Grant Applications

The next deadline for submitting grant applications is April 7, 2024. To apply for a grant, please email Jonathan Robidoux (jrobidou@stern.nyu.edu). State the Center’s research group from which you seek funding and place the words “Ph.D. Grant Application” in the email subject line. Attach the following information:

  • Current CV.
  • One-page proposal. Describe the research project and how the resources would contribute to the research. Describe the research project, co-authors and how the resources would contribute to the research. Try to be as specific and concrete as possible. Clearly state the research question/hypothesis. A brief connection/reference to the literature is often very useful for the coordinators in assessing the potential of a project.
  • Recommendation from your supervisor. This should comment on the project and its value as scholarly research, and confirm that the budget is reasonable.
  • Letter from your department's Ph.D. coordinator. The letter should confirm that you are in good standing in the Ph.D. program.
  • Budget. What is the total cost of the project? How much funding do you seek? What will you use it for? Do you have, or have you applied for, funding from any other sources? If so, how much? What is the contribution from advisor/co-author STARS? For data purchases, please include a vendor invoice, and please complete this form. (Please  also check the CRC Research Database page to make sure the dataset isn't already available at Stern).
  • List of previous CGEB grants describing, for each previously funded project
    • Connection to the current project (if applicable)
    • Current status (Published/Under revision/Submitted/Working paper...)
  • Other materials. Please include any additional information that could assist in assessing the merit of your proposal.

Following the review of these applications, the relevant research group coordinator may approach applicants for additional information.

Grant Guidelines
To aid in formulating grant requests, Center coordinators expect to apply the following rules of thumb in assessing applications:

  • Funding is available for data acquisition and for fieldwork travel. Data acquisition costs should be carefully documented in the application. Where data will be acquired from an external vendor, the application should include a statement of cost from the vendor. 
  • PhD students should prepare their grant applications in close consultation with their faculty advisors.
  • All else equal, preference will be given to new applicants.
  • Applicants that have applied to other funding sources will be viewed favorably. Where alternative funding is being pursued, funding may be provided on a contingent basis to enable research to commence while other grant processes are being resolved. That is, the Center can provide "bridge" financing support.
  • Aside from exceptional circumstances, funding per applicant will be capped at $25,000 over the course of their study at NYU Stern.
  • The Center does not reimburse outlays made prior to the award of a grant.
  • Applicants who have received previous Center grants should include documentation describing the current status (e.g. published output and expenditures) of their earlier project(s).
  • There is a bias against funding more than one project per applicant per cycle.
  • The Center will prioritize PhD projects that are not co-authored with faculty. Should co-authorship be proposed, the recipient of a PhD grant is expected to be the lead author on any papers resulting from the grant.
  • There is a bias in favor of funding dissertation research, as opposed to other projects.

These guidelines are not intended to be comprehensive and are subject to change. Reflecting the Center’s limited resources, successful applicants should anticipate that a grant may meet only part of their request.

Grant Conditions
Acceptance of a Center research grant indicates agreement to the following conditions:

  • The details of the grant will be announced on the Center’s website.
  • Any working papers or other research product of the project will be sumbitted in a timely way to the Center for posting on Center's website
  • Evidence (e.g. receipts) of how the funds have been spent will be submitted to the Center as soon as possible, but no later than six months following the grant (unless otherwise specified).
  • Within six months (unless otherwise specified), the grantee will submit a brief research note (e.g. several paragraphs) that documents research progress for posting on the Center website.
  • Any data purchased or created with Center grant funds will be made available to all Stern faculty and Ph.D. students, subject to vendor restrictions.
  • The funds are expected to be disbursed through the faculty supervisor's STARS account.
  • Use of these grant resources is subject to any rules or restriction on research funds, including COVID-19 actions, that are imposed by NYU Stern or by the University. This includes, but is not limited to, possible restrictions on travel or on the timing of spending.