the Balkan region, working to understand its recent history, international affairs, the challenges it faces today and the prospects of tomorrow. Call closes in April, the fellowship covers a one to two-month research stay in London any time between June and September.  

Open Society Foundations - Civil Society Scholar Award

Supports doctoral students and university faculty to undertake academic projects that will enrich socially-engaged research and critical scholarship in their home country or region. It is awarded once a year.

*Candidates must be citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Haiti, Kosovo, Laos, Libya, North Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, Palestine, Rwanda, Serbia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. 

Russell Sage Foundation, Small Grants

RSF offers small grants to doctoral students at the dissertation stage and recent Ph.D. recipients to support innovative, high-quality research and to encourage young investigators to enter these developing interdisciplinary fields.

Projects must contribute to RSF's mission to improve social and living conditions in the United States. Appropriate projects must demonstrate use of relevant theory, data, methods and measures in the research design. In all cases, proposed projects must address research issues that are relevant to the Foundation’s other core programs in Social, Political, and Economic Inequality; Future of Work; or Race, Ethnicity and Immigration.

Social Science Research Council - Data Dissertation Fellowship

Is open to PhD students who are actively enrolled in a PhD program, who may apply for awards in support of dissertation research. Applicants to the program should have completed all PhD coursework by the beginning of the fellowship term. In particular, we are interested in supporting research that makes creative use of available social data to investigate how social media interact with democracy and elections. Calls open in April.

The Charles Koch Foundation

Believes that society’s challenges are best addressed by social entrepreneurs — faculty, students, administrators, and nonprofit leaders — who have first-hand knowledge of a problem, a vision for solving it, and a passion for working with others to drive lasting change. View their website to see the topics of proposals they are looking for (education, foreign policy, health care) and deadlines.

The Institute for Humane Studies

The IHS offers funding opportunities forPhD students at any university. The Humane Studies Fellowship call opens three times a year, and the Hayek Fund for Scholars accepts applications on a rolling basis.

UACES Scholarships

The University Association for Contemporary European Studies awards scholarships for postgraduate students to undertake research in another country.

Woodrow Wilson Center - Fellowships  

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars welcomes outstanding and award winning scholars, practitioners, journalists and public intellectuals to take part in its non-partisan dialogue. Each year, the Center hosts around 160 scholars who conduct independent research on national and/or international issues addressing key public policy challenges. Through its scholars, the Center enriches crucial policy debates and provides a platform for scholars in the tradition of President Wilson to bring the worlds of policy and ideas together. In addition to its flagship international Fellowship program, the Center also hosts scholars selected through its individual programs.

Antonio Gramsci Dissertation Prize

With the Antonio Gramsci Dissertation Prize for Critical Research in the Migration Society, the Vienna Chamber of Labour, in cooperation with Bielefeld University, honors dissertations that examine migration society conditions with reference to the sectors of employment, social inequality, education and/or subjectivity as relations of domination and make a significant contribution to the further development of the thinking of critique directly or indirectly following Gramsci.  Submissions are possible in both German and English. Awarded once a year, deadline in June.

ÖIF Research Award

The Österreichische Integrationsfonds Research Award honors bachelor's and master's theses, and PhD dissertations in the field of integration of migrants or refugees.  Submissions are possible in both German and English. Awarded once a year, deadline in November.

UACES Best PhD Thesis Prize

The University Association for Contemporary European Studies awards a prize annually for the PhD thesis that has made an original and promising contribution to research in the area of contemporary European Studies in the previous year.

• PhD Degree Funding

Harvard guarantees full financial support to PhD students—including tuition, health fees, and basic living expenses—for a minimum of five years.

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Harvard's financial support package is typically for the first four years of study and the completion year, using a tiered  tuition structure that reduces tuition over time as students progress through their degree programs. This multiyear funding package includes a combination of tuition grants, stipends, traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic appointments. In addition, Harvard Griffin GSAS students are particularly successful in securing grants,  fellowships , and other sources of external funding as part of their professional development.

The standard funding package includes:

• grant toward tuition and fees—paid in full for years 1 through 4, plus the dissertation completion year, with a partially subsidized dental plan option available
• living expense stipend during years 1 and 2
• a combination of stipend, teaching fellowships, and/or research assistantships during years 3 and 4
• if noted in your Notice of Financial Support, summer research funding following the first four academic years from Harvard Griffin GSAS or faculty grants
• stipend and/or research support during the completion year.

In some programs, the timing and structure of living expense support may vary from this pattern. For example, students in the sciences typically receive full funding until they complete their degrees.

