Fellowships and Resources

1. The Department of Sociology Henderson Research Fund 

​​Funding is provided to successful applications for research expenses, such as research travel and accommodations, transcription, research incentives, or software. Conference travel is not considered a research expense. Award amounts vary, but maximum awards are usually around $4000.

2. The Wing C. Chan and Angelina H. Li Fund

The Wing C. Chan and Angelina H. Li fund, generously endowed by University of Chicago Sociology PhD alumna, Angelina Li, provides dissertation proposal development seed money grants (e.g. a “pre-dissertation” research grant) for Sociology PhD students. PhD students who are pre-ABD are eligible to apply. Typically, preference is given to students who are working on their dissertation proposal but we will consider strong qualifying paper research projects as well. Students are expected to use these funds for research expenses, such as research travel and accommodations, transcription, research incentives, or software. Conference travel is not considered a research expense. Students may not receive this funding more than once over their time in the program, though they are welcome to reapply in subsequent years if they are not funded in this cycle. Awards typically range from $50 to $2,500.

3. Gerald Suttles Fund

The Gerald D. Suttles Fellowship Fund is available to currently enrolled PhD students in Sociology who use ethnographic methods in their doctoral research. Amounts vary by year.

The Grad Council’s Individual Fund offers funding for graduate students at the University of Chicago to attend academic conferences, networking events, and other venues. Funding is available for two broad categories - Research and Personal Development. See the Grad Council’s Individual Fund page for more information.

The University of Chicago has a wealth of Institutes & Centers, many of which offer funding for graduate students. Below is just a sample of some of these opportunities:

• CISSR (Center for International Social Science Research) offers the Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph Field Research Award for Graduate Students and the CISSR Dissertation Completion Grant

• 3CT (Center for Contemporary Theory) has a “Graduate Student Fund” that offers small grants for work that is engaged in contemporary theory

• CEGU (Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization) offers the Redekop Family Environmental Research Grants for PhD students

• The Center for the Study of Gender & Sexuality has various Fellowships, Research Grants, Research Grants and Prizes for Graduate Students

• The University of Chicago France Center offers Research Fellowships and Travel Grants for research related to France, as well as exchange programs

• The Nicholson Center for British Studies offers multiple Graduate Research Opportunities, including the Ncholson Graduate Research Fellowship, the Archival Research Grant, and the Graduate Initiative Project

There are various other Centers and Institutes that may also offer graduate student funding opportunities; for a complete list, see the University of Chicago’s page for Institutes & Centers.

Some Suggestions for External Fellowships:

• American Bar Foundation

• ASA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant

• ASA Minority Fellowship Program

• Center for Engaged Scholarship

• Fulbright-Hays

• Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy

• National Science Foundation  

• Spencer Foundation for Education Research

• SSSP Racial/Ethnic Minority Graduate Fellowship 

• Washington Center for Equitable Growth

University Resources

• Chicago Center for Teaching: The Chicago Center for Teaching provides training and resources for students in teaching situations.

• UChicago GRAD Resources and services for University Graduate Students

• Library Resources: The University of Chicago Library Home Page.

• Library's Sociology Page: A page sponsored by the University of Chicago Library Information Service, LibInfo for short. The page contains information about where to find sociology materials in the library and also gives links to outside sources.