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About this program

The Graham Sustainability Institute and the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan offer the Robert and Judith Marans/Kan and Lillian Chen Dissertation Award to support a U‑M doctoral candidate completing a dissertation on the human aspects of environmental sustainability, funding interdisciplinary work that links understanding of human behavior with technical or technological solutions. The award provides up to $11,000 for research support, usable at any stage of dissertation research in whatever form the recipient deems most valuable. Eligible applicants are University of Michigan doctoral candidates from any unit whose dissertation focuses on human aspects of sustainability and who demonstrate a commitment to fostering sustainability using innovative quantitative social research methods, creativity, and relevant technical skills. Required materials are a CV, a project proposal (maximum three single‑spaced pages, excluding references) describing how the project meets fund goals, hypothesis and design, proposed uses of the award including budget and timeline (an academic reference will receive a copy), plus brief 3–5 sentence answers on project goal, activities, timeline, expected outcomes and budget; internal deadline 2026-02-09.