Supporting student research at the Ph.D. level is a critical element of advancing the STEM pipeline. Dissertation research is a stage at which an injection of funds and a vote of confidence through a funded grant proposal can propel doctoral students to greater success, especially early in their careers. By providing support for highly talented students with exceptional research projects, the American Sociological Association’s Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement grant (ASA) (DDRIG) program will positively impact the composition and strength of the U.S. future scientific workforce. The ASA DDRIG program will serve the national interests by identifying talented graduate students with exceptional projects, establishing structural mechanisms to reinforce strong faculty-student mentoring, and removing economic barriers to the production of the highest-quality, rigorous scientific research. Moreover, dissertation research on issues such as the causes and consequences of poverty, armed conflict, inequality, and health disparities will contribute to potential policy solutions in the future, thus contributing to the health, prosperity and general welfare of our society.
Sociology dissertations often require funds for data collection, data analysis and other costs in order to be brought to successful completion. The ASA DDRIG project will be launched in the context of ASA’s programmatic efforts to support departments of sociology and graduate students, including fostering inclusive excellence, advancing intentional and reflective advising, and strengthening intellectual communities within and beyond departments. The program will give up to 25 grants per year of a maximum of $16,000 each in support of dissertation research that aims to advance basic knowledge within the discipline of sociology. Topics can include organizations and organizational behavior, health and medicine, crime and deviance, social inequality, population dynamics, labor force participation, family, social networks, gender, race, ethnicity, and the sociology of science and technology, among others. Projects that use new methods such as computational sociology, big data, large scale modeling, and the innovative use of emerging technologies, will also be welcomed. Proposal requirements will be modeled on current NSF requirements for DDRIG proposals, including a research sponsor (PI) and research scholar (co-PI). Projects will be reviewed by panels of Ph.D. sociologists, with emphasis on intellectual merit and broader impacts. The reciprocity of effort and influence between the new ASA DDRIG program and the association’s other programming in support of doctoral education will positively influence the quality of training and the production of knowledge far more than either initiative could in isolation.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
