The HPS Dean's Office understands conducting research can sometimes involve unexpected costs that may not fall within the Incentive Program's parameters. That's where the Small Grants Program comes in. This program is designed to support unique and impactful research projects and to encourage collaboration and engagement within our academic community. 

Keep in mind that these grants are meant to complement—not replace—external funding opportunities. They’re here to help you explore new ideas and advance your research in ways that might not be covered by other sources.

PI eligibility: Ph.D. student or faculty appointment in HPS (tenure line, research line, or clinical faculty).

Budget: Funds are capped at $1,000 per request. Please note that these funds cannot be used for conference travel, salaries for faculty or students, page charges, open access fees, or course releases.

Topic Areas: 

• Faculty Scholarship: Funds are available to support efforts related to the publication of a significant work of scholarship. Funds can be used for the purpose of travel to sites for data collection; purchase of data, software, or equipment required for analysis; or other justifiable costs. Faculty requesting Faculty Scholarship Funding must publish (as a book or in a peer-reviewed journal) or submit a related external grant proposal within one (1) year of receiving funding.
• Emergency: Support is available for research or other scholarly activities that specifically address a need that is urgent and/or time sensitive in nature. This may include support for research on disasters, new legislative initiatives, or societal, cultural, health-related, or environmental events that are time-sensitive in nature. Emergency Funds are not appropriate for needs that could have been anticipated in the normal course of research. Faculty requesting Emergency Funding must publish (as a book or in a peer-reviewed journal) or submit a related external grant proposal within one (1) year of receiving funding.
• Dissertation: Support is available for Ph.D. students for dissertation-related research costs. Allowed expenses include but are not limited to funds for data collection, dataset purchase, or travel for research purposes. Small Seed Grants are not intended to be used for living expenses. Students may apply prior to their proposal defense and will be told if their project is approved. However, funds will not be distributed until after the proposal is defended, in case the dissertation changes at the proposal defense.