Graduate Student Research Funding

The King Center’s Graduate Student Research Funding (GSRF) 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.

Application Deadlines

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.
Applicants are allowed to apply for other sources of funding simultaneously. However, they must indicate this in their application and cannot accept multiple sources of funding for the same expenses. Additionally, please ensure that other funding sources permit the use of KC funding.

Types of Awards

1. Travel Awards: Up to $5,000
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
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
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. For the Spring 2026 round (deadline 5/25/26) only - students may submit a budget that includes summer stipend/tuition/fringe for this academic year. This one-time exception should include a justification of why this additional funding is needed for Summer 2026. 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.

Additional funding for research on issues important to Brazil is available through a partnership with the Lemann Center.

For those interested in conducting research in China, the King Center on Global Development’s focus is on global poverty and development in middle- and low-income countries. Funding for research in China may be possible if it aligns closely with the above. Funding for research on other issues important to China may be available through the Stanford Center on China’s Economy & Institutions (SCCEI).

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

For additional information, please review the Application Process webpage.

Acknowledgement of the King Center for funding support

If you receive funding, you are required to acknowledge the King Center’s support in your professional materials and communications. This includes crediting the King Center in any dissertations, publications, interviews, media, social media, and other public contexts, and identifying yourself as a King Center funding recipient. Read the guidelines.

Funding recipients may be asked to present their research at a workshop or seminar organized by the King Center, and are encouraged to present a poster at the annual Global Development Research Symposium.