Funding Opportunities

There are many funding opportunities available for graduate students. This page will be updated periodically as new opportunities are found. You can view additional opportunities on the OSU Graduate School webpage.

SPIN Database

The SPIN Database contains more than 40,000 distinct opportunities from more than 10,000 global sponsors. You can create customized searches and generate funding alerts based on your research interests. For questions regarding the SPIN database, including help identifying appropriate search criteria, please contact Jeff Agnoli.

Step 1: Create your SPIN profile while on campus (OSU Wireless or campus network).
Step 2: Watch for an email with login instructions from spinsupport@infoedglobal.com. (Access may take up to one business day; the user-validation process requires an overnight administrative process.)
Step 3: Login to SPIN and create and save searches that generate customized funding alerts.

Watch a recorded webinar on how to use the system here.


Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship

The Alumni grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship (AGGRS) provide up to $2000 for dissertation research support to doctoral candidates without any other research support from their department or advisor due to lack of funds. Other eligible candidates include those pursuing a comparable graduate degree requiring a thesis. Although eligibility is based on financial need, awards are based on merit. All doctoral candidates who have passed the Candidacy Exam and whose dissertation project has been approved by their advisor are eligible to apply. MFA students are also eligible to apply for funds to support their MFA project. Previous AGGRS awardees are not eligible for a second award. The competition is held twice each year, during Autumn and Spring Quarters. Faculty members of the University Research Committee, representing all ten academic areas, will review applications and make final recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate School.
 

Alumni Scholars Program

The Alumni Scholars Program offers financial support to exemplary students through their local alumni clubs. Scholarship opportunities are available for high school students and current Ohio State students. A complete listing of the alumni clubs who participate in the Alumni Scholars Program, including all application links, will be posted annually by November 1. Application links will be live from November 1, 2019 through February 1, 2020. View all opportunities on their website.

 

Columbus-Athens Schweitzer Fellows Program

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) was founded in 1940 to support Dr. Albert Schweitzer's hospital in Africa. The U.S. Schweitzer Fellows Program was launched in 1991 with the mission to support and train emerging health-focused graduate and professional students in creating and carrying out service projects to address unmet community needs. At the end of their yearlong project, Fellows join the Schweitzer Fellows for Life alumni network, now more than 2,000 strong. The Columbus-Athens Schweitzer Fellows Program is one of 13 ASF Programs located across the U.S. Since 2011, the Columbus-Athens Program has supported students who are dedicated to addressing the social determinants of health in underserved local communities, and whose example influences and inspires others. Applications are due in February; the 2020 deadline has passed.

 

Council of Graduate Students Funding

The OSU Council of Graduate Students has always strived to support graduate students in pursuing their goals. To this end, CGS supports four funding sources: the Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum, the Edward J. Ray Travel Award for Scholarship and Service as well as the Career Development Grant program. Application deadlines are rolling and you can find out more on their website.

2020 - 2021 ACADEMIC YEAR

Funding Period #4   

  • Application deadline: February 1, 2021
  • Activity dates: April 1, 2021 - June 30, 2021

 

Decision Sciences Collaborative Small Grants

Small grants of up to $3000 are available to support Decision Sciences research at Ohio State. The goal of these competitive grants is to foster new Decision Sciences research activity and collaboration. Priority will be given to:

  1. projects that bring together Decision Sciences researchers from different departments or researchers who have not previously collaborated.
  2. seed projects that are likely to generate pilot data or theory for external grant proposals.
  3. projects that allow for the meaningful involvement of graduate and undergraduate students.
  4. projects by researchers who have not been previously funded under this program.

Any Ohio State faculty member(s), post-doctoral fellow, or graduate student is eligible to apply. There are two deadlines annually, October 15 and March 15.

 

Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum

Every spring quarter, the Council of Graduate Students hosts the Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum for graduate study at The Ohio State University. Students enrolled in any area of graduate study at The Ohio State University are invited are invited to submit their work. Submissions are due in January. In February, eight papers from each of the 10 graduate school areas are chosen for the competition. Those selected give a public presentation on their research. Three winners are selected from each of the 10 Graduate School areas, and the winners are announced in April at the Research Forum. First prize is $300 cash and a $500 travel award, second prize is $200 cash, and third prize is $100 cash.

Graduate Associate Teaching Award

The Graduate Associate Teaching Award (GATA) is the University's highest recognition of the exceptional teaching provided by graduate students at Ohio State. A $1500 award is given to the ten GATA recipients along with a plaque, which is presented to the awardees during a visit to their classes.
 

Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship 2021

The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The Fellowship matches highly qualified graduate students with “hosts” in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one-year paid fellowship. To apply through Ohio Sea Grant, please contact Ohio Sea Grant Assistant Director of Administration and Research Dr. Kristen Fussell at fussell.10@osu.edu for more information about the application process. Deadline for 2022 competition is Februrary 19, 2021.

National Socio-environmental Synthesis Center

The National Socio-environmental Synthesis Center seeks proposals for collaborative team-based synthesis research around emerging socio-environmental systems topics. The center encourages proposals that synthesize data, develop and apply models, and couple quantitative and qualitative data/information in new ways. Read more and apply on their website. Deadline for 2020 (March 30) has passed.

North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grants

The North Central Region SARE (NCR-SARE) Graduate Student Grant Program supports projects by graduate students that address sustainable agriculture issues and are part of the student’s degree program. NCR-SARE instituted the Graduate Student Grant Program in 2002 for officially registered graduate students (Masters and Ph.D.) enrolled at accredited colleges or universities. Projects must benefit agriculture in the North Central Region. NCR-SARE’s Graduate Student Grant Program is a competitive grant program to fund graduate student projects that address sustainable agriculture issues. A candidate may only receive one NCR-SARE Graduate Student award during her or his graduate student career. Applications for 2021 are due by 5pm on April 8, 2021.
 