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Dean's fellowship

Dean’s fellowship.

The Dean’s Fellowship is awarded to domestic, first-year PhD students who come from educational, cultural, familial, geographical or socioeconomic backgrounds that are often underrepresented in STEM disciplines or who are committed to promoting the inclusion of a diverse population of students in higher education.

Examples include :

• Students who faced financial hardships that may have limited their choices for higher education, such as initially attending a community college, needing a Pell Grant to attend a four-year institution, or working full-time while putting themselves through college.
• Students who attended a minority-serving institution or an institution in an underserved geographical area.
• Students who, through community engagement or leadership of student and/or civic organizations, have demonstrated a commitment to equity and inclusion.
• Students who are the first in their family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Students are nominated by their graduate program during the admissions process and awards are communicated at the time an offer of admission with financial aid is made.  The fellowships are “top-off” awards of 10% of the graduate program’s typical offer of funding.  For example, if a program offers a stipend of $31,000, the first-year stipend will be increased to $34,100 for recipients.  The number of fellows will depend on the availability of funds.

The basis for nomination may include any, or all, of the following: answers to questions on the PhD application for admission, information provided by the applicant in their personal statement, and information provided by those writing letters of recommendation.

The inaugural fellowships will be awarded for PhD students admitted for Fall 2023.

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• What Is a PhD Thesis?
• Doing a PhD

This page will explain what a PhD thesis is and offer advice on how to write a good thesis, from outlining the typical structure to guiding you through the referencing. A summary of this page is as follows:

• A PhD thesis is a concentrated piece of original research which must be carried out by all PhD students in order to successfully earn their doctoral degree.
• The fundamental purpose of a thesis is to explain the conclusion that has been reached as a result of undertaking the research project.
• The typical PhD thesis structure will contain four chapters of original work sandwiched between a literature review chapter and a concluding chapter.
• There is no universal rule for the length of a thesis, but general guidelines set the word count between 70,000 to 100,000 words .

What Is a Thesis?

A thesis is the main output of a PhD as it explains your workflow in reaching the conclusions you have come to in undertaking the research project. As a result, much of the content of your thesis will be based around your chapters of original work.

For your thesis to be successful, it needs to adequately defend your argument and provide a unique or increased insight into your field that was not previously available. As such, you can’t rely on other ideas or results to produce your thesis; it needs to be an original piece of text that belongs to you and you alone.

What Should a Thesis Include?

Although each thesis will be unique, they will all follow the same general format. To demonstrate this, we’ve put together an example structure of a PhD thesis and explained what you should include in each section below.

Acknowledgements

This is a personal section which you may or may not choose to include. The vast majority of students include it, giving both gratitude and recognition to their supervisor, university, sponsor/funder and anyone else who has supported them along the way.

1. Introduction

Provide a brief overview of your reason for carrying out your research project and what you hope to achieve by undertaking it. Following this, explain the structure of your thesis to give the reader context for what he or she is about to read.

2. Literature Review

Set the context of your research by explaining the foundation of what is currently known within your field of research, what recent developments have occurred, and where the gaps in knowledge are. You should conclude the literature review by outlining the overarching aims and objectives of the research project.

3. Main Body

This section focuses on explaining all aspects of your original research and so will form the bulk of your thesis. Typically, this section will contain four chapters covering the below:

• your research/data collection methodologies,
• your results,
• a comprehensive analysis of your results,
• a detailed discussion of your findings.

Depending on your project, each of your chapters may independently contain the structure listed above or in some projects, each chapter could be focussed entirely on one aspect (e.g. a standalone results chapter). Ideally, each of these chapters should be formatted such that they could be translated into papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals. Therefore, following your PhD, you should be able to submit papers for peer-review by reusing content you have already produced.

4. Conclusion

The conclusion will be a summary of your key findings with emphasis placed on the new contributions you have made to your field.

When producing your conclusion, it’s imperative that you relate it back to your original research aims, objectives and hypotheses. Make sure you have answered your original question.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

How Many Words Is a PhD Thesis?

A common question we receive from students is – “how long should my thesis be?“.

Every university has different guidelines on this matter, therefore, consult with your university to get an understanding of their full requirements. Generally speaking, most supervisors will suggest somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 words . This usually corresponds to somewhere between 250 – 350 pages .

We must stress that this is flexible, and it is important not to focus solely on the length of your thesis, but rather the quality.

How Do I Format My Thesis?

Although the exact formatting requirements will vary depending on the university, the typical formatting policies adopted by most universities are:

What Happens When I Finish My Thesis?

