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Funding Your Graduate Education at The University of Akron

Discover assistantships, fellowships, grants, and financial aid options designed to support your academic and research goals.

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Doctoral Dissertation Research Grants

Resources, timelines, and compliance guidance to help doctoral students plan, fund, and successfully prepare competitive dissertation research proposals.

Doctoral students are encouraged to pursue external funding to support their dissertation research. Developing a dissertation grant proposal strengthens critical research skills, refines project direction, and provides valuable professional experience. Students should work closely with their dissertation advisers throughout the process.

Multiple external funders support graduate research, each with unique application requirements, award amounts, and deadlines. Students should review specific funder websites for eligibility criteria and submission guidelines. Early exploration of funding opportunities is recommended.

Dissertation research grant applications often require 12–18 months from preparation to award notification. Students should begin planning early in their graduate program and may reference the recommended timeline for developing a dissertation research grant proposal.
Suggested timeline for developing a dissertation research grant proposal.

The Office of Research Administration offers grant-writing workshops that help students learn proposal strategies, strengthen application materials, and navigate the submission process. Attendance is strongly encouraged for all doctoral students preparing proposals.

The Office of Research Administration offers workshops on grant writing that students may attend.

Depending on their field, doctoral students may need to complete Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements for human subjects research or meet safety standards related to radiation and biohazards. All proposals must follow The University of Akron submission policies and guidelines that doctoral students will need to follow.

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ROTC Scholarship Aid

Army ROTC offers course and book funding plus monthly stipends. Graduates serve as Second Lieutenants in various Army branches.

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Student Loans

Federal and private loans are available for degree-seeking students. Learn more through the Office of Student Financial Aid.

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Fellowships & Grants

A limited number of non-service fellowships are made available by faculty members through external research grants. These non-service fellowships do not require the student to work for a specified number of hours as is required for graduate teaching and research assistants.