March 2026
The AERA–NSF Grants Program has announced a new cohort of Dissertation and Research Grant recipients, supporting studies that leverage large-scale federal, district, and State Longitudinal Data System data to advance education research.
Selected through a highly competitive process, the newly funded projects examine a range of pressing issues—particularly in STEM education—including student achievement, the connections between STEM course-taking and career and technical education, and the psychometric properties of reading assessments. A full list of grantees and their study titles appear in Table 1.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the AERA–NSF Grants Program supports both emerging and established scholars. Dissertation Grants provide a $27,500 one-year stipend along with professional development and training opportunities. Recipients will convene this fall for a methods-focused research conference and present their work at a poster session during the 2027 AERA Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada.
Research Grants, ranging from $25,000 to $35,000, support one- or two-year projects led by doctoral-level scholars. These awards are designed to facilitate the implementation of rigorous studies and the development of peer-reviewed publications.
“We are thrilled to support such outstanding and promising studies,” said Barbara Schneider of Michigan State University, chair of the AERA–NSF Grants Program Governing Board. “This research has the potential to advance methods for analyzing large-scale data, deepen understanding of key education issues, and inform policy and practice.”
The next proposal deadline for Dissertation and Research Grants is May 20, 2026. Additional information is available on the Grants Program webpage or by contacting grantsprogram@aera.net.
AERA-NSF Dissertation Grantees
Name
Institution
Title
Aaron Ainsworth
University of California - Irvine
The causal effect of teacher-led policy reform on short- and long-term student outcomes: Evidence from the Oregon CLASS program
Marco Badilla Maroto
University of California - Berkeley
Skill Measurement, Returns and Mismatch: Evidence from Narrative Evaluations
Madeline Brighouse Glueck
University of Wisconsin - Madison
A tale of two trends: The growth of graduate degrees and the rise of women
Patrick Gipson
University of Washington
Examining the Predictive Validity of Two Universal Screening Measures of Reading
Matthew Guzman
Michigan State University
The Relationship between Local Property Taxes and Special Education Services: Evidence from Michigan
Katherine Leu
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Weed-Out Courses and Major Tracking: How College Curriculum Contributes to STEM Inequality
David Loeb
University of Pennsylvania
The Impact of the Medicaid “Free Care” Reversal on Students and School Districts
Mindy Rosengarten
Teacher’s College, Columbia University
Effects of Classroom Quality on Students’ Long-Term Outcomes
Josefina Senese
Boston University
How Do Schools Support English Learners? Insights from School Placement Patterns in Indiana
Jeneve Swaby
Boston College
From Print to Pixels: Reimagining Reading Literacy in the Digital Age
De’Ja Wood
Vanderbilt University, Peabody College
“We Don’t Have a Lot of Choice in the City of St. Louis”: Racialized Risk Assessments in Black Families’ School Choice
Yerin Yoon
Does Career and Technical Education Serve as a Safety Net at the Academic Threshold?
Jingru Zhang
Harnessing individual participant data and aggregated data in meta-analysis for better evidence in education
AERA-NSF Research Grantees
Steven Alvarado
University of Notre Dame
Danger in the Halls of Science: Deadly Weapons in Indiana & Wisconsin Schools and STEM
Rafael Aparicio
University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Social Determinants of STEM Pathways and Academic Performance: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Study at the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Claire Cahen
Occidental College
Linking School District Debt Issuance to Fiscal and Curricular Outcomes in U.S. Public Schools
Megumi Hine
Washington University in St. Louis
Examining the Impacts of the 2025 St. Louis Tornado
Sooji Kim
University of Florida
High school calculus and the engineering pipeline
Elise McCarren
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Concurrent Enrollment in Gateway STEM Courses & STEM Bachelors Degree Attainment
Sophie McGuinnes
Florida State University
Understanding Transitions to and Through College for Career and Technical Education Students
Gianna Rea-Sandin
University of Minnesota
Understanding the Protective Role and Potential Causal Effects of Adolescent Sleep on Academics Using the Minnesota Student Survey and Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study