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  1. Graduate
  2. Ph.D. Information

Funding Opportunities

We prioritize funding for Ph.D. students in their first three years of study. Opportunities exist within School of Information and on campus for graduate assistantships, scholarships, and other forms of support. See Graduate Funding & Aid.

We also offer funding resources specific to our Ph.D. students to support your research and travel.

Ph.D. Student Travel Grant

Funding amount varies each year. See our travel policy each year for details. 

We prefer to fund students who have had an active role in a grant proposal development or have applied for support money from other UA/external sources (e.g., SBSRI, Confluence, NSF Dissertation Improvement) before applying for our internal travel fund. Only doctoral students with annual reports filed on time each year and in good standing qualify. 

To apply for funding, send the following materials to the Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Director, or School Director:

  • Your CV
  • Short abstract on the research you are doing
  • Predicted costs for what you need

The Director of Graduate Studies, the Associate Director, or School Director will share acceptance news with the School Business Office.

Ph.D. Student Dissertation Grant

The Student Dissertation Grant can be used to support your dissertation research, such as purchasing research-related equipment, subject/participant remuneration, and fees associated with processing data gathered for the dissertation-related project. Funding amounts vary each year and a maximum of one dissertation grant is made per dissertation each year.

To qualify, you must:

  • Be in good standing and have filed annual reviews in year two and beyond
  • Completed comprehensive exams or have them scheduled for the very near future
  • Met all IRB and other requirements for ethical research
  • Have applied for (but not necessarily received) a grant in the past year (e.g., SBSRI, University Dissertation Improvement Grants, Confluence, NSF Dissertation Improvement)
  • Agree to acknowledge the School of Information Dissertation Grant funds in the dissertation any publication resulting from the dissertation funding

Funding can only be used for work that has been approved by your committee as being related to your dissertation or in preparation of the dissertation proposal. The activities and expenditures for this support must be after comprehensive examinations are successfully completed. Funds may not be used to report findings but could be used to travel to conferences or meetings if that travel is to gather dissertation-related data.

You may resubmit dissertation improvement proposals for this funding if it is for the same activity for which you are requesting funding. You may only legally receive funding for the same expense once. 

Some purchases may be made by the business office to avoid the need for reimbursement. All other expenses may need to be reimbursements based on receipts and on University regulations. All equipment and software remain the property of the School of Information and the University.

To apply for funding, send the following materials to the Director of Graduate Studies or School Director:

  • Your CV
  • Short abstract on the research you are doing
  • Predicted costs for what you need

The Director of Graduate Studies, or School Director will share acceptance news with the business office.