Funding is often near the top of graduate students’ list of needs. Students can get funding in a variety of ways, from research assistantships to stipends to fellowships, and more.
Graduate funding opportunities
A variety of awards are available through the University of Arizona Graduate College.
Graduate degree students are encouraged to seek funding through sources such as the National Science Foundation, Fulbright grants, host country sponsorships, and College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Science awards.
Scientific societies often offer small grants aimed at enhancing a research project, and several small grants are available through Scholarship Universe.
The school aims to provide student-only health insurance for two years (M.S.) or five years (Ph.D.), depending on the availability of funds and satisfactory academic progress.
Many scholarships and other funding opportunities require completion of the FAFSA.
Professional Development & Funding Programs
The Frances McClelland Institute (FMI) is dedicated to advancing family and youth-focused research at the University of Arizona to improve the lives of children, youth, and families.
FMI offers various resources for HDFS students:
- Poster Printing: Free printing is available for HDFS students presenting at conferences.
- Travel Award: Funding available for HDFS students presenting at a conference.
- Dissertation Research Award: Funding available for HDFS students completing a dissertation that shows a strong potential to contribute to the field of family studies and human development.
For more information, contact families@cals.arizona.edu or visit https://fmi.arizona.edu/.
SCRD is an organization that advances the developmental sciences and promotes the use of developmental research to improve human lives.
SRCD has various events and resources for members:
- Conferences: SRCD holds a Biennial Meeting usually in the spring and Special Topics Meetings annually.
- Awards and Funding: SRCD offers funding to recognize outstanding developmental science research.
- SRCD Outstanding Doctoral Dissertations: Awards for noteworthy dissertations completed in the previous year.
- SECC Dissertation Research Funding Awards: Funding available for dissertation research proposals that display strong potential to contribute to the field of child development.
- Patrice L. Engle Dissertation Grants for Global Early Child Development: Grants available to support junior students interested in a career in global early child development who are from or doing research in low- or middle-income countries.
- Fellowships: SRCD offers two U.S. policy fellowship programs, one at the Federal level and one at the State level:
- The fellowships offer immersive opportunities for researchers to learn about policy development, implementation, and evaluation, and how to use developmental science to inform public policy.
For more information, visit https://www.srcd.org/.
SRA is a national research organization dedicated to advancing the understanding of adolescence and enhancing the well-being of youth in a globalized world through high-quality research.
SRA has various events and benefits for members:
- Biennial Meeting: SRA holds a conference every two years where researchers come together to showcase current research on adolescence.
- Awards: SRA offers various awards for scholars and organizations conducting research on adolescence:
- Hershel D. Thornburg Dissertation Award: Recognizes scholars with outstanding scholastic promise in research on adolescence.
- The Social Policy Publication Award: Recognizes books and peer-review journal articles that focus on research on adolescence with implications for social policy.
- Organizational Award for Excellence in Research and Programming for Youth: Recognizes an organization with significant contributions and applications of scientific research that promotes adolescent development across diverse backgrounds and in diverse settings.
- Outstanding Interdisciplinary Contribution Award: Recognizes a scholar or research team conducting interdisciplinary research.
- Mentorship: SRA offers mentorship opportunities for members.
- Undergraduate Scholars Program: SRA, with support from the William T. Grant Foundation, offers a mentorship program designed to support junior and senior undergraduate students from racial/ethnic minority groups in North America to pursue graduate work and careers in adolescent development.
- Junior Mentor: Graduate students from North America are encouraged to apply to mentor the undergraduate scholars.
- Undergraduate Scholars Program: SRA, with support from the William T. Grant Foundation, offers a mentorship program designed to support junior and senior undergraduate students from racial/ethnic minority groups in North America to pursue graduate work and careers in adolescent development.
For more information, visit https://www.s-r-a.org.
National Council on Family Relations is an association that focuses on family research, practice, and education. The association brings together students, scholars, and working professionals from diverse disciplines to strengthen families and enhance research.
NCFR has annual conferences where members can participate in interactive poster sessions, interactive workshops, paper sessions, poster sessions, symposiums, and workshops. For more information, visit https://www.ncfr.org.
The Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA) is a multidisciplinary, international organization dedicated to advancing theory, methodology, and research on emerging adulthood (18 to 29-year-olds).
SSEA offers various opportunities and resources for members:
- Conference on Emerging Adulthood (CEA): Held every two years to showcase current research on emerging adulthood.
- Emerging Adulthood: Flagship journal of SSEA; an interdisciplinary and international journal that advances theory, methodology, and research on emerging adults.
- SSEA Small Grants Program: Funding for research on emerging adulthood among understudied populations.
For more information, visit http://www.ssea.org/index.html.
The Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC) Grant Program has several funding opportunities for graduate and professional students throughout the academic year:
- Travel Grants: Funding available for individual students and groups of up to 5 students for virtual events, and domestic and international travel.
- Research and Project (ReaP) Grants: Funding available to fund research and projects for graduate, professional and undergraduate students.
- Professional Opportunity Development (POD) Funding: Funding is available for initiatives and events at the University of Arizona intended to promote professional development.
GPSC also offers opportunities to be a Grant Reviewer. For more information, contact gpscfunding@arizona.edu or visit https://gpsc.arizona.edu/grantsawards.
The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution. Learn about application eligibility.
The Ford Foundation Fellowship Program is dedicated to increasing the ethnic and racial diversity of faculty and increasing the number of faculty who can maximize the use of diversity as an educational tool to enrich the education of all students.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on behalf of the Ford Foundation annually awards fellowships at the predoctoral, dissertation, and postdoctoral levels.
For more information, visit https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/ford-foundation-fellowships.
The Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) is a fellowship program for doctoral students through the California State University (CSU) and is intended to increase the number of faculty with the qualifications, motivation, and skills needed to teach the diverse students of the CSU.
CDIP offers various resources for fellows:
- Loans: Offers a subsidized educational loan of up to $30,000 with potential for loan cancellation.
- Mentorship: Fellows have a CSU Faculty mentor that prepares them for CSU faculty responsibilities of teaching, research, and service.
- Grants and Funding: Funding is available for professional development, virtual events, domestic and international travel, and dissertation support.
- CSU PRE-Professor Program (PREPP): A semester-long program at a CSU campus designed to facilitate the transition to faculty positions.
For more information, visit https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/faculty-staff/cdip.