Both internal and external granting agencies sponsor competitions for funds to assist you in your research, particularly when you are close to the dissertation stage of your studies. You should explore the possibility of obtaining a grant to fund your research at the later stage of your studies. Many grants are available that "buy" your time, giving you some much-needed time to research and write without any teaching responsibilities. Preparing a grant proposal can often actually help you in your dissertation writing because it forces you to formalize your thoughts about your research and to discuss your research in a way that is accessible to a broad audience. We recommend that you seek a dissertation grant.
Research and dissertation grants for graduate students are available from a variety of governmental and private organizations, including those listed below. If your research involves a particular language or area of the world (Asia, the Hispanic Diaspora, Africa, Germany, etc.), there are other fellowships available that target certain countries or certain regions (e.g., von Humboldt fellowships (Germany), Chateaubriand dissertation grants (France), SSRC dissertation grant. The Linguistic Association of American (LSA) posts a grants calendar on its Web site which provides deadlines and information about language/linguistic-related grants and fellowships: http://www.lsadc.org/
The National Science Foundation
http://www.nsf.org/
NSF sponsors dissertation grants and grants for young scholars. The field of linguistics is administered by the Language, Cognition and Social Behavior Program branch of the NSF.
National Endowment for the Humanities
http://www.neh.fed.us/
NEH dissertation grants support work in the humanities.
Fulbright Student Program (Department of State)
http://www.iie.org/fulbright/
For U.S. citizens, this program sponsors research and teaching abroad for graduate students to over 140 countries.
IREX
http://www.irex.org/
IREX sponsors grants to US scholars working on issues (and languages) of Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Various pre-doctoral programs are available, both for US scholars and for scholars from Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
Rotary International/The Rotary Foundation
http://www.rotary.org/foundation/
Rotary's Ambassadorial Scholarships fund research and study projects abroad for graduate students. You must be a non-Rotarian to apply and you need to be sponsored by a regional Rotary organization.
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
http://www.hfg.org/
"The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation sponsors scholarly research on problems of violence, aggression, and dominance. The foundation provides both research grants to established scholars and dissertation fellowships to graduate students during the dissertation-writing year." [quoted from HFG Foundation Web site]
Social Science Research Council
http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/
This organization offers many pre-dissertation grants on a wide variety of research topics in the social sciences, including the International Dissertation Field Research Fellowship funded by the Andrew Mellon foundation and International Predissertation Fellowships.
The Spencer Foundation
http://www.spencer.org/
The Spencer Foundation awards dissertation fellowships for research on the improvement of education, including issues in language and linguistics.
American Educational Research Association
http://www.aera.net/grantsprogram/
AERA funds research in education. You must be a member of AERA to apply.
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
http://www.woodrow.org/
Sponsors the Charlotte Newcombe Dissertation Fellowship (on ethics and values), the Mellon Minority University Fellows Dissertation Travel and Research Grant, and Dissertation Grants in Women's Studies.
