Rapoport Doctoral Dissertation Grants

Rapoport Doctoral Dissertation Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Rapoport Family Foundation
Amount: Up to US $15,000
Last Updated: October 22, 2025

Summary

The Rapoport Doctoral Dissertation Grants support PhD students conducting innovative research in American political behavior. Funded by the Rapoport Family Foundation, the grants offer up to $15,000 for survey research. Eligible applicants must be enrolled in a doctoral program at an accredited U.S. university and have completed all preliminary requirements. The foundation emphasizes originality and transformative potential in research proposals, aiming to foster diverse approaches to understanding political behavior.

Overview

Rapoport Family Foundation Founded in 2019, the Rapoport Family Foundation has three focus areas: Political Behavior Research - Support research in American political behavior by PhD students. This is done primarily through the Rapoport Summer Research Collaborative and the Dissertation Program.Civic Engagement Seed Funding -Provide seed funding to new, innovative projects and organizations seeking to improve civic engagement in the United States.Political Bridging Efforts - Support efforts to bridge divisive partisanship in the United States. Rapoport Doctoral Dissertation Grants Purpose The Rapoport Family Foundation seeks to support dissertation research in American political behavior for PhD students. Criteria We seek proposals that break new ground in the hypotheses they investigate, the procedures they employ, or both. Proposals that report trial runs of novel and focal ideas will be viewed as more credible. Proposals will be considered in the context of their originality and potentially transformative qualities, the organization and pragmatism of the research plan, and value of substantive and methodological diversity in research. Funding Each dissertation will be provided a grant up to $15,000 to support survey research. The money should be used for survey research conducted via an academically recognized survey organization (e.g. YouGov, GfK, NORC). Up to 15 dissertation grants will be awarded.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Rapoport Doctoral Dissertation Grants are available to all US-based graduate students who are at the point of initiating or are already conducting dissertation research focused on advancing knowledge and understanding of political behavior.Applicants must meet the following qualifications: Applicants must be enrolled at a doctoral degree granting university at the time of application.Applicants must be enrolled at a university accredited in and having a campus located in the United States.Applicants must have completed all preliminary degree requirements at the time of their application, including having successfully completed comprehensive exams and a dissertation prospectus defense.Applicants must be sponsored by their dissertation adviser.Applicants must be endorsed by their graduate institution. If the grant application is successful, grant funds will be distributed through the student’s host institution.

Ineligibility

The Rapoport Family Foundation does not pay overhead on research grants.