Dissertation Grant
Submission Instructions

Please read the AERA Dissertation Grant Call for Proposals and these instructions carefully before starting the online submission process. Your application must be completed in one session. You will not be able to save your work and return to your submission. All information required from the applicant must be entered and uploaded electronically by 11:59pm (EDT) on Friday, August 29, 2008. Letters of reference must be sent separately by the applicant's faculty advisor(s) and may be sent either via email attachment or in hard copy to arrive by August 29, 2008 (see below). Late applications and supporting materials will not be accepted. The following file types are supported: .doc, .xls, .pdf. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications in advance of the deadline.

A completed Dissertation Grant proposal will include these components:

1. Applicant information. Applicants enter their name, contact information, background information, and information about their doctoral institution. The applicant's curriculum vitae will be uploaded as a separate entry.
2. Specific project information. Proposal title, amount requested, start and end dates of project, NCES/NSF data sets used (example, ECLS-K, ELS:2002, IPEDS), and other national data bases (if applicable).
3. Dissertation abstract. Upload an abstract of your proposed dissertation (250 words maximum).
4. Dissertation proposal. Upload your dissertation research proposal (limited to 4 single-spaced pages) that addresses the following:

• Brief review of relevant research/policy literature
• Education policy issue and its importance
• Description of methodology including proposed data set and criteria for selecting data file, sample (e.g., groups used, exclusions to sample, and estimated sample sizes),variables (including selection of variables and rationale for using them), and analytic techniques
• Importance of findings to the policy issue

5. Conceptual model(s) outlining the framework or design of the study
6. Statistical model(s) or formulas, appropriately defined, that are connected to the conceptual model
7. Variables list. Provide a categorized one-page list of the variables from the NCES or NSF data set(s) that will be used in this research project.
8. Bibliography. Upload all references entered in text or in presentation of conceptual model.
9. Budget. There is no specific format for the budget. It may be a simple 2-column document or a more complex spreadsheet.
10. Applicant's Curriculum Vitae. Upload complete curriculum vitae.
11. Letters of Reference. Enter the name and affiliation of your faculty advisor(s) who will write letters of reference. The letters are to be sent separately, either electronically or in hard copy (see below). 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. 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. 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. An exception to the second letter requirement will be made if the applicant's primary faculty dissertation advisor is very experienced in education research. In that case, one letter from the primary faculty dissertation advisor is required, and it should include a brief paragraph on the advisor's own education research experience.

    Letters may be sent electronically or in hard copy but must be received by the deadline. Note that applicants are responsible for making sure their letters of reference are received by the deadline. You are encouraged to ask your advisors early for letters of reference. There are two options for submitting recommendation letters:

• Faculty advisors or department staff may send letters electronically by the deadline of 11:59 EDT on August 29, 2008. The electronic letter should be a .pdf file, on institutional letterhead with a signature, and sent as an email attachment to Jeanie Murdock at jmurdock@aera.net.

OR

• Original letters in hard copy may be sent in the mail to:

Ms. Jeanie Murdock
AERA Grants Program
5662 Calle Real, #254
Goleta, CA 93117

Hard copy letters must be received by August 29, 2008. The letters should be on institutional letterhead with signatures in a sealed envelope with the advisor's signature over the seal.

For additional information on the AERA Dissertation Grants, including the Call for Proposals and a list of all previously funded projects with abstracts, click here. If you have questions or technical problems, please contact Jeanie Murdock by email at jmurdock@aera.net or by phone 805-964-5264.

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