FAQs

The purpose of the LAS-CSSR Grant Program is to provide social science faculty with small grants—up to $5,000—to support preliminary research that strengthens future external grant proposals, and small-scale research. Funding may be used for small-scale pilot studies, secondary data analysis, systematic literature reviews, or other self-contained projects, with allowable expenses including student research assistance, data access, software, participant incentives, or online sampling fees. In addition, the program supports faculty engaged in planning and writing external grant applications, whether as sole investigators or as part of multi-investigator teams, enabling collaboration with grant-writing companies or developmental editors, particularly for first-time NSF CAREER submissions or large-scale collaborative projects.

Tenure system faculty (at either the assistant, associate, or full professor level) with more than 0% appointment in one of the social science departments in LAS (Anthropology, Communication, Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Criminology, Law & Justice, and Psychology) are eligible to apply. Social scientists in the departments of Gender and Women’s Studies, Global Asian Studies, Black Studies, and Latin American and Latino Studies are also welcome to apply.

The purpose of this meeting is to help applicants understand the process of grant development consulting, and to help match applicants with the most fitting coaches to develop successful external applications. The purpose of the meeting with the CSSR chair is not to pre-screen internal applications—nor is it required—but to facilitate the best possible internal application before it goes to the committee for consideration.