External Funding Sources

American Association of University Women (AAUW) AAUW promotes education and equity for all women and girls, lifelong education, and positive societal change. The AAUW Educational Foundation is the world's largest source of funding exclusively for graduate women, providing approximately $4 million annually in fellowships, grants, and awards.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Mellon Foundation focuses on six core program areas: higher education, museums and art conservation, performing arts, population, conservation and the environment, and public affairs. Grants are awarded to institutions, not to individuals. The Foundation is committed to strengthening the quality of research at select private universities, particularly in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Grants are primarily given towards doctoral education, post-doctoral fellowships, faculty research support, and discipline-related projects.

Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA) Fellows at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA) have access to the notable resources represented by the collections of the National Gallery, as well as to the Library of Congress and other specialized research libraries and collections in Washington. Lectures, colloquia, and informal discussions complement the fellowship program. CASVA, housed at the National Gallery of Art, offers two pre-doctoral fellowship programs, both onsite at NGA. CASVA also funds research travel.

Henry J. Luce Foundation The work of the Luce Foundation includes the interdisciplinary exploration of higher education; increased understanding between Asia and the United States; the study of religion and theology; scholarship in American art; opportunities for women in science and engineering; and environmental and public policy programs. With the exception of travel-related research, funds are awarded to individuals through their home institution.

The International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF) program supports distinguished graduate students in the humanities and social sciences who are conducting dissertation research outside the United States. Seventy-five fellowships of approximately $20,000 are awarded with funds provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The IDRF program is committed to scholarship that advances knowledge about non-U.S. cultures and societies grounded in empirical and site-specific research (involving fieldwork, research in archival or manuscript collections, or quantitative data collection).

Javits Fellowships Grants from the Jacob K. Javits Fellowships Program are designed to support graduate study in the arts, humanities, and social sciences of highly qualified individuals. Eligibility is based on demonstrated achievement, financial need, and exceptional promise. Fellowships are awarded to students intending to pursue a doctoral degree and may be awarded to students pursuing a master's degree in those fields in which the master's degree is commonly accepted as the terminal degree.

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City offers resident fellowships in art history to both pre-doctoral graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Some art history fellowships for travel abroad are also available for students whose projects involve first-hand examination of paintings in major European collections.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) The NEA is unable by law to offer many grants to individuals, but it does offer the following awards: Literature Fellowships, American Jazz Masters Fellowships, and National Heritage Fellowships in the Folk & Traditional Arts. It is also possible to apply under the umbrella of an institution for funding in other disciplines such as Visual Arts, Theater, Media, and Music.

NASA The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is the basis for all of NASA's educational programs, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). NASA awards graduate fellowships through JPL and through its National Space Grant program, which awards funds to institutions which in turn awards research grants to students

National Institutes of Health (NIH) This site of the National Institutes of Health provides information about NIH grant and fellowship programs, from application procedures and deadlines to policies governing a grant once it has been awarded. Services include the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, the official NIH publication stating its policies, guidelines, and time-sensitive opportunities; CRISP, a searchable database of federally-funded biomedical research; and a list of biomedical research training opportunities both within NIH and outside its walls.

National Science Foundation (NSF) The NSF funds research and education in science and engineering, through grant, contracts, and cooperative agreements. The Foundation accounts for about 20 percent of federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation The Woodrow Wilson Foundation offers assistance to graduate students in the forms of research grants, travel grants, and dissertation fellowships.