Dissertation Grants

AIR Dissertation Grants

Overview

Dissertation Grants are intended to support one year of research conducted as part of the doctoral dissertation requirement and conducted under the guidance of a faculty dissertation advisor. The major portion of the research should be completed between May 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010. At the time of application, the dissertation should be in the early stage of development.

Doctoral students enrolled at a U.S. postsecondary institution may initiate proposals. A signed letter of support from the student’s faculty dissertation advisor is required. Applicants may be U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or non-U.S. citizens. Applicants should be advanced doctoral students at the dissertation writing stage. The deadline for proposals was January 16, 2009. Applicants will be notified of the funding decision no later than the first week of April 2009, and grants will commence May 1, 2009. AIR funding cannot duplicate or replace dissertation funding from another source.

A complete application is comprised of eight major components. The application components are outlined below. For detailed information, see Dissertation Grant Guidelines (PDF)

Contact information: Name, physical address, e-mail address, institutional affiliation, name of faculty dissertation advisor, and name of the official institutional financial representative
Project description: Eight sections (2a-2h) describing the proposed research in detail
Letter of support from faculty dissertation advisor
Statement of Institutional Review Board approval or exemption
Statement of use of restricted datasets (if applicable)
Biographical sketch
Budget
Statement of the applicant’s prior, current or pending funding

Applications must be submitted online. Assistance is available from the AIR grant staff at air@airweb.org or 850-385-4155 x200.

Application Process

STEP 1: Individuals are encouraged to begin the application process as soon as possible by providing initial contact information as the first step: name, e-mail address, physical address, and institutional affiliation. Providing this information assures that updates and deadline reminders will be sent to individuals via the e-mail address provided. Providing contact information does not commit an individual to submit a proposal.

Begin application
(initial contact information)

Individuals will receive an e-mail with a unique Web address once they have provided AIR with their initial contact information (STEP 1).
STEP 2: Print a copy of the Dissertation Grant Guidelines.

Dissertation Grant Guidelines (PDF)

STEP 3: Individuals will use the unique Web address sent to them via e-mail after completing Step 1 to complete their online application. The application contains eight components. It is recommended that applicants write each section using word processing software and, when finalized, cut and paste the text into the online application.

Note: Applicants can save parts of their application and return later, via their unique Web address, to add and/or edit their information until either they finalize their application or the application process closes on January 16, 2009. If applicant misplaces the email with unique Web address, please contact the AIR grant staff at air@airweb.org or 850-385-4155 x200.

STEP 4: Submit the online proposal by following the directions at the end of the online application. When a proposal is successfully submitted a confirmation message will be sent to the applicant. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit the final proposal and store the confirmation notice as receipt of a successful submission.

STEP 5: Submit hard copy or scanned PDF letter of support from your faculty dissertation advisor. Your dissertation application is not considered complete and ready for review by the Dissertation Grant Review Panel until your signed letter of support from your faculty dissertation advisor is submitted to AIR. Letters may be submitted in the following formats:

A hard copy letter may be mailed via U.S. Postal Service (postmark date no later than January 16, 2009) to:
Dissertation Grants
Association for Institutional Research
1435 E. Piedmont Drive Suite 211
Tallahassee, FL 32308

A scanned PDF document may be sent via e-mail (no later than January 16, 2009) to air@airweb.org

For questions and assistance please contact the AIR grant staff at air@airweb.org or 850-385-4155 x200.

An application may be withdrawn at any time before the final funding decision is made. A request for withdrawal must be sent to air@airweb.org. Confirmation of the withdrawal request will be sent to the applicant and faculty dissertation advisor.

Selection Process

Applications are reviewed by a panel of national experts. A minimum of three panel members will read and evaluate each application. The panel will provide comments to each author along with the final funding decision. The panel may recommend funding pending revisions to the research plan. If so requested, a revised research plan must be submitted.

If any significant change in the research plan develops after the proposal application is submitted, the author is responsible for notifying AIR staff as soon as possible. AIR may allow a revision of the proposal after the application deadline or the new information may be presented to the review panel as an addendum to the original submission.

Award Announcement

Applicants will be notified of the status of the proposed project during the first week of April 2009. Faculty advisors and institutional financial representatives will be copied on notices of funded projects. Grant recipient names, project titles, and institutional affiliations are part of the public record which is provided to NCES, NSF, and NPEC and listed on the AIR Web site.

The Cameron Fincher & Charles I. Brown Awards, sponsored by the AIR Membership Committee, are given to the two highest rated dissertation proposals. The award covers travel expenses to attend the Annual AIR Forum and to receive recognition.

Funded Proposals

Information for Funded Proposals

Withdrawal
Withdrawal of funded research projects must be coordinated with the AIR office. Requests should be sent to air@airweb.org. Confirmations will be sent to the applicant, faculty dissertation advisor and the institutional representative.

Disbursement of Funds
Dissertation grants are paid in two installments (May 1, 2009 and January 3, 2010). Checks are jointly issued to the applicant and authorized institutional representative and mailed to the institution for disbursement.

Mid-Year and Final Report
A mid-year progress report is due by December 22, 2009; the January 2010 payment will not be processed until the report is received. The progress report must be submitted online. Applicants should briefly describe their progress to date on each deliverable and likelihood of successful completion of the dissertation by the close of grant period.

A final report is due thirty days after the end of the grant period. The final report is submitted online. Applicants should briefly report the achievement of each of the deliverables, including dissemination of the research findings. If a final report is not possible within 30 days of the end of the grant cycle, applicants should apply for a “No-Cost Extension” until the project is complete.

No-Cost Extension
Grantees may receive a one-time extension on the expiration date of the grant for up to 12 months with no additional funding. Additional time beyond the established expiration date is available to assure adequate completion of the original scope of work within the original budget. Request for a no-cost extension should be made to air@airweb.org and should contain a revised completion date.

Acknowledgement of Support and Disclaimer
An acknowledgment of support must appear in publications of any material, whether copyrighted or not, resulting from an AIR funded project similar to the language below:

This material is based upon work supported by the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Science Foundation and the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative under Association for Institutional Research Grant Number________ (grantee should enter AIR grant number.)

Except for articles or papers published in scientific, technical, or professional journals, the following disclaimer must be included:

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Science Foundation, or the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative.

Legal Rights to Intellectual Property
Authors retain legal rights to the intellectual property developed during grant funding. This policy provides incentive for development and dissemination of deliverables, but does not reduce the responsibility to make results available to the research community.

To Apply

The deadline for proposals was January 16, 2009. Applicants will be notified of the funding decision no later than the first week of April 2009, and grants will commence May 1, 2009.