Select Funding Opportunities

Dietrich School faculty and students apply to a very broad range of funding opportunities each year.  While most applications must be submitted at the institutional level, in coordination with our pre-award team, there are some sponsors that make awards only to individuals.  Likewise, some programs are open to researchers at all levels of experience, while others are intended for or restricted to early or middle career stage faculty, graduate students, or other specific populations.  Below is a selection of funding opportunities, with links to the program websites, and brief information on the logistics of submitting an application and/or receiving an award.

Those pursuing external funding can also use Pivot, an online resource with funding opportunities, domestic and international, in virtually all disciplines.  Additionally, Pitt's Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research maintains a searchable database of competitive funding opportunities, with many ways to sort, filter, and identify the most relevant programs. 

Upon request, the Dean’s Office may provide a supplement up to 50% of the faculty member’s contract salary (not to exceed full salary) for faculty requesting a leave of absence for professional enhancement who have received a prestigious award. Tenure-stream/tenured and appointment-stream faculty are eligible for this top-off. For information on sabbatical/leave approval, salary supplement, and maintaining benefits, potential applicants can contact Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Todd Reeser and see the Chairs Handbook https://www.as.pitt.edu/sabbatical-leaves-and-leaves-absence.

ACLS Fellowships – The American Council of Learned Societies offers fellowships for untenured scholars who have earned a PhD in the humanities or humanistic social sciences within the last 9 years.  Awards include a stipend of $60,000 and require six to twelve consecutive months devoted to full-time research and/or writing.  Applications are submitted directly by the faculty member, and no signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs is required.  The application deadline is in September of each year. 

Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program – The Carnegie Foundation of New York offers fellowships to scholars in four broad topic areas that include a wide range of suggested subtopic: Strengthening U.S. democracy and exploring new narratives; Technological and cultural creativity—potential and perils; Global connections and global ruptures; and Environments, natural and human.  Awards are made in the amount of $200,000 for a period of up to two years.  Applications may only be submitted by individuals nominated by the university via the limited submission process, which is managed by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research.  If approved for submission, applications are due in November of each year; nominees should prepare their applications in coordination with the pre-award administrator for their department.

Ford Foundation Fellowships – Multi-year predoctoral fellowships, and single-year dissertation fellowships and postdoctoral fellowships include an annual stipend and invitation to attend the Conference of Ford Fellows.  Predoctoral awards have a stipend amount of $27,000 per year for three years; dissertation fellowships have a stipend amount of $28,000 for one year; and postdoctoral fellowships have a stipend amount of $50,000 for one year.  Applications are submitted directly by the student or postdoc, and no signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs is required.  Applications for all of the programs are due in December of each year. 

Fulbright Scholar Awards – These awards include a stipend and travel allowance to perform teaching, research, or other scholarly activities abroad.  Awards amounts, deadlines, and application requirements vary by program.  Applications are submitted directly by the faculty member, and no signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs is required. 

The Getty Foundation – Getty Scholar Grants support established scholars, or individuals who have attained distinction in their fields, by hosting them in residence at the Getty Research Institute, or Getty Villa, where they pursue their own projects free from work-related obligations, make use of Getty collections, join their colleagues in a weekly meeting devoted to an annual research theme or the African American Art History Initiative, and participate in the intellectual life of the Getty.  Residencies may be for three months ($21,500), six months ($43,000), or nine months ($65,000).  Applications are submitted directly by the faculty member, and no signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs is required.  The application deadline is in October of each year. 

Guggenheim Fellowships – The Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers “mid-career” fellowships in support of research in the arts.  Award amounts are variable, and the application deadline is in September of each year.  Awards are made to individuals only, and as such applications are submitted directly by the faculty member, with no signoff or approval required from the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Howard Foundation – Fellowships from the Howard Foundation are intended for early to mid-career individuals (5-15 years with PhD completion, but not yet at full professorship), and eligible fields of study in the arts, humanities, and social sciences vary by year.  Fellowships are made in the amount of $35,000.  Awards may be made to the individual or to the institution; as such applications should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department.  The application deadline is in November of each year. 

Henry Luce Foundation – The Luce Foundation features eight grant programs, each with specific goals and guidelines.  All of the programs submit unsolicited applications, and applications may be submitted at any time.  Award amounts and deadline dates vary by program. Awards are only made to the institution, and as such applications should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department. 

