With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC), the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) operates two grant programs that support research on a wide range of issues of critical importance to U.S. higher education.

Two levels of grants are offered:

• Research Grants: Faculty and practitioners are eligible for research grants of up to $40,000 for one year of independent research (Note: These research grants are not available to students). All grant recipients must be affiliated with a U.S. postsecondary institution or relevant non-profit higher education organization.
  
  Research Grant Application Details
  Research Grant Guidelines(PDF)


• Dissertation Grants: Doctoral students are eligible for dissertation grants of up to $20,000 for one year to support dissertation research and writing under the guidance of a faculty dissertation advisor.

Dissertation Grant Application Details
Dissertation Grant Guidelines(PDF)

The programs have two separate purposes:

• NSF and NCES support grants aimed to increase the number of researchers using national datasets and demonstrate the contribution that these datasets make to the national base of knowledge on higher education policy, theory, and practice.


• NPEC funding supports grants that increase the understanding and knowledge of a specific issue area identified by NPEC. This year, the focus is "Exploring Postsecondary Non-Degree Programs.”

The deadline for proposal submission is January 10, 2012 (11:59 p.m. EST). Please visit the AIR Grants webpage for program descriptions and online applications.

Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by March 23, 2012. Funding will be available starting May 1, 2012.

Assistance is available from the AIR staff at grants@airweb.org or 850-385-4155 x200.