Dissertation Grants Program
The National Institute launched its annual Dissertation Grants Program (originally called the Seed Grant Program) in 2011 to support outstanding graduate students in the social sciences. Dissertation Grants are one-time unrestricted awards of up to $5,000 each which are designed to help late-state PhD candidates complete their doctoral dissertations. The awards supplement a doctoral candidate’s existing university and external financial support the student already has in place.
The National Institute invites accredited universities to nominate candidates to receive grants via an annual competition described further below. The Grants Committee reviews submissions for academic merit, timeliness and relevance to current social issues, and the potential to make a lasting impact on their relevant social science disciplines. Since 2011, the National Institute has supported 30 outstanding graduate students in the social sciences.
Please direct all enquiries concerning the National Institute’s Grants programs by email to grants@socialsciencesinstitute.org
The National Institute of Social Sciences’ signature grant-making activity is its annual Dissertation Grants Program. NISS Dissertation Grants are designed to support outstanding Ph.D. students who need additional resources to complete doctoral work that promises to significantly advance their fields of study.
For 2025, NISS seeks nominations in the fields of Anthropology, Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. Interdisciplinary projects that included one or more of these fields as a major component may also be considered.
To learn more about the 2025 program and apply, please click the link at left. The submission deadline is April 22, 2025 at 5:00 pm EDT.
Other Grant-Making Activities
In addition, the National Institute of Social Sciences sponsors a number of programs in conjunction with our cousins the American Anthropological Association, the American Historical Association, the American Political Science Association, and the American Sociological Association to support graduate students in the social sciences.
These programs include such things as sponsoring travel grants for scholars to attend these organizations’ annual conventions and Three-Minute Thesis competitions. The National Institute continues to look for additional opportunities to fulfill its mission by directly funding emerging and established scholars in the social sciences.
Questions? Please contact the Grants Committee at grants@socialsciencesinstitute.org.
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