Horowitz Foundation Social Policy Research Grants

The Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy Grants program offers targeted financial assistance to doctoral candidates during the critical dissertation stage of their academic careers. Operating with a strict bottom-up framework, the foundation does not restrict applications to pre-defined geographic regions. Instead, it invites innovative proposals from across the social sciences, provided the core research directly addresses contemporary public or social policy issues. Rather than funding institutional overhead or basic tuition, these grants provide flexible funding to support direct field research and data collection. The program publicly announces award winners each June.

To match with this funder on the portal, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Academic Standing: Must be currently enrolled in a recognised doctoral program and have progressed to official dissertation status (defended proposal / ABD status).
• Language Requirement: All application elements, including research descriptions and letters of recommendation, must be written entirely in English.
• Completeness: The foundation enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy for incomplete packages; all recommendation forms must be submitted by the deadline.

The foundation maintains a strict bottom-up approach with no predefined strategic priority areas. However, projects must demonstrate clear public and social policy relevance and exhibit strong methodological rigour within the social sciences.

Grants are designed to assist researchers with the basic expenses associated with conducting their project, including:

• Fieldwork data collection and participant interviewing costs.
• Archival research expenses and specialised database access fees.
• Travel required to access primary research sites or specific research materials.
• Specialised software or data processing services required for project completion.

• Institutional overheads, administrative indirect costs, or university fees.
• Standard university tuition or student health insurance.
• General living expenses or stipends unrelated to direct research activities.

Applications must be compiled individually and submitted electronically through the foundation’s portal:

• Step 1: Navigate to the official portal via the foundation's link and create a user profile.
• Step 2: Complete the required portal text blocks: Personal Details, Project Overview (brief snapshot), and Your Project (a concise 750-word description detailing your methodology and policy relevance).
• Step 3: Upload a clean, updated curriculum vitae (CV).
• Step 4: Enter the names and institutional email addresses of your academic recommenders so the system can generate secure recommendation upload links.
• Step 5: Click Review & Submit on or before the deadline. Applicants must actively follow up with recommenders to ensure their letters are fully uploaded before the closing time.