After you have submitted your thesis, you will attend a viva . A viva is an interview-style examination during which you are required to defend your thesis and answer questions on it. The aim of the viva is to convince your examiners that your work is of the level required for a doctoral degree. It is one of the last steps in the PhD process and arguably one of the most daunting!

For more information on the viva process and for tips on how to confidently pass it, please refer to our in-depth PhD Viva Guide .

How Do I Publish My Thesis?

Unfortunately, you can’t publish your thesis in its entirety in a journal. However, universities can make it available for others to read through their library system.

If you want to submit your work in a journal, you will need to develop it into one or more peer-reviewed papers. This will largely involve reformatting, condensing and tailoring it to meet the standards of the journal you are targeting.

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Article Contents

1. introduction, 2. literature review, 5. discussion and conclusion, supplementary data, acknowledgements.

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The role of charitable funding in university research

Oishee Kundu and Nicholas E. Matthews authors contributed equally to this work.

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Oishee Kundu, Nicholas E Matthews, The role of charitable funding in university research, Science and Public Policy , Volume 46, Issue 4, August 2019, Pages 611–619, https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scz014

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There has been a diversification in the sources of university research funding in recent decades. While substantial research efforts have explored and discussed the implications of this diversification, with the exception of biomedical research the role of charities has typically been neglected, despite their importance in funding university research. This article explores the significance of charitable funding in academic research through the sponsorship of doctoral students. We demonstrate a sponsor classification strategy which classifies PhD theses by sponsor type with high accuracy and coverage. We find that: 1. charities play a significant role in funding doctoral students particularly within medical research, 2. charities are prominent in the wider network of research sponsors, and 3. they exhibit distinct preferences in terms of the subjects they fund. The dataset generated through this study provides an instrumental resource to initiate greater discussion on the role of this important source of research funding.

Universities, through their research activities, have long been recognized as playing a central role in the process of knowledge creation. The latter half of the 20th century witnessed a changing role for university research as it became more mission-orientated and context-specific ( Gibbons et al. 1994 ). In parallel, there has been a diversification in the sources of university research income as the proportion of funding received from governments has reduced while income from alternative sources has increased ( Geuna 2001 ). In exploring these changes, the focus of the research community has typically been on the increasing involvement of industry in university research ( Lee 1996 ; Bruneel et al. 2010 ; Perkmann et al. 2013 ; Ankrah and AL-Tabbaa 2015 ; Vedel and Irwin 2017 ).

Philanthropic foundations, trusts, and charities are also an important source of research funding. In the context of biomedical research, the significant role that charitable sources of income play (particularly in Western Europe) has been widely documented ( Dawson et al. 1998 ; Wooding et al. 2005 ; Eckhouse et al. 2008 ; Sussex et al. 2016 ). In the UK, the proportion of biomedical research funding from both industry and charitable sources has gradually increased over several decades to the point where charitable funding is now on a par with government research funding ( The Wellcome Trust 2001 ; Begum et al. 2018 ).

However, not much is known about the role of charities and foundations in other disciplines, despite the consensus that charities are an important source of university research funding ( van Duinen 1998 ; Geuna 2001 ; Lambert 2003 ; Larédo 2003 ; Murciano-Goroff 2015 ). It is thought that charities could represent an untapped resource in the provision of research funding ( European Commission 2006 ; Eckhouse et al. 2008 ). In the UK, charitable funding could play a key role in meeting the new government target of spending 2.4 per cent of GDP on R&D ( Royal Society 2018 ). This article will investigate the research funding activities of charities, comparing them with other sources of research funding like government and businesses to provide insights about the role of charities in university research.

Many previous studies on the role of charities tend to focus on the activities of a few organizations ( Hanney et al. 2004 ; Clay et al. 2006 ; Hanney et al. 2013 ; Jones and Wilsdon 2018 ). Some studies that offer a more generalized understanding of the charity sector have the limitation of being restricted to biomedical research ( Dawson et al. 1998 ; Eckhouse et al. 2008 ). There is, therefore, a need for more systemic studies on the role of charities in research funding. From a methodological point of view, a number of studies have drawn valuable insights from the use of bibliometrics as a measure of research output, taking advantage of research funding information now routinely provided in the Web of Science ( Lewison and Begum 2017 ; Begum et al. 2018 ). However, one important output not measured in bibliometric databases such as the Web of Science is PhD theses. A PhD thesis is a clearly identifiable output of university research, and obtaining a PhD is often essential to join the university research workforce. Funding a doctoral candidate is therefore a critical part of advancing the knowledge creation capacity of universities.

