Research funding
Early career
600+ open programsCatalog updated
Early career is the stage where private money does the most work. Federal programs that name the stage are few, and a foundation or society award between $25,000 and $75,000 is often what pays for the pilot study that makes a federal application credible.
The median award here is $45,000, about fifteen times the median for a graduate student grant, and research projects outnumber fellowships roughly two to one. The heaviest funders are disciplinary societies rather than the familiar names in philanthropy: the American Physiological Society, the AASLD Foundation, the American Chemical Society, the SIR Foundation. Society awards tend to be smaller and less contested, and they carry a membership requirement often enough to be worth checking first.
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About a third carry a dated deadline. The rest are rolling or undated at the source. Eligibility is looser than the label suggests, with a third of these programs also open to postdocs and a quarter to mid-career faculty, so read the eligibility line before you rule yourself out.
Open programs 600+
Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology
The American Philosophical Society, in collaboration with the NASA Astrobiology Program, offers Lewis and Clark Fund grants for field studies addressing astrobiology, including the origins, evolution, distribution, and habitability of life on Earth and beyond.
- Deadline
- Amount
- $5,000
Hand in Hand Research Grant
The American Occupational Therapy Foundation, in partnership with the American Society of Hand Therapists and American Hand Therapy Foundation, offers a one-year, $50,000 Hand in Hand Research Grant for early-stage research advancing community-engaged hand and upper-extremity therapy.
- Deadline
- Amount
- $50,000
McKnight Scholar Award
The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience offers Scholar Awards to support innovative, potentially transformative research that advances understanding of the brain and fosters independent neuroscience careers.
- Deadline
- Amount
- Not listed
These are the soonest deadlines of 600+ open programs. FundFit holds every one, screens it against the researchers at your institution, and names who should apply.
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