Funding Opportunities

Check out the resources below for graduate funding opportunities.

• Learn about graduate assistantships
• Learn more about fellowships
• View the financial aid process

Health Sciences (HS) Doctoral – Faculty Dyad Grant

The Ph.D. program is able to solicit grant applications of up to $2,500 to support two doctoral-faculty dyads for the next academic year.

Please submit a completed application no later than Sept 15, 2026. 

The HS Doctoral – Faculty Dyad Grant is designed to assist Health Sciences doctoral students and their faculty mentors in three possible ways:

• Provide a mechanism for the faculty mentor to support the student with a guided experience of co-writing a grant and/or collaborating on research.
• Aid in the collection of pilot data for a dissertation or other large-scale projects that are part of a student's program of research.
• Aid in the collection of pilot data for a grant proposal to support research or a faculty proposal for external funding.

These grants are intended to help students collaborate with faculty on specific research projects that are in an early stage and align with further scholarly progress for both students and faculty mentor.

Eligibility

• Must be pursuing a doctoral degree in health sciences
• Have an HS faculty advisor who will mentor them throughout this process
• Must be able to complete the work in an achievable timeline for doctoral student and faculty
• Must include a plan for approval by the Office of Compliance if human subjects research if applicable.

Award

Award amounts will vary depending on the proposed budget, with a maximum amount per award of $2,500. HS Doctoral – Faculty Dyad Grant award monies may be used for costs related to conducting a pilot study or to support attendance at workshops for seeking external funding, travel and attendance costs for conferences or purchase of supplies including software. For students, budget reimbursements need to include actual expense actual receipts. Other expenditures will be considered and are subject to evaluation. Equipment purchases will be included in NIU inventory and fit with faculty member's ongoing research.

We plan to notify dyads of the status of their application by the first week of October.

Note: All funds awarded for the HS Doctoral – Faculty Dyad Grant must be spent by May 31 of the academic year in which the grant was awarded.

Expectations

All awardees will be expected to:

• Submit a Midterm Progress Report Form (DOCX) at the halfway point of the project timeline or no later than January 2027.
• Share an informal report of progress including empirical findings at the orientation weekend for the HS Ph.D. (typically held in August).
• Submit a final report on the project by the beginning of the next academic year (July 2027)
  • include information about activities completed and findings.

Committee Review Grant Rubric

The HS Doctoral – Faculty Dyad Grant committee will review applications based on the following criteria:

• Importance of the project including its purpose and significance/broader impact for the doctoral student and faculty member.
• Clarity and methodological rigor of the research plan.
• Potential for future external funding and dissemination of the associated scholarship.
• Relevance to CHHS's mission.
• Potential for dissemination and/or further development of a proposal for external funding.
• Feasibility of completing the proposed grant in the stated time period and relevance of the budget request to the stated objectives.
• Projects that will serve populations/subpopulations historically impacted by health disparities or inequities will receive special consideration.
• Projects that will serve populations/subpopulations historically impacted by health disparities or inequities will receive special consideration.
• Applications will be rank-ordered by the committee. Funding will be allocated in rank order based on the committees' recommendations until the maximum amount the budget designated for these HS Doctoral-Faculty Dyad Grant has been committed, up to two awards. Any future proposals for external funding following receipt of this award must list HS Ph.D. as an interdisciplinary unit associated with the project.

Faculty Dyad Grant Application Rubric (DOCX)

Application Submission and Deadline

A completed application must be submitted by Sept. 15, 2026. Applications must adhere to the length limitations of four pages, single-spaced with one-inch margins and no smaller than 12-point font. The reference list and itemized budget of expenses do not count towards the four-page limit. Applications that do not adhere to the format limitations and do not include all of the required information may be disqualified from review.

The application must address all topics and guidelines and include:

• Brief narrative of the project which includes its purpose, research plan and significance/broader impact (at least two pages)
• Description of how the project will support the development of the doctoral student and faculty member’s research agenda
• Description of the plan for guidance to be provided by the faculty mentor and/or collaboration on a research project.
• Brief statement of how the results of the project will be disseminated (one paragraph)
• Relevance to CHHS mission (one or two paragraphs)
• An itemized budget of expenses

How To Submit an Application

Please email your application and materials to phdhs@niu.edu. Be sure to include your contact information, your Faculty Mentor information, and attach all supporting documents prior to the deadline.