In order to investigate the role which charities play in funding PhD theses, we extracted information on PhD theses from the British Library’s electronic thesis online (EThOS) database, which maintains a record of all PhD theses produced at UK Universities ( Gould 2016 ). We demonstrate a comprehensive search and annotation strategy for PhD research sponsors which allows a systemic and systematic exploration of the role charities in funding PhD theses in the UK.

Through the exploration of this dataset, we are able to investigate 1. the significance of the charity sector as funders of PhD research, 2. what collaborative arrangements exist between the charity sector and other sources of funding for PhD research, and 3. if charitable funding is associated with funding any specific subjects.

2.1 Charity and university research

Charity, as a voluntary act of giving something to someone in need, is probably as old as human civilization but philanthropy, or charitable giving that is institutionalized in formal, arms-length organizations, is a modern concept ( Gold 2012 ). A global and universal definition of charities remains elusive because the act of giving is affected by the institutional environment it operates in—charitable organizations in social democracies are integrated in the welfare state framework, supplementing the role of the state, while in liberal market economies philanthropic foundations and grant-making trusts form a parallel system of financing activities, providing an alternative to mainstream funding ( Anheier 2018 : 1599). For example, in Germany, charities typically play a subsidiary role in a larger, state-led welfare system, whereas the situation of charities in the USA resembles the liberal model ( Anheier and Daly 2007 ). The charity sector in the UK is considered to defy such a classification due to the specific political history and deep inequalities present in the country compared with other Western democracies ( Jung 2018 ). According to Jung, UK charities operate as autonomous funding sources which are mobilized by society for a wide range of purposes.

Salamon and Anheier (1992) provide a structural–operational definition of charitable organizations, characterizing them as private, asset-based, self-governing bodies that serve a public purpose and are self-aware of their philanthropic role in society. In the domain of higher education and research, the role of charities is understood as grant-making to fund universities and university research ( Jung 2018 ; Mangold 2018 ).

Charitable giving has been playing a role in knowledge creation since the late 19th century ( Fleck and Beister 2011 ; Acs 2013 ). Stanford University, recognized as one of the leading centers of innovation and research in the world, was a product of charitable giving, created by the industrialist Leland Stanford in 1885 to preserve the memory of his late 15-year-old son. Billionaire philanthropists of this period like Leland Stanford, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller devoted large sums of money during their lifetime toward the establishment of universities in the USA and stressed on research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The names of billionaire philanthropists may be easy to identify for their contribution to universities, but it is important to recognize that these persons are examples of a wider story that links charitable funding with university research. Acs (2013) calls this the story of capitalist culture—industrialization and entrepreneurship allowed wealth creation at unprecedented levels and putting this wealth toward education and research was meant to provide entrepreneurial skills to more people and improve the state of knowledge in the society to further expand total wealth (87–120).

The UK has some of the wealthiest foundations in the world which engage in providing grants for research ( Lambert 2003 ). A number of foundations in Germany are highly focused on investing in higher education, identifying their role in ‘promoting talent’, ‘finding solutions to problems’, and ‘driving innovations’ in institutes of higher education ( Mangold 2018 : 1700). Evidence of charitable funding for postgraduate studies can also be seen in developing countries like India where organizations like the Tata Trust, the Inlaks Foundation, and others provide several scholarships on an annual basis.

During the latter half of the 20th century, as a result of the diversification of university funding sources, charity funding of university research has acquired greater importance. Between 1983 and 1995, government funding for universities in the UK fell from 85 per cent to 67 per cent, a trend that was occurring in several other countries ( Geuna 2001 ). However, this did not lead universities to shrink. Instead, other sources of income such as charities and industry became more significant. Table 1 shows the share of different sources of university research income in the UK in recent years.

Share of UK university research income from different sources

Source: Universities UK Higher Education Research in Facts and Figures, various years.

2.2 Collaboration and coordination between research sponsors

As a wider variety of institutional actors take on roles in funding university research, there are avenues for diversification of research collaborations. Commercial collaborations are now actively promoted through tech-transfer offices and the establishment of jointly-funded research institutes. The Industrial Cooperative Awards in Science & Technology (CASE) scheme in the UK is an example of a collaborative funding arrangement where PhD students are sponsored by the UK research councils and a company from the industry that is relevant to the doctoral research being pursued.

