During the open funding opportunity period, please contact the OJP Response Center: toll-free at 800-851-3420; via TTY at 202-353-5556 (hearing impaired only); email [email protected].
For technical assistance with submitting the SF-424 in Grants.gov, call the Grants.gov Customer Support Hot Line at 800-518-4726.
For technical assistance with submitting the full application in JustGrants, contact the JustGrants Service Desk at 833-872-5175 or [email protected].
The GRF program supports the development of the scientific workforce engaged in research relevant to NIJ's criminal justice mission. The intent is to give promising doctoral students the financial support to allow them to devote their full attention to completion of their dissertation research. GRF fellowships include: a student fellow salary; an allowance for tuition, fees, and administrative costs; and an allowance for research expenses. Up to three years of support may be requested.
In most past cycles, the funding opportunity has typically posted in January and been open for at least 90 days. The most recent cycle posted in March and was open for 61 days. Potential applicants can register for updates to be notified when the notice of funding opportunity is released.
The official applicant is the academic institution sponsoring an eligible student. The applicant institution must demonstrate that the sponsored student is enrolled in a qualifying research doctorate program at the time of application. This should take the form of a document from the Office of the Registrar, or an equivalent university- or college-wide office with the authority to verify status. A transcript may be accepted if it clearly indicates the student’s current full-time enrollment in the qualifying degree program.
The student need not have a dissertation committee at the time the application is submitted, nor is it necessary for the student’s dissertation topic to have been accepted by the committee. However, if the application is selected for award, grant funds will be withheld until the applicant academic institution submits proof that the student’s dissertation topic has been accepted by the committee, and that it is substantively the same as that proposed in the application.
If the student has an approved topic at the time of application, then it should be noted in a statement of support from the student’s dissertation committee chair (see Who should write the Statement of Support and what should it include?).
If the student does not yet have a dissertation committee, or the dissertation topic has not yet been approved at the time of application, then the expected dates by which the doctoral student will meet these requirements should be indicated in the project timeline. In addition, the student’s faculty advisor, department chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or an individual with similar responsibilities, must submit a statement of support at the time of application. That statement of support should generally follow the outline provided below for the statement of support from the dissertation committee chair, including all relevant elements.
Even though an award may be made, access to award funds will be withheld until the required documentation is received and approved by NIJ. The applicant academic institution and the doctoral student are cautioned not to anticipate the availability of fellowship funds for meeting any necessary or required expenses until the requirements stipulated above have been met in full.
Awarded applicants may receive fellowship funding only while the student is actively enrolled in the doctoral degree program and is carrying out research for the dissertation identified in the applicant’s funding application.
Not necessarily. The GRF NOFO links to current lists from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics for reference:
We recognize that new and emerging degree programs may not yet be represented. If your degree or field of study does appear on these lists as appropriate (i.e., not classified under Humanities or Visual and Performing Arts), then it is eligible. If it is not listed and you are in doubt, please contact the OJP Response Center ([email protected]) for a determination of eligibility.
We cannot determine the eligibility of a specific research topic until reviewing the full proposal. All eligible applicants proposing research relevant to: (1) supporting law enforcement operations, (2) combating violent crime, (3) protecting American children, or (4) supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, are invited to apply. The applicant should consider the appropriateness of the scope of their proposal when deciding whether to apply.
The earliest possible date that funds could become available is January 1 of the year following submission of an application. This is the official “start date” of the fellowship grant. But the practical availability of funds can in some cases be delayed until certain grant requirements are satisfied (e.g., dissertation topic approval; human subjects approval from an Institutional Review Board, if applicable). It is important that you work with your university Office of Sponsored Programs, or equivalent, to make sure all of these conditions are satisfied.
Successful institutional applicants must agree to comply with additional requirements prior to receiving grant funding. Learn more about these requirements.
The official applicant is the academic institution, not the student. Therefore, the student's citizenship does not affect eligibility. GRF awards are made only to degree-granting academic institutions in the U.S. and its territories. The sponsoring academic institution must be fully accredited by one of the regional institutional accreditation commissions recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
The GRF program funds dissertation research across a wide range of topics with relevance to criminal and juvenile justice. See a list of past and present GRF project titles. Applicants for FY 2026 must demonstrate relevance of their dissertation research to (1) supporting law enforcement operations, (2) combating violent crime, (3) protecting American children, or (4) supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault.
The GRF program has integrated two previously separate funding opportunities: the Graduate Research Fellowship in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (GRF-SBS), and the Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (GRF-STEM). Since 2020, all applicants are invited to apply to the same, single funding opportunity.