Spring Centennial Center Research Grants
Program at a glance:
What: research grants up to $2500
Eligibility: APSA members who are contingent faculty, community college faculty, faculty in departments that do not grant PhDs, and/or graduate students.
Application deadline: March 15th, of each year
The APSA Spring Centennial Center Research Grant Program (previously known as Small Research Grant Program) supports research in all fields of political science. The intent of these grants is to provide funding opportunities for research conducted by:
- Political scientists in non-tenure track or contingent positions who are ineligible for departmental funding.
- Political science faculty of all ranks who are employed in departments that do not grant PhDs.
- Graduate students in Political Science or a related discipline such as Politics or International Relations.
Prior grant recipients published books and book chapters, journal articles, working papers, and conference presentations as the result of the grants. They also report benefits to students, who have served as co-authors or research assistants on the grant-funded projects, and have reported public benefits in the form of briefings, consultancies with government or INGOs as a result of the research project funded. Finally, several recipients were also able to use the APSA grant as seed money to gain additional funding.
A small number of these grants are awarded annually through a peer-review process. Individual grants may not exceed $2,500 and are not renewable.
The next deadline for spring centennial center research grants is March 15, 2026.
How to Use Spring Centennial Center Research Grant Funds
Funds may be used for such research activities as travel to archives, travel to conduct interviews, administration, and coding of instruments, research assistance, and purchase of datasets. Funds may be used by scholars with disabilities for auxiliary devices or services uniquely needed for carrying out the research. While this list is merely illustrative, certain research activities are specifically excluded from funding; these include travel to professional meetings, secretarial costs except for preparation of the final manuscripts for publication, and salary support for the principal investigator. Overhead or indirect costs are not allowable expenses.
Funds must be spent by September 30 of the year following the award. A report of the funded activities must be sent to APSA by December 31 of the year following the award. Awards paid to individuals are reportable income by the IRS. Each recipient receives a 1099. Consult the IRS website or your tax advisor for any tax-related questions. Award recipients may request that funds be paid to their college or university for allowable research expenses.
How to Qualify
Applicants must be APSA members at the time of the application, and when funds are dispersed. The principal applicant and any co-author must fall into one of the following categories:
- A PhD faculty member at a college or university that does not award a PhD in political science, public administration, public policy, international relations, government, or politics, and whose primary appointment is in one of these departments.
- A PhD faculty member at a college or university that awards a PhD in political science who is on a non-tenure or contingent track position, and ineligible for departmental funding.
- A political scientist not affiliated with an academic institution and is either (a) unemployed or (b) working in a research organization such as a think tank.
- A graduate student currently enrolled in a PhD program in Political Science or a related discipline such as International Relations or Politics.
Not Eligible
Applicants are not eligible for Centennial Center Research Grants if they:
- Received Centennial Center research funding within the past four years (including Spring, Summer, Winter, and Special Projects awards).
For example: Applicants for 2026 funding are ineligible if they received a grant in 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025. - Propose project activities that begin prior to May 15, based on the March 15 application deadline.
Applicants are not eligible if they are part of a research team in which other co-authors or PIs are not themselves eligible for Spring Centennial Center funding.
Not Prioritized
Applications will receive lower priority if the applicant has received other APSA research funding (not including travel grants) in the past two years, including:
- Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIG)
- MENA Alumni Research Grants
- Fund for Latino Scholarship
- Advancing Research Grants
How to Apply
Your proposal should address an important issue, question, or problem in political science, and must include the following documents:
- Your CV.
- Title page (1 page): This should include an abstract of your proposal in 150 words or less.
- Research statement (no more than 5 single-spaced pages): Include a description of your research topic, questions, and its import to the field; the research design to be used; and the present status of your project. Although not required, if your project has a potential public engagement component or other public component, please include this as well.
- Bibliography for proposed research statement.
- Research budget: This must have separate line items for direct costs associated with your proposed research (travel, access to archives, interviews, etc.)
- Letters of Recommendation: Graduate students must include at least one letter of recommendation.
For Recipients: How to Submit a Grant Report
Recipients of Centennial Center Research Grants should submit their grant reports using this form.
Contact Us
For questions or concerns about this or other Centennial Center Research Grant Program not on our FAQ page, please contact the APSA Centennial Center team at centennial@apsanet.org.