A number of authors have discussed the implications of these new interactions and collaboration for university research. For example, Geuna (2001) warns that greater reliance on businesses for funding research would lead to a more short termist and application-based approach to knowledge creation, van Duinen (1998) notes that the comparatively larger ‘direct funding for topical research’ by businesses, governments, and charities causes traditional sources of research funding from research councils to lose their influence, and Larédo (2003) comments on the opening up of the university research environment, where the greater involvement of not-for-profit organizations plays an important role in relating research to wider society.

Specifically, in the case of biomedical research, the significant role that charities play, almost matching government sources in some countries, has been suggested to be a contributing factor to the fragmented nature of the field ( Eckhouse et al. 2008 ). The involvement of so many different actors with potentially conflicting agendas may undermine the efforts to coordinate research in the UK and achieve a more strategic approach to biomedical research ( Cooksey 2006 ; Jones and Wilsdon 2018 ).

However, with the exception of biomedical research, the focus of the research community has typically been on collaboration between university research and industry when discussing the changing nature of university funding ( Lee 1996 ; Bruneel et al. 2010 ; Perkmann et al. 2013 ; Ankrah and AL-Tabbaa 2015 ; Vedel and Irwin 2017 ). Given the significant role charitable research funding is known to play in university research ( Table 1 ), it would be prudent to investigate the role charities play in these crucial collaboration networks.

2.3 The impact of charities on research

Far from being a passive source of money, charities and foundations have actively promoted their values and beliefs when supporting research. Fleck and Beister (2011) describe the emergence of empirical approaches in social science research in the 20th century, a methodological orientation that began in US research universities but soon spread to Europe, largely because philanthropic organizations favored such methods and sponsored the academic exchanges. Philanthropists and large charities as plutocrats may even undermine democracy through their preferences ( Bishop and Green 2010 ; Rogers 2011 ; Barkan 2013 ). In a large study of 194 major foundations in the USA, Goss (2016) finds that with few key exceptions, donors tend to be liberal on politically-divisive issues (abortion rights, climate change, immigration, gun regulation) and their primary strategy for influence is through the funding of research and education. Mangold (2018 : 1703) reveals interview responses from higher education-focused foundations who state that ‘certain study courses would not be offered’ without their financial support. Thus, charitable funding of research can have effects on the subjects and topics pursued.

In medical research, some see the role of private foundations and charities favorably since charities tend to fund high-risk early-stage scientific work and fill gaps in research funding for topics where public grants fall short and there is a lack of commercial interest ( Moses et al. 2015 ; Murciano-Goroff 2015 ). Anheier (2018 : 1597) describes this as the ‘risk absorber’ strength of foundations. However, potential negative consequences have been noted, like the funding by medical research charities for diseases being disproportionate to the disease burden ( Luengo-Fernandez et al. 2012 ).

There may also be a Matthew effect of accumulated advantage at work if charity funding simply crowds-in on government funding ( Lanahan et al. 2016 ). The political science literature that has grown around philanthropy keenly discusses the micro-managerial involvement of donors with beneficiaries ( Farley et al. 2018 ). Anheier (2018 : 1597) also points toward particularism or the expression of value preferences by foundations as a potential weakness of charitable giving. It is, therefore, important to note the involvement and effects of charities as sponsors in university research.

We present an exploratory study that looks at the significance, co-funding networks, and subject preferences of charitable funding in university research.

The research on understanding the role of charities has so far mostly reviewed the activities of a single organization ( Kinnamon and Redington 2001 ; Clay et al. 2006 ; McCoy et al. 2009 ; Hanney et al. 2013) . However, this does not allow a broad or general understanding of the charity sector. Therefore, we started our analysis by calculating a variable to denote university research and traced the involvement of charities toward it. Besides providing a coverage of the charity sector, this approach also has the benefit of noting the relative importance of charities vis-à-vis other sources of university research funding like the government and industry or businesses.

We measure university research as completed PhD theses. The PhD is an important component of university research, representing an output not just in terms of research work on a topic but more importantly in terms of human capital formation—after all, completing a PhD is often essential for joining the research workforce in universities. Pursuing a PhD is an expensive proposition, and funding plays a critical role in reducing attrition and completion time ( Abedi and Benkin 1987 ; Gillingham et al. 1991 ; Ehrenberg and Mavros 1995 ). Therefore, we ask the following research questions:

what is the significance of the charity sector as funders for doctoral students?

what collaborative arrangements can be detected between the charity sector and other sources of funding in PhD theses? and

is the charity sector associated with funding specific subjects?