Office of International Affairs Funding

The Ohio State Office of International Affairs provides scholarships and grants for graduate students. Visit their website to learn more about the International Affairs Grant, the Sonkin-Bergman-Wasserman Families' Scholarship for International Understanding and Peace, the Phyllis Krumm Scholarship, the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad, the FLAS Fellowships, and the Mershon Center Graduate Student Grants.
 

Preparing Future Faculty Program

The Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program offers Ohio State graduate students the opportunity to experience first-hand the unique challenges and rewards of an academic career at a smaller college or university through a partner relationship with a mentor-faculty member at one of Ohio's leading liberal arts colleges and state universities. Ohio State's PFF program has been approved as a Graduate School course, and graduate students' participation in the program is noted on their Ohio State transcripts. The premiere feature of the PFF experience is a mentorship with an accomplished faculty member at a PFF partner institution. After being "matched" with a mentor from a corresponding field of study, graduate students make between two and four visits to their mentor's school. The specific activities pursued within the mentorship are jointly selected by the graduate student and their faculty mentor.
 

CFAES Research and Graduate Education, Internal Grants Program Graduate Competition

This is an invitation to submit research proposals to the Research & Graduate Education Internal Grants Program (IGP) Graduate Competition for fiscal year 2021. Read more on the Research and Graduate Education website.

Graduate Student IGP Awards are intended to accomplish the following objectives:

  • Provide graduate students with an opportunity to gain experience with research methods in food, agriculture, environmental sciences, human ecology and related social sciences
  • Introduce graduate students to the grant-writing and peer-review processes
  • Stimulate faculty-graduate student collaborations and mentoring of graduate students by CFAES faculty

To be eligible for this program, students must:

  • Be enrolled throughout the duration of the project as a graduate student in one of the following colleges at Ohio State: CFAES, Education and Human Ecology or Veterinary Medicine
  • Have a primary faculty advisor with a CFAES appointment
  • Be in good academic standing, have at least nine months left in their program and not plan to graduate prior to December 2021
  • Students are eligible to receive only one grant every three years

Proposals for Fiscal Year 2021 are due December 16, 2020. All proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. on the deadline date.

Questions? Contact Melissa Burant, the IGP Coordinator at CFAES-IGP@osu.edu

Proposal Writing Resources - Need help writing your IGP Graduate Competition Proposal?

 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - Health Policy Research Scholars

Health Policy Research Scholars is a leadership eligible individuals include, but are not limited to, first-generation college graduates, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, individuals from communities of color, and individuals with disabilities. They want to apply their research to advance health and equity, and their innovation helps build a Culture of Health, one that enables everyone in America to live longer, healthier lives.

HPRS includes scholars from disciplines as diverse as economics, political science, psychology, architecture, transportation, sociology, social welfare, and environmental health. We’re always looking for students from any research-focused discipline that can advance a Culture of Health.

Over the course of the program, scholars will:

  • Participate in policy and leadership development trainings and coursework via webinars and other virtual learning technology.
  • Receive an annual stipend of up to $30,000 for up to four years or until you complete your doctoral program (whichever is sooner).
  • Receive training in health policy translation, dissemination, communication, health equity, and population health.
  • Continue learning and working from their home institutions.
  • Establish and strengthen professional ties to public health and policy leaders.
  • Be eligible for a competitive dissertation grant of up to $10,000.
     

Sigma XI Grants-in-Aid of Research

The Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research (GIAR) program has provided undergraduate and graduate students with valuable educational experiences since 1922. By encouraging close working relationships between students and mentors, the program promotes scientific excellence and achievement through hands-on learning. The program awards grants of up to $1,000 to students from all areas of the sciences and engineering. Designated funds from the National Academy of Sciences allow for grants of up to $5,000 for astronomy research and $2,500 for vision related research. Students use the funding to pay for travel expenses to and from a research site, or for purchase of non-standard laboratory equipment necessary to complete a specific research project.
 

Sustainability Institute at Ohio State

Ohio State University is dedicated to advancing education, research, innovation, and partnerships related to sustainability. To further these goals, the Sustainability Institute is pleased to offer funding to support student research or projects in the areas of sustainability and resilience. Priority will be given to student research or projects that directly impact university operations, campus, or connect to our Columbus community and allow opportunities to use our campus as a living laboratory. The Sustainability Institute anticipates awarding four to six seed grants ranging from $25,000 to $35,000 each. Read more information about the program on their websiteView the RFPPre-proposals are due Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. The deadline for invited full proposals is Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021.

Questions? Contact Kathy Jackson, Sustainability Institute program assistant, at jackson.2942@osu.edu or 614-688-1177.

 

Tinker Field Research Grants - OSU Center for Latin American Studies

The OSU Center for Latin American Studies is accepting applications for 2020 Tinker Field Research Grants, which can be used to provide graduate and professional students with funds for travel to and within Latin America to conduct pre-dissertation research. Up to $3,000 per student may be awarded and the competition is open to all graduate students in all academic fields at Ohio State, including international students. Please contact Megan Hasting, CLAS Assistant Director, with any questions about the fellowship or application process: hasting.6@osu.edu

 

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Students with talent in the sciences, especially those relating to food, natural resources and human sciences, will make the research discoveries of tomorrow. Today, they need training to realize their potential. Funding education can be a challenge, especially for students from communities that are under-represented in the scientific workforce. NIFA has two types of funding options to ensure more talented students can achieve their research career goals in agriculture. Find out more on their website.