For most graduate students finding and securing funding is absolutely necessary to their abilities to conduct dissertation research and finish their degree programs. The Graduate School at Brown University offers Brown Graduate Students numerous means to secure funding from university sources. Many Brown Graduate Students also decide to pursue outside sources of funding in the form of fellowships and research grants for a variety of reasons: in order to complete longer research projects, conduct research in a foreign country, and demonstrate their ability to secure funding from external sources. In many fields in which competition for funding is fierce, demonstrating the ability to write winning grant proposals is a key asset in building a successful career. The resources listed below are far from exhaustive, but they're a great place to start looking for funding for research projects. The websites of many organizations that offer grants and research funding also contain guidelines for writing proposals for their particular awards.

Resources Available Through Brown University

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) at Brown University
Their website maintains a listing of funding resources and upcoming deadlines. Students can also search the Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN), GrantsNet, and Grant Advisor through the ORA web page.

The Illinois Researcher Information Service
May be accessed via a computer connected to Brown's network through the Graduate School homepage (under "Resources" click on "funding sources"). The IRIS database may be searched by keyword and degree level. The website also contains links to other research sources in the U.S.

General Resources

Michigan State University
The website of MSU's library provides links to funding sources. You may search the database by level of study (doctoral, post-doctoral, etc.) or field of study.

Humanities & Social Sciences

The Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities at UC Berkeley
Links to major humanities funding sources, including post-doc granting institutions, general funding resources on the internet, and federal grants.

H-Net's Funding Announcements
Funding listings for the Humanities & Social Sciences.

Social Science Research Council
Offers pre-dissertation and dissertation support for students in the Social Sciences, as well as information on "The Art of Writing Proposals" for SSRC grants.

Sciences

The National Science Foundation
The website has a list of NSF funding opportunities and a guide to writing grant proposals.

GrantsNet.org
A database of funding opportunities for biomedical research and science education.