The data for this study were sourced from the British Library’s EThOS database ( Russell 2006 ; Gould 2016 ). In all, 302,327 metadata records were harvested utilizing the open archives initiative protocol for metadata harvesting ( Yi 2004 ). Each record corresponds to a PhD thesis. The records were processed and analyzed using the R programming language ( R Core Team 2018 ). Of the records harvested, 11,186 were published between 2011 and 2017 (inclusive) and contained abstract, Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), and sponsor information. This dataset formed the starting point for further analysis. A methodological workflow has been outlined in Supplementary data , Fig. S1 .

3.2 Data processing and annotation

In order to investigate the role of charities, we annotated sponsors into three categories—UK Government, business, and charity—according to the following definitions:

UK Government: UK Research Councils, government department/ministry, or nondepartmental public body;

business: profit-making companies and organizations; and

charity: sponsors with nonprofit objectives operating separately from government, i.e. not public; including charitable foundations, trade associations, and learned societies.

The advancement of education is defined by the Charity Commission for England and Wales as a charitable purpose and therefore, in the absence of alternative motive, a PhD sponsor can generally be considered a charitable source ( Charity Commission 2013 ). Funding by a foreign government was not annotated. Funding from university was considered to be neither government, business or charity due to ambiguous nature of universities’ funding activities, which could be perceived as commercial, charitable, or public sector depending on the particular context ( Burston 2017 ).

In the EThOS database, sponsor information is provided but the names of sponsoring organizations are entered manually. Therefore, the data had to be first processed and cleaned to account for different naming conventions and spelling mistakes. This was accomplished by using text mining and fuzzy string-matching functions available in R ( Feinerer et al. 2008 ; R Core Team 2018 ). Sponsor names were also merged according to common abbreviations. The records, or theses, were then annotated as to whether they had charitable, business, and/or UK Government sponsorship using the search terms summarized in Table 2 . Theses where the sponsor was annotated as charity were further annotated with respect to membership of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC).

Search terms for annotating sponsors

3.3 Accuracy and coverage

In order to evaluate the quality of the funder annotation strategy, random subsampling followed by manual curation was undertaken to calculate two performance parameters for each of the three sponsor types:

accuracy: A random subsample of 300 records was taken for each of the three sponsor types which was then manually checked for false positives and

coverage: to check for false-negative results, a random subsample of 500 records was taken from the whole dataset (including un-annotated records) and was manually annotated. This allowed us to calculate the percentage of true positives correctly annotated for each sponsor type.

3.4 Annotation of theses according to subjects

Theses were already classified into different subjects using the DDC. However, a bespoke mapping of the DDC was developed in order to group theses into fewer subject groups for ease of analysis and comprehension. The literature review on research funding by charities indicates significant involvement of the charity sector in medical research. Therefore, medical research was given its own distinct subject class. The mapping schema is outlined in Table 3 .

Subject-mapping schema

3.5 Limitations

This study, while allowing a systemic perspective through the use of a large national database, also has a number of limitations:

each sponsor mentioned does not necessarily reflect the magnitude of funding received;

our work is constrained by the comprehensiveness of the data that were available—11,186 of 103,563 records published between 2011 and 2017 contained the necessary information for our analysis. This is largely because sponsor information is self-reported and not declared in the majority of records;

our dataset showed biases in subjects covered, with a greater proportion of theses being in Science or Technology and Management and less in Arts and Humanities ( Supplementary data , Fig. S2 ). An increased prevalence of self-funding in Arts and Humanities may be a possible explanation for this systematic bias ( Xu et al. 2015 ).

3.6 Statistical and network analyses

To test our hypothesis that charitable funding might have different subject preferences compared to other sponsor types, we used Chi-squared tests. As a Chi-squared test only reveals the presence of a significant difference and not the direction, post hoc analysis of the residuals from the Chi-squared test was also used to indicate the subject areas where differences were present and whether there was a positive or negative difference.

To assess the role that charities play within the network of research funders, we analyzed cosponsorship arrangements. A network of UK Government, industry and charity sponsors which funded more than one thesis was generated. Each sponsor became a node and the edges depict the sponsorship of at least one thesis with another sponsor. This results in an undirected, weighted adjacency matrix. A subnetwork of major interactions in the network map was generated by extracting only edges with the weight of at least five. Louvain Modularity for community detection was used to assign communities of major sponsors according to their co-sponsorship relationships ( Blondel et al. 2008 ).

