The Columbia Center for Political Economy is seeking applications for grant funding from Columbia University doctoral candidates to conduct research within the field of political economy, understood broadly.
Center Graduate Student Grants are for one year and are intended to support research and the generation of new knowledge and new networks. We are open to research that uses qualitative and/or quantitative approaches, including those that incorporate historical, ethnographic, interview-based, or policy or legal analysis.
Grant funds, for example, may be utilized to:
- Purchase data or computing resources;
- Hire research assistants;
- Conduct new research;
- Travel to archives and/or external academic convenings; and
- Organize workshops and conferences.
Awards are anticipated to range from $5,000 to $15,000. In extraordinary circumstances with departmental approval, grants may be provided to fund a semester-long buyout of teaching responsibilities. Additionally, to encourage collaboration and cross-disciplinary work, grants over $15,000 may be awarded to collaborative research projects.
In evaluating proposals, Center faculty reviewers will prioritize collaborative and multidisciplinary projects, those with the potential to break new ground in understanding the intersections of economics and political and social processes in the US, and those advancing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological innovation. Learn more about past Graduate Student Grantees and their research topics here.
Who Can Apply?
Columbia University PhD and JSD candidates from all disciplines are encouraged to propose projects.
Proposals submitted by applicants from more than one department and/or school are encouraged.
Key Deadlines
The deadline for proposal submissions is Monday, Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. EST. Awards will be made in December 2024, and the award period will run from Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2025.
Topics
The Center invites applications from eligible Columbia graduate students on topics of relevance to the Center’s broad priorities. This includes the foci of the Center’s four Idea Labs – Firms and Industrial Policy, Work and Labor, Money and Finance, and Climate – as well as the cross-cutting themes of International Political Economy, and the relationship between Political Economy and Democracy.
- Firms and Industrial Policy seeks to strengthen the knowledge base for smart industrial policy through explorations of firm behavior, drivers of innovation and technology adoption, conceptual issues in the design of industrial policies, and practical issues faced in implementation.
- Work and Labor focuses on the empirical study of labor and labor markets, including collective worker action and the future of domestic and international labor movements.
- Money and Finance explores the relation of money and finance both in theoretical terms and in institutional configurations, including the design of financial intermediaries and their relation to central banks and financial market regulators.
- Political Economy of Climate: Forests and Fossil Fuels explores how political and economic forces shape policy and societal responses to climate change. This year, the Lab particularly welcomes projects focused on the political economy of forests and how communities dependent on fossil fuel extraction adjust to shifts in demand.
- Political Economy and Democracy: challenges emanating from the relationship between economic structures and democratic politics, such as economic and political inequalities and polarization and challenges to democratic institutions and processes.
- International Political Economy: consideration of any of the above themes from an international perspective, as well as topics relevant to the theme of international macroeconomics and geopolitics.
Proposal Requirements
A completed application includes the following:
- Project proposal (see application for additional details);
- Budget narrative and budget template (i.e., a summary table with a clear description of how the grant funds would be spent on participant payment, fees, travel costs, etc.);
- CVs for primary applicant and any collaborators; and
- A short reference from each applicants’ supervising professor(s).
Apply here
FAQs
- When is the application available and when is the deadline? add
The online application opens the first week of September and will close on Monday, Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. EST. Grantees will be notified in December 2024.
- Do I need to complete the application in one sitting? add
No, you may return to the application as many times as needed until the application deadline. Once your application is submitted, no additional changes can be made.
- What is the maximum length of the proposal? add
The executive summary must be limited to 350 words. The proposal narrative is limited to 3,000 words, excluding references. All proposals must be submitted via the Center’s submission platform.
- What are allowable expenses for which grant funds may be used? add
Grants will support research and convening activities. The funds will cover a wide range of expenses. For example, they might be utilized to:
- Purchase data or computing resources;
- Conduct new research;
- Travel to archives and/or external academic convenings;
- Organize workshops and conferences; and
- In extraordinary circumstances, provide for a teaching buyout.
- Who can serve as a collaborator? add
Collaborators may include other PhD and JSD candidates from all Columbia University schools and affiliates.
- What is the timeline for utilizing the funds of this grant? add
Grant funds must be used completely during the 12-month award period (Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2025).
- What Center activities will grantees be involved in? add
Center Graduate Student Grant Awardees will be required to participate in a gathering of the Graduate Student Grantee cohort once per semester. There will be further opportunities to participate in Center events as well.
- How will applications be considered? add
In reviewing proposals, Center-affiliated faculty will prioritize collaborative and multidisciplinary projects, those with the potential to break new ground in understanding the intersections of economics and political and social processes in the US, and those advancing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological innovation. The Center will have discretion on the final grant amounts awarded.
- How will I receive the funding if I am successful? add
The funds will be transferred to your academic department through internal transfer for your use. You will need to work with your academic department’s finance office to make use of the funds.
- I have a different question. add
Please contact [email protected].