The APSA Small Research Grant Program supports research in all fields of political science. The intent of these grants is to provide funding opportunities for research conducted by:

• Political scientists in non-tenure track or contingent positions who are ineligible for departmental funding
• Political science faculty of all ranks who are employed in departments that do not grant PhDs.

Prior grant recipients published books and book chapters, journal articles, working papers, and conference presentations as the result of the grants. They also report benefits to students, who have served as co-authors or research assistants on the grant-funded projects, and have reported public benefits in the form of briefings, consultancies with government or INGOs as a result of the research project funded. Finally, several recipients were also able to use the APSA grant as seed money to gain additional funding.

A small number of these grants are awarded annually through a peer-review process. Individual grants may not exceed $2,500 and are not renewable.

The next deadline for small research grants is April 30, 2020.

Our new application form is now live, please click here to apply!

Applicants must be APSA members at the time of the application, and when funds are dispersed. The principal applicant and any co-author must fall into one of the following categories:

• A PhD faculty member at a college or university that does not award a PhD in political science, public administration, public policy, international relations, government, or politics, and whose primary appointment is in one of these departments.
• A PhD faculty member at a college or university that awards a PhD in political science who is on a non-tenure or contingent track position, and ineligible for departmental funding.
• A political scientist not affiliated with an academic institution and is either (a) unemployed or (b) working in a research organization such as a think tank.

Please note that this grant does not support dissertation research or writing. Non-PhDs, PhD candidates, and graduate students are not eligible for small research grants.

Your proposal should address a significant problem in political science, and must include the following documents:

• Your CV.
• Title page (1 page): This should include an abstract of your proposal in 150 words or less.
• Research statement (no more than 5 single-spaced pages): Include a description of your research topic, questions, and its import to the field; the research design to be used; and the present status of your project. Although not required, if your project has a potential public engagement component or other public component, please include this as well.
• Bibliography for proposed research statement.
• Research budget: This must have separate line items for direct costs associated with your proposed research (travel, access to archives, interviews, etc.)

For questions or concerns about the Small Research Grant Program, please contact the APSA team at [email protected].