4.1 Charitable funding of doctoral theses

Based on the annotation strategy developed in the previous section, 6,882 theses were annotated to at least one of the three sponsor types. A total of 5,072 had UK Government funding, 1,628 were funded by charities, and 944 received funding from businesses or industry. From the figures determined for the accuracy and coverage of the annotation strategy ( Table 4 ), it is possible to predict the total number of each sponsor type for the entire dataset ( Table 5 ). This study finds charitable funding to be second only to the UK Government in funding university research, funding substantially more theses than businesses.

Annotation strategy accuracy and coverage

Measured and predicted theses funded by each sponsor types

Predicted according to measured accuracy and coverage figures outlined in Table 4

Percentage of total theses in the dataset ( n = 1,186).

4.2 Co-funding relationships

Co-funding is found to be substantially more common between the UK Government and businesses or UK Government and charities, than between businesses and charities. ( Fig. 1A and Table 6 ). However, co-funding with UK Government is far more common for business-funded theses (46.4 per cent) than for charity-funded theses (18.6 per cent). Interestingly, theses funded by charities had, on average, a greater number of sponsors and charity funded theses are substantially more likely to be co-sponsored with other charities. In all, 13.2 per cent of charity-funded theses involve funding from multiple charities ( Table 6 ).

Network plots showing co-funding arrangements. The darkness of edges indicates the frequency of the co-funding occurrence. ( A ) A hive plot showing the co-funding links between the three sponsor types. ( B ) A subnetwork showing only connections of at least n = 5. ( C ) The same sub-network as ( B ) but with nodes coloured by communities detected through Louvain modularity

Co-funding relationships

Diagonal shows co-sponsorship between sponsors of the same type.

Breaking down by subject ( Table 7 ), government business co-funding is particularly common in Technology & Management where 6.5 per cent of theses in this subject are co-funded between the UK government and businesses. In the medical field, there is a substantial amount of co-funding between the UK government and both businesses (3.3 per cent of theses) and charities (5.3 per cent of theses).

Co-funding relationships by subject

A network of major co-funding relationships is shown in Fig. 1B and shows the UK research councils playing central coordinating roles. Communities derived through Louvain modularity divide this network into four communities ( Fig. 1C ). Each community has at least one Research Council at its center. One community clusters around the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and consists predominantly of engineering and manufacturing companies, with the notable addition of the Royal Society. While one community forms around the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council involving the major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, a distinct community is also found with the Medical Research Council (MRC) at its center involving three major medical research charities (The Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, and the British Heart Foundation). This further demonstrates the trend of businesses and charities co-funding with the UK Government but not with each other.

4.3 Subject preferences

It is clear from Fig. 2 that the three sponsor types fund different distributions of subjects. While the UK Government funds a good spread of subjects, businesses, and charities are both highly biased in the subjects they fund (P <0.001). Analysis of residuals from Chi-squared tests shows that businesses disproportionately fund technology and management subjects while charities disproportionately fund medical research ( Supplementary data , Fig. S3 ).

Pie charts showing differences in subjects funded between ( A ) UK Government, ( B ) Charities, ( C ) Businesses, ( D ) AMRC charities, and ( E ) Non-AMRC charities

The significance of charity funding in the medical field can be seen in Table 8 where the number of charity funded- theses is 80 per cent (=742/924) of the number funded by the UK Government, a feat not seen in any other field. The charity sector can, therefore, have a substantial impact on the medical research sector which businesses cannot in the subject they favor the most—technology and management, where sponsorship by businesses corresponds to funding only 35 per cent (=468/1,350) of the number funded by the UK Government.

Numbers and percentages of subjects funded by different sponsor types

The AMRC consists of the major medical research charities active in the UK. Extracting these charities from the wider sample of charitable research funders identifies these charities as highly specialized funders of medical research ( Fig. 2D and Supplementary data , Fig. S4 ). Meanwhile, the theses funded by charities which are not members of the AMRC show a very different distribution of subjects funded ( Fig. 2E ), funding a more even spread of subjects. Quite distinct from other sponsor types, these charities are most likely to fund theses in the arts and humanities ( Supplementary data , Fig. S4 ).

Lambert (2003) had noted charities as the third most important source of funding for university research. However, our study finds charity funding to be second in importance to the government in supporting PhD theses. Furthermore, our figures for the output measure of university research (published theses) is consistent with the data on input measures, like the relative contributions of different sectors to university research income ( Table 1 ). Charitable funding is therefore of great importance in supporting and potentially directing research in universities in the UK. While previous research has focused on the growing role of businesses and industrial actors in funding and collaborating to produce university research ( Lee 1996 ; Bruneel et al. 2010 ; Perkmann et al. 2013 ; Ankrah and AL-Tabbaa 2015 ; Vedel and Irwin 2017 ), this study demonstrates the need to consider the role of charities in university research. Ignoring the role of charities will give us a substantively incomplete picture of university research funding and research collaborations, a warning also echoed by Geuna (2001) and Larédo (2003) .

In terms of co-funding arrangements, charities, like businesses, appear to co-fund frequently with the UK Government. However, charities are less likely than businesses to co-fund a thesis with the government. This could be simply due to the lack of institutionalized co-funding arrangements like CASE awards. The fact that charities and businesses rarely co-fund a thesis might reflect their presumably distinct aims in funding research—businesses operating for profit, and charities for public benefit ( Charity Commission 2013 ). A curious observation about big philanthropy is the tendency of philanthropists not to engage with the field which helped them generate their wealth in the first place. Thus, although many charities might be born out of the endowments of industrialists and businessmen, the ties are rarely maintained between the organizations in two sectors (business and charity). Meanwhile, the relatively high proportion of inter-charity co-funding ( Table 6 ) may indicate the existence of internal networks of charitable funding. Additionally, charitable grants can often be smaller than grants from the UK Government and students therefore might be mobilizing their funds from multiple charities, therefore leading to a high density of co-sponsorship within the charity sector.

The importance of charitable funding in the medical field has been widely documented ( Dawson et al. 1998 ; Wooding et al. 2005 ; Eckhouse et al. 2008 ; Sussex et al. 2016 ). Our study shows the relative magnitude of this funding to be at the same level as government funding of medical research, which corroborates similar findings from bibliometric studies ( The Wellcome Trust 2001 ; Begum et al. 2018 ). By probing our dataset, we find that charities have an unprecedented level of control over medical research through their support of PhD theses in the field. UK Research and Innovation was recently established to develop a more coordinated approach to research funding by the research councils and multiple reports have specifically highlighted the need for a more coordinated approach to medical research funding ( Cooksey 2006 ; Jones and Wilsdon 2018 ). However, any effort to change, redirect or coordinate research efforts in this field will clearly need to consider medical research charities, almost as equal players to the UK research councils. Promisingly, the network of medical research charities co-funding with the MRC demonstrates that interaction, if not coordination, may already occur.

Non-AMRC charities sponsor a broad range of subjects, especially improving the funding prospects for doctoral studies in arts and humanities. These charities are often supported by large endowments rather than regular public donations, granting them flexibility in making choices about subjects and topics that may not be available to other charitable research sponsors because of their reliance on the general public and popular support. Many researchers studying philanthropy have pointed out the potential for charitable funding to support causes that enjoy personal favor rather than popular backing ( Bishop and Green 2010 ; Rogers 2011 ; Barkan 2013 ; Goss 2016 ; Anheier 2018 ; Mangold 2018 ). These researchers express concern (implicitly or explicitly) about the potential for caprice on the part of philanthropists and charities. Langford (2016) asks whether private donors can ‘pick up the tab’ in funding arts and our study responds with a ‘yes’, but there is a need to investigate the phenomenon of sponsorship of arts by charities in greater depth.

Our data show that in the UK, charities, foundations, and trusts sponsor a portfolio of subjects that significantly differ from the portfolio of government or businesses. This reveals differences in preferences. As well as investigating the nature and causes of these preferences, the potential UK specificity also warrants further research, given that the operation of charities and foundations is known to vary between national systems ( Anheier 2018 ; Eckhouse et al. 2008 ).

The accurate and comprehensive annotation strategy for research sponsors developed in this study allows the generation of a powerful and flexible database for investigating the funding of doctoral research. This resource has allowed us to investigate the important role that charities play in funding university research in the UK. It can be utilized for a number of applications, like informing the selection of significant sponsors as case studies for analysis or for analyzing sponsor preferences alongside additional thesis information such as author demographics. The approach could also be extended to analyze other sponsor types such as foreign governments and universities. Thus, this study opens up several possible directions for further research.

Supplementary data is available at Science and Public Policy Journal online. Additional research data (code, plots and raw data) supporting this publication are available from the Zenodo open-access repository at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2583191 .

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help, support, and guidance provided by Phillipe Larédo and John Rigby in formulating and developing this work. We thank Heather Rosie for her assistance in harvesting data from the EThOS database and all at the British Library involved in maintaining this invaluable resource. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which helped us to refine and improve this article.

Nicholas Matthews acknowledges the support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant numbers: EP/M506436/1, EP/M507969/1 and EP/N509565/1) and The University of Manchester. Oishee Kundu acknowledges support from the Alliance Manchester Business School.

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

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