Diversity Dissertation Research Opportunity Fund

VPGE awards funding on a competitive basis to support doctoral dissertation research expenses on diversity-related topics. These awards are intended to pay research costs, including such costs as travel, data acquisition, translation, etc., where the dissertation topic focuses on the impact of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, work or life experiences.

Competitive funding cycles take place twice each year. Proposals are requested in the Fall Quarter (for funding issued in Winter Quarter) and in the Spring (for funding issued in May).

DDRO awards are capped at $5,000.

A summary report of prior DDRO recipients and their departments is available (pdf file, updated in March, 2013).

Eligibility Guidelines

• Stanford doctoral students who are making satisfactory academic progress, have advanced to candidacy, and have an approved dissertation proposal.
• Successful applicants must be registered in the quarter they receive funding.
• Applications for summer research should be submitted in April and not in November.
• Prior successful applicants may ONLY reapply for VPGE dissertation research support funds if they received less than $5,000. All funds received may not total more than $5,000 per student.
• Requests must be for expenses that are not covered through other sources of funding from external or university sources.
• Applicants may simultaneously apply for other sources of funding, but may not accept multiple sources of funding for the same expenses.

Information about applying

• Application information and funding guidelines (pdf file)
• A DDRO/GRO Proposal Writing Workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, March 19. Draft proposals must be submitted by Sunday, March 17, 5pm for you to be eligible to attend.
• Applications and supporting materials are submitted electronically through an application portal. Firefox is the supported browser for this application. To download the latest version of Firefox, visit Mozilla's homepage. The application will be closed for 2012-13 after the April 2, 2013 deadline.
• DDRO proposals are solicited in the Fall and in the Spring Quarters. Submission deadlines are announced each year. Current deadlines are shown in the information box on this page.
• An Information Session for potential applicants is announced in advance of each of the two submission deadlines. These sessions also provides information about funding for the School of Humanities & Sciences Graduate Research Opportunity (GRO) fund. The next information session will be on Wednesday, March 13, at noon in the Terrace Room on the fourth floor of Margaret Jacks Hall.
• For other questions, contact the VPGE office.