Ford Graduate Student Research Grants
Graduate research grants support Kellogg doctoral student affiliates conducting research that advances the mission of the Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity. The grants support students' research that contributes to understanding and promoting Integral Human Development, a holistic approach to human flourishing rooted in the dignity and full potential of every person and the common good.
Priority will be given to research with a clear connection to the Ford Program’s mission and a focus on Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Projects may examine the conditions, institutions, policies, and practices that shape human development and well-being across a range of areas and disciplines.
The grants are not intended to substitute for external dissertation research funding. Rather, they are designed to fill gaps in other funding, support exploratory or pilot research, fieldwork data collection, and enable research activities that strengthen students’ dissertation projects and their competitiveness for external funding.
Funding is up to $10,000
Fall deadline: October 13, 2026
Applicants are encouraged to contact Maurice Sikenyi [msikenyi@nd.edu] to discuss proposals prior to submitting for committee review.
The complete application will require:
- A brief abstract (150 words)
-
A full description of the project which clearly identifies:
- the LMIC focus or dimension
- the research question to be addressed
- its background and significance within your field
- its relation to the thematic priorities of the Ford Program
- the methods you will employ to answer the question
- expected accomplishments during the period for which you are requesting funding
- the anticipated scholarly product (e.g., an article, a series of articles, a book)
- the anticipated community deliverable
- A short bibliography
- An abbreviated (2-3 page) CV
- A list of other sources from which the applicant already has funding or will be requesting funding
- A detailed line-item budget (download budget template below) -
- A narrative budget justification that's a high-level narrative explanation of your budget. It does not need to be extensive or detail each expenditure line by line, as your budget already covers that. The goal of the justification, which can be brief, is to explain the rationale for the requested funds in narrative form. State why the requested amounts (e.g., number of trips, length of stay, etc) are necessary for the completion of your research. Describe how you calculated these amounts to show the committee that your requests are reasonable and not arbitrary.