Winter 2027 King Center on Global Development Graduate Student Research Funding

Graduate Student Research Funding at the Stanford King Center on Global Development supports Stanford doctoral student research activities on global poverty and development, especially field-based work in low- and middle-income countries. The research must be part of a doctoral dissertation and be student-led.  

Please note: Letters of recommendation have the same due dates as the application. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their letter(s) of recommendation are submitted by the application deadline.

Letter writers may submit their recommendations as soon as their information is put into SOLO by the applicant. Out of courtesy to the faculty, applicants should request letters at least two weeks before the deadline.

Eligibility

• Stanford doctoral students in any discipline who are making satisfactory academic progress and are writing a PhD dissertation are eligible to apply.
• Award recipients must be registered students during the quarter in which they receive funding.
• Prior applicants may reapply for funding for different projects or may resubmit improved versions of earlier submissions.

Types of Awards

1. Travel Awards: Up to $5,000, one letter of recommendation required

Travel grants are intended for PhD students early in their programs who are exploring topics and countries of interest. The primary purpose of the trip should be to help the student acquire new expertise or explore potential dissertation projects (not to work on faculty-led projects). The funding is intended for costs such as plane tickets and lodging for two months in the low- or middle-income countries of interest. These projects require one letter of recommendation and travel funds will be disbursed via stipend.

2. Exploratory Awards: Up to $8,000, one letter of recommendation required
Exploratory funding offers support for student-led research projects in their initial phase, including preliminary data collection, testing, interviews, data access, meetings with local partners, etc. These projects require one letter of recommendation and funds will be disbursed either via stipend or contract.

3. Advanced Awards: Up to $25,000, two letters of recommendation required

Advanced funding provides support for student-led research that is more developed and further along the PhD dissertation path, and can include support for administering larger surveys, hiring field assistants, translators, compiling administrative data, etc. These projects require two letters of recommendation and funds will be disbursed either via stipend or contract. It is expected that students will receive at most one advanced award. 

Selection Criteria and Process 

Criteria:

1. Alignment with Global Development Goals

• Is the research question clearly defined and relevant to global poverty or development?
• Is the project primarily designed to address relevant challenges facing LMICs, rather than simply taking place in an LMIC setting due to convenience (e.g., data access or cost)?
• Does the proposed work advance the King Center’s mission of supporting research that shapes policy and practice in addressing global poverty and advancing development in LMICs?

2. Innovation and Academic Rigor

• Are the research goals and objectives clearly articulated?
• Is the proposal appropriate for the project’s stage (e.g., exploratory work, data collection, analysis)?
• Are methods, sampling strategies, data sources, and analytic methods adequately described (particularly for advanced proposals)?
• Does the research design address potential challenges or threats to inference (e.g., bias, confounding)?

3. Policy and Academic Impact

• Does the research have the potential to contribute to scholarly knowledge in the student’s discipline?
• Is the research policy-relevant or likely to inform real-world decision-making?
• For early-stage proposals, does the student demonstrate an understanding of how their work could eventually inform policy or practice?

4. Budget Justification

• Is the budget appropriate and well-matched to the project’s scope and objectives?
• Does the proposal reflect good value for the potential insights or learning?
• Are the requested costs justified and aligned with the eligible expense categories?

5. Feasibility

• Is the proposed timeline realistic, given the student’s stage and the project scope?
• Does the applicant have—or appear positioned to develop—the skills and resources needed to successfully complete the work?

Process:

1. A committee appointed by the King Center’s Faculty Steering Committee will filter proposals for alignment with the themes of global poverty and development, and then use the review criteria to evaluate the proposals.

2. Awards will prioritize projects requesting coverage of direct research costs (travel, field expenses, data acquisition, etc.).

    

Please review the Application Process webpage for details on the requirements for the application, letters of recommendation, budget, and award conditions.