Search for Funding
Funding Sources Databases
Various resources to assist faculty in identifying and locating funding sources for research opportunities are listed below. These databases may include different funding opportunities, so you should use all that seem relevant to your interests
Sponsored Program Information Network - SPIN is an up-to-date listing of national and international government and private funding sources. It is the No. 1 database of its kind and is used by more than 800 colleges, universities and industry clients worldwide. SPIN has information on more than 1,200 sponsoring agencies and 11,000 separate funding opportunities. It also provides listings of upcoming deadlines and allows you to customize your own e-mail notifications of funding information.
Download a handout on using SPIN.
Grants.gov is maintained by the federal government and allows you to search for government - wide grant opportunities.
School Grants provides a comprehensive index of grants available for educational research. Funding opportunities are categorized into the following groupings: federal, regional, state, and those with and without deadlines. This site also has links to some successful proposals.
The American Educational Research Association (AERA)With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the AERA Grants Program has a Research Grants competition that seeks to:
- Stimulate research on U.S. education issues using data from the large-scale, national and international datasets supported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Science Foundation, and other federal agencies
- Increase the number of education researchers using these data sets.
The program supports quantitative research projects that incorporate analysis of existing data from NCES, NSF or other federal agencies and have U.S. education policy relevance.
The Spencer Foundation awards grants that fit within one or more of these four areas of inquiry:
- The relation between education and social opportunity
- Organizational learning in schools, school systems, and higher education institutions
- Teaching, learning, and instructional resources
- Purposes and values of education
The Foundation will also continue to provide an opportunity to submit field-initiated proposals outside these areas. The Spencer Foundation has two grants programs:
- Education Research Programs (84.305A)
- Special Education Research Programs (84.324A)
- Statistical and Research Methodology in Education (84.305D)
- Special Education Initiative: Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Research Initiative (84.324D) NEW
- Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies (84.305E)
- Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research (84.305H) NEW
- Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences (84.305B)
- Research Training Program in Special Education (84.324B)
Funding Opportunities for Research and Research Training
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) overarching priority is research that contributes to school readiness and improved academic achievement for all students, particularly for those whose education prospects are hindered by inadequate education services and conditions associated with poverty, race/ethnicity, limited English proficiency, disability, and family circumstance. Please read an Overview of IES Research and Research Training Grant Programs for background information before proceeding. Note that not all IES research and research training programs are offered each funding year and that the requirements for research and research training programs may change from year to year.
The FY 2012 Research and Research Training competitions are now closed. For FY 2013, the Institute supports the following research and research training programs (announced in the Federal Register on March 6, 2012).
Research Programs
Research Training Programs
Other IES Funding Opportunities
Note: For FY 2013, the Institute does not anticipate offering the Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in the Education Sciences (84.305B), the Postdoctoral Research Training Program in Special Education (84.324B), the National Research and Development Centers (84.305C), or the Special Education Research and Development Centers (84.324C).
Research Funding Webinars
The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) and the National Center for Education Research (NCER) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) hosts a series of webinars related to research funding opportunities. Please register for the webinars using the links below.
Slides from previous webinars discussing research funding opportunities are available to online viewing.
- Phase I: Proposal Preparation and Submission
- Phase II: Proposal Review and Processing
- Phase III: Award Processing
- Non-Award Decisions and Transactions
- Merit Review Facts
- Why You Should Volunteer to Serve As An NSF Reviewer
- Additional Resources
- If you have more questions regarding the NSF Merit Review Process or proposal submission and preparation, please contact NSF by email: policy@nsf.gov or by phone: (703) 292-8243.
- Advanced Technological Education (ATE)
- Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources (BCC-SBE/EHR)
- Cooperative Activity with Department of Energy Programs for Education and Human Resource Development (Request for Supplement)
- Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12)
- Informal Science Education (ISE) (AISL)
- Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)
- Promoting Research and Innovation in Methodologies for Evaluation (PRIME)
- Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering (REESE)
- Research in Disabilities Education (RDE)
- Transforming STEM Learning (TSL)
Merit Review Process
Through its merit review process, the National Science Foundation (NSF) ensures that proposals submitted are reviewed in a fair, competitive, transparent, and in-depth manner. The merit review process is described in detail in Part I of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG): the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The GPG provides guidance for the preparation and submission of proposals to NSF. To help you better understand the NSF merit review process as well as identify resources for additional information please click on the links below
Programs of Interest to Education Researchers
The English Language Specialist Program sends experts in the field of English language teaching around the world as a part of the U.S. Department of State's soft diplomacy. They are looking for academic specialists in different areas. For more information about eligibility visit https://elprograms.org/specialist/applicants/specialist-eligibility/.
Grantmakers for Education is the nation's largest and most diverse network of education grantmakers dedicated to improving educational outcomes and increasing opportunities for all learners.
STEM Funders Network is comprised of a diverse mix of more than 20 education-focused private and corporate foundations who are working together to increase the knowledge and expertise of grantmakers investing in STEM, leverage their collective resources, and collaborate on high-impact projects they could not undertake alone.