Biological Anthropology Program - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants | 23 504

Opportunity Information: Apply for 23 504

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Anthropology Program Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIG) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 23-504; CFDA 47.075) supports dissertation research that advances basic scientific understanding of how biological diversity emerged and changed in living and fossil humans and in non-human primates. The program is centered on questions in human and primate evolution, patterns and causes of biological variation, and the ways biology, behavior, and culture interact. In practice, this means NSF is looking for dissertation projects that are grounded in biological anthropological and evolutionary theory and that clearly explain how the proposed work will contribute to fundamental knowledge rather than primarily applied or purely descriptive outcomes.

Projects can come from any subarea within biological anthropology, and the solicitation highlights a strong preference for research that is methodologically diverse and interdisciplinary. Proposals may involve fieldwork, laboratory analyses, and computational approaches, and they can operate across different levels of analysis, such as molecular and genetic data, organismal physiology and morphology, population-level variation, and even broader ecosystem contexts. The program also welcomes research spanning multiple time scales, from short-term processes affecting living populations to long-term evolutionary patterns visible in comparative primate studies and the human fossil record. Alongside scientific rigor, proposals are expected to take seriously the ethical dimensions of the work and to address potential societal impacts, which can be especially relevant for research involving human participants, sensitive biological samples, primate field sites, or heritage and stewardship issues tied to fossils and collections.

A key purpose of the DDRIG mechanism is to improve the quality and feasibility of a doctoral student’s dissertation research. Rather than serving as general graduate support, these awards are intended to enhance and strengthen the dissertation project itself, for example by enabling specific data collection, specialized analyses, expanded sampling, methodological refinement, or other well-justified components that materially improve the research. The solicitation emphasizes the integration of education and research by funding projects conducted by doctoral students enrolled at U.S. universities, reflecting NSF’s broader mission to build research capacity while training the next generation of scientists.

The opportunity also places meaningful weight on broader impacts. NSF notes that broader impacts can include research outcomes with clear benefits to society, efforts that broaden participation in STEM (including training and mentoring), and research and outreach activities that are evidence-based and appropriate to the goals and resources of the people and institutions involved. In other words, applicants are expected to think beyond the dissertation’s immediate academic contributions and describe realistic, well-designed ways the project can generate public value, expand access and participation, or translate knowledge and methods to wider communities.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by NSF in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category. The original closing date listed for this solicitation was January 26, 2023, and NSF anticipated making about 40 awards. The posted award ceiling is listed as 0, which typically indicates that applicants should rely on the solicitation’s detailed guidance for budgeting expectations rather than treating the listing as a usable maximum. Eligibility is summarized as “Others,” with clarification referenced in the solicitation’s eligibility text, which commonly means eligibility depends on the applicