Dissertation Grants Program
Updated: Jun-19-2003
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center
for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences,
the AERA Grants Program announces its
Dissertation Grants Program. The program's goals are: (1) to stimulate research
on U.S. education policy- and practice-related issues using NCES and NSF data
sets; (2) to improve the educational research community's firsthand
knowledge of the range of data available at the two agencies and how to use
them; and (3) to increase the number of educational researchers using
the data sets. Minority researchers are strongly encouraged to apply.
The ability to monitor the status of our education systems throughout the country is a crucial and unique responsibility of the federal government. Federal legislation (PL-103-382) continues Congress' strong support for NCES ". . .to ensure the continuation of an effective mechanism for collecting and reporting statistics and information showing the condition and progress of education in the U.S. and other nations in order to promote and accelerate the improvement of American education." NCES looks to the education research community as both a source of talent to help it pursue its mission and as clientele for the use of the data sets it produces. Similarly, the NSF has been charged by Congress to produce a biannual indicators volume on the status of the nation's mathematics and science education. Large-scale longitudinal studies sponsored by NSF provide data for analyses that inform the indicator report. Consequently, an exceptional opportunity exists for the educational research community and NCES and NSF to work together in improving the quality of education data available and in improving the quality and quantity of research conducted with these data.
AERA invites education policy- and practice-related dissertation proposals using NCES, NSF, and other national data bases. Dissertation Grants are available for advanced graduate students and are intended to support the student while writing the dissertation. Awards for Dissertation Grants are up to $15,000 for 1-year projects. In accordance with AERA's agreement with the funding agencies, institutions may not charge indirect costs on these awards. Successful grantees will consult with NCES or NSF staff regarding their proposed research projects and the handling of NCES, NSF, and other federal agency data sets pertinent to their projects. Dissertation grantees' final reports may either be an article of a quality and in a format suitable for publication in a scholarly journal, or a copy of the dissertation. In addition, NCES will consider publication in its Working Paper series.
Dissertation topics may cover a wide range of policy- or practice-related issues that include but are not limited to: school persistence and career entry; teachers and teaching, including supply, quality, and demand; policies and practices related to student achievement and assessment; policies and practices that influence student and parental attitudes; contextual factors (individual, curricular, and school related) in education; education in middle schools; educational participation and persistence (kindergarten through graduate school); at-risk students; early childhood education; US education in an international context; school finance; materials (curriculum) development, research and informal science education; undergraduate science, engineering, and mathematics education; the supply (pipeline) of students taking mathematics and science courses from K-12; research career development; the quality of educational institutions; and methodological studies. Researchers must utilize at least one NSF or NCES data set in the dissertation. Additional large-scale nationally representative data sets may be used in conjunction with the obligatory NSF or NCES data set. If international data sets are used, the study must include U.S. education.
All applications for Dissertation Grants must include:
- An AERA Dissertation Grants Program cover sheet
- Research proposal (limited to 4 single-spaced pages), that addresses the following:
- Brief review of relevant research/policy literature
- 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
- Symbolic or figural model outlining the framework for the study
- Proposed budget
- Current curriculum vitae
- Substantive letter of support from applicant's faculty dissertation advisor that includes an indication of the student's current progress toward the degree and expected date of completion. If applicant is from a discipline other than education, a letter of support from a faculty sponsor with an education background must also be included.
Evaluation criteria include the importance of the proposed policy issue, the strength of the methodological model and proposed statistical analysis of the study, and relevant experience and research record of the applicant.
Applicants for Dissertation Grants may be U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or non-U.S. citizens.
The AERA Grants Program's goal is to improve the infrastructure for conducting quantitative policy- and practice-related education research. Applicants should choose research topics that can be supported by the samples and variables contained in the proposed data set. Applicants should be familiar with statistical methods and available computer programs that allow for sophisticated analyses of the selected data. It is also important to select a topic that has policy relevance and that models to be tested include predictor variables that are manipulable (e.g., course work in mathematics, instructional practices used by teachers, parental involvement). Applicants should also be familiar with the specific data set's User Guides and/or Manuals (e.g., use of design weights and design effects).
Applicants who plan to model achievement test data should define the achievement construct and identify the kinds of items to be used to operationalize the research project. Also, when planning to use existing subscales, the applicant should describe why these subscales are appropriate and how they will be applied. Existing subscales provided by NCES may not be appropriate for the proposed construct.
The review criteria will include the following: Is the policy issue clearly defined? What is already known on the issue? How does the methodology relate specifically to the policy question? Does the applicant know the data set? Does the analytic plan fit the question and the data? Is the applicant qualified to carry out the proposed study?
The AERA Grants Program has funded over 250 grant proposals to date. Applicants are encouraged to review the lists of Funded Research Grants and Funded Dissertation Grants to ensure that their proposed project has not already been done. Applicants may also search the AERA Grants Program website for projects that use the same data set or cover the same topics.
The proposal should be no more than four pages in length, single-spaced, in 12 point type with 1" margins. Roughly, one page should be devoted to an introduction and literature review, including only those references that are directly relevant to the proposed policy issue. One page should clearly define the policy issue and discuss how the variables selected are under the control of policymakers. Two pages should describe the methodology which lays out the variables that define the construct. Applicants must present a clear and well thought out model that identifies the selected variables and specifies the analysis to be done. Attachments such as a bibliography, variables list, diagrams, and tables are allowed, and are not counted in the 4 page proposal limit.
There is no specific format for the budget section. Funds may be used for tuition and/or institution fees, books, living expenses, equipment, travel, supplies, computing time, etc. Institutions may not charge overhead on AERA Grants Program awards. Please be advised that if equipment is included in the budget and it will be purchased entirely with AERA funds, AERA will retain ownership of this equipment for the duration of the grant period. When the awardee's final report is submitted, the AERA Grants Program Governing Board will decide on the disposition of any equipment. Possible disposition could include AERA donating the equipment to the individual awardee, AERA requesting the equipment returned to AERA, or AERA donating the equipment to the awardee's institution.
If the applicant is employed by a contractor of NCES or NSF, the dissertation project must not be directly related to 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.
A researcher may submit only one dissertation grant proposal per review deadline. In addition, no researcher may have AERA Grants Program funding for separate awards (grants or fellowships) that overlap. The maximum number of dissertation and research grants an individual researcher may receive through the AERA Grants Program is two.
All Dissertation Grantees will be required to submit a brief (3-6 pages) progress report mid-way through the grant period. A final report will be submitted at the end of the grant period. Funding will be linked to the approval of the progress report and final report. Grantees will receive one-third of the total award at the beginning of the grant period, one-third upon acceptance of the progress report, and one-third upon acceptance of the final report. In most cases awardees may choose whether to have funds sent directly to them or have the funds channelled through their institutions.
Detailed submission information.
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