Mellon New Directions Fellowships – The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation offers these fellowships to assist faculty members in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who seek to acquire systematic training outside their own areas of special interest.  Award amounts usually range from $175,000 to $250,000, with a maximum of $300,000, for a minimum of two years.  Applications may only be submitted by individuals nominated by the university via the limited submission process, which is managed by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research.  If approved for submission, applications are due in September of each year; nominees should prepare their applications in coordination with the pre-award administrator for their department.  The Mellon Foundation has a number of other grants programs which can be found by browsing their website. 

National Endowment for the Humanities – NEH offers a broad range of funding opportunities to support research and scholarly activity in the humanities.  Some programs, like NEH fellowships and summer stipends, are awarded directly to the individual, and in these cases, applications are submitted directly by the faculty member, with no signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs.  Other programs award applied to and award at the institutional level.  Please consult the pre-award administrator for your department if you are unsure which type of program you are applying to.

National Endowment for the Arts – Like NEH, NEA awards grants to both organizations and individuals.  Consult the pre-award administrator for your department if you are unsure which type of program you are applying to.

National Humanities Center – NHC fellowships involve one-year residencies at the center in North Carolina and include a stipend (currently half of the fellow's base salary amount up to $65,000) and round-trip travel costs for the fellow and immediate family members. Fellowships are awarded to established scholars (at least 5 years post-PhD), meaning that successful candidates usually have published at least one single-author monograph or a significant body of peer-reviewed scholarship.  Applications are submitted directly by the faculty member, and no signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs is required. The application deadline is in October of each year. 

NSF Programs for Graduate Students – The National Science Foundation has several programs specifically for support of graduate students, including Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIG) in archaeology, anthropology, and other social sciences, and the Graduate Research Fellow Program (GRFP).  DDRIG applications must be submitted at the institutional level, and the pre-award administrator for your department will work with you on the application process.  GRFP applications are submitted directly by the students, and do not require signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs.

NSF Programs for Faculty – The National Science Foundation offers faculty research grants in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences.  Amounts, application requirements, and deadline dates vary by program.  Awards are only made to the institution, and as such applications should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department. 

Pollock-Krasner Foundation – PKF provides financial resources for visual artists to create new work, acquire supplies, rent studio space, prepare for exhibitions, attend a residency and offset living expenses.  Award amounts range from $5,000 to $30,000 for a period of one year, and applications are at any time.  Awards are made to individuals only, and as such applications are submitted directly by the faculty member, with no signoff or approval required from the Office of Sponsored Programs. 

Social Science Research Council – SSRC offers a broad range of prizes and fellowships which all share a core commitment to improving conditions for social science knowledge production worldwide. Programs engage themes ranging from global issues facing the United States and Japan to security in Africa and Latin America.  Award amounts and deadline dates vary by program.  Awards may either be made directly to the applicant or to the university; as such applicants should consult with the pre-award administrator for their department before applying. 

Templeton Foundation – Templeton offers awards in the fields of natural sciences, human sciences, philosophy and theology, and public engagement for award periods of up to five years.  Applications are submitted via a two-step process, with OFIs (Online Funding Inquiries) due in August of each year, and invited full proposals due on varying dates thereafter.  Awards are made to the institution, and as such applications should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department.

Wenner-Gren Foundation – Wenner-Gren offers a variety of grant programs for anthropological research and scholarship that are open to applicants irrespective of nationality or country of residence.  Doctoral research grants range in size from $17,500 to $20,000 per year, while post-PhD grants to support individual research projects, writing fellowships, and conference/workshops range from $20,000 to $40,000.  Deadlines vary according to program; interested applicants should consult the foundation website for details.  Awards are made to the institution, and as such applications should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department.

Beckman Foundation – Beckman Young Investigator Awards offer support to early career faculty in chemistry and the life sciences.  The program is open to those within the first three years of a tenure-track position, or an equivalent independent research appointment.  Awards range up to $600,000 for a duration of four years.  Applications are submitted via a three-step process (letter of intent, full proposal, and interview), with LOIs due between June and September of each year; applicants should prepare their submissions in coordination with the pre-award administrator for their department.

Cottrell Scholars – Cottrell Scholar Awards support early career, tenure-track faculty in physics, astronomy, and chemistry.  Faculty members become eligible to apply in the third year of their first tenure-track appointment.  Awards total $100,000 over three years.  Applications are due in July of each year, and should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department. 

Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Awards – Dreyfus offers five-year awards totaled $100,000 (in all, not per year) for early career stage faculty in the chemical sciences who demonstrate leadership in research and education.  Eligible applicants must hold a tenure-track appointment, and are normally expected to have been appointed within the last 6 years.  Applications are due in February of each year, and should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute – The HHMI Investigator Program accepts applications, via periodic open competitions, from investigators with tenure-track positions and a track record of peer-reviewed funding. Each competition defines a required length of post-training, professional experience prior to the application. Successful applicants receive renewable appointments of 5-7 years and become employees of HHMI, though they continue to be based at their home institution where their research is performed.  Awards also include a research budget varying in amount, but commonly in excess of $500,000 per year.  Applications are submitted directly by the faculty member, and no signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs is required at the application stage. 

Kaufman Foundation  – Kaufman Foundation New Investigator Grants provide research support for innovative scientists in Pennsylvania as they transition into an academic position as a new independent investigator.  Applicants must have completed their PhD within the last 8 years, and must hold a tenure-track appointment at the rank of assistant or associate professor without tenure.  Awards are made in the amount of $150,000 over two years.  Kaufman Foundation New Initiative Research Grants are intended to stimulate existing investigators with strong records of research accomplishments to establish collaborations that facilitate innovative interdisciplinary approaches towards a common research question and that require expertise beyond that of any single researcher.  Awards are made in the amount of $300,000 over two years.  Kaufman Foundation application deadlines vary from year to year, and as such applicants are encouraged to check the program websites for updates.  Applications should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department.

Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation – Mallinckrodt Scholar Awards support early-stage investigators engaged in basic biomedical research that has the potential to significantly advance the understanding, diagnosis, or treatment of disease.  Applicants must hold M.D. and/or Ph.D. degrees, and be within their fifth to eighth year of a tenure-track position.  Awards are made in the amount of $100,000 per year for a period of four years.  Applications may only be submitted by individuals nominated by the university via the limited submission process, which is managed by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research.  If approved for submission, applications are due in January of each year; nominees should prepare their applications in coordination with the pre-award administrator for their department.

NSF Programs for Graduate Students – The National Science Foundation has several programs specifically for support of graduate students, including Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIG) in archaeology, anthropology, and other social sciences, and the Graduate Research Fellow Program (GRFP).  DDRIG applications must be submitted at the institutional level, and the pre-award administrator for your department will work with you on the application process.  GRFP applications are submitted directly by the students, and do not require signoff or approval from the Office of Sponsored Programs.  DDRIG applications have varying deadlines throughout the year; GRFP applications are due in October of each year. 

Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering – Packard fellowships support investigators engaged in research in the natural and physical sciences or engineering who are within the first three years of their faculty careers.  Awards total $875,000 over five years.  Applications may only be submitted by individuals nominated by the university via the limited submission process, which is managed by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research.  If approved for submission, applications are due in April of each year; nominees should prepare their applications in coordination with the pre-award administrator for their department.

Pew Biomedical Scholars Program – The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences provides funding to young investigators of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health who are in their first few years of their appointment at the assistant professor level.  Awards total $300,000 over for four years.  Applications may only be submitted by individuals nominated by the university via the limited submission process, which is managed by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research.  If approved for submission, applications are due in October of each year; nominees should prepare their applications in coordination with the pre-award administrator for their department. 

Searle Scholars – The Searle Scholars Program funds early career scientists in chemistry and the biomedical sciences.  Applicants must be in their first tenure-track position at the assistant professor rank, within two years of their initial appointment.  Awards total $300,000 over three years.  Applications may only be submitted by individuals nominated by the university via the limited submission process, which is managed by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research.  If approved for submission, applications are due in September of each year; nominees should prepare their applications in coordination with the pre-award administrator for their department. 

Sloan Fellowships – The Sloan Foundation offers two-year fellowship awards in the amount of $75,000, to early career faculty in chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, molecular biology, neuroscience, physics, or related fields.  Applicants must hold tenure-track appointments, but must still be untenured at the time of award, and must be nominated by their chair or department head (with no more than three nominees from any single department). Applications are due in September of each year, and should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department.

Templeton Foundation – Templeton offers awards in the fields of natural sciences, human sciences, philosophy and theology, and public engagement for award periods of up to five years.  Applications are submitted via a two-step process, with OFIs (Online Funding Inquiries) due in August of each year, and invited full proposals due on varying dates thereafter.  Applications should be prepared in coordination with the pre-award administrator for your department.