Grad School Grants and Fellowships : Graduate School : UMass Amherst

You may be eligible for funding through grants and fellowships offered by the Graduate School to support the research and scholarly activities of our graduate students.

Graduate School Research Grants

Predissertation Research Grants

Predissertation Grants of up to $1,500 offer early career doctoral students the opportunity to evaluate the feasibility of planned dissertation research, generate pilot data, or establish the necessary networks to carry out future dissertation research, among other activities. The aim is to help students gather information, answer questions, or solve problems related to their dissertation research design. These grants are NOT designed to fund dissertation research itself but rather to help you complete activities that will leave you well positioned to begin your dissertation research after you complete your prospectus.

Dissertation Fieldwork Grants

These grants of up to $5,000 provide support for fieldwork expenses. For the purpose of this grant, fieldwork is defined as data collection that takes place for an extended period of time (e.g. weeks or months) outside the Western Massachusetts geographical area. These grants are not designed to fund data analysis, only expenses related to data collection. In rare instances, applicants may request up to $8,000 to help support work that will take place over an extended period of time and therefore incur significant expense. Applicants will need to submit a statement as part of the application to explain why additional funds are being requested.

Rapid Research Grants

The Graduate School Rapid Research Grant aims to provide funding for doctoral students to conduct unanticipated, time-sensitive research as part of their dissertation research. This opportunity is open to research activities that were not anticipated and will only be possible for a short, specific period of time.

Supplement for Travel with Children

These competitive grants are awarded as a supplement to the three Graduate School Grants (Predissertation, Fieldwork, and Rapid Research Grants). Students must submit the Supplement for Travel with Children application in the same cycle as the Predissertation, Fieldwork, or Rapid Research Grant application; the deadline for the supplement is the same as the primary application.

Supplement for Public Engagement

To support outreach and engagement efforts by graduate student researchers, the Graduate School offers Public Engagement Supplements. These competitive grants are awarded as a supplement to the three Graduate School Grants (Predissertation, Fieldwork, and Rapid Research Grants); most awards will be between $500 and $1,000. Public Engagement Supplements stem from the university's interest in advancing and applying knowledge and innovation to the betterment of society.

Travel Grants

Travel Grants support graduate students in their efforts to establish themselves and acquire valuable experiences in their field. These awards are administered by the Graduate Program Director (GPD) in each department and funded by a block grant from the Graduate School. Graduate students should contact their GPD for more information.

Other University Funding

Natural History Collections Summer Graduate Research Scholarship

This scholarship provides up to $5,000 to support collections-based summer research in botany, entomology, paleontology, and vertebrate biology. The call for applications generally opens in early February.

The Center for Justice, Law, and Societies Graduate Fellow Positions

CJLS is an interdisciplinary group of scholars who focus on the creation, implementation, and real-world applications of law. They welcome applications from graduate students in all departments and colleges throughout UMass.

CJLS fellows will serve a one-year term (this fellowship does not not take the place of a full-time teaching assistantship or research assistantship). Benefits of the fellowship include:

Support from a community of interdisciplinary faculty and graduate students to develop an academic project (article, comp, or dissertation chapter) related to justice, law, and societies (broadly construed). This includes their assignment to two faculty mentors.
Funding to attend an interdisciplinary law-related conference (Law & Society Association; Law, Culture and Humanities, or another law-related conference subject to the approval of the fellowship director). This funding will include coverage of each fellow’s flight, hotel room, conference registration fee (including membership fees, if required for registration), up to $1000.
Funding and support to invite a faculty member to participate in the Five College Law, Justice, and Societies speaker series.

Visit the CJLS website for more details on the fellowship.

WSIP Fellowships

The World Studies Interdisciplinary Project’s (WSIP), with financial support from the Mellon Foundation, offers various forms of support for graduate student research and seminar participation.

Grad School Grants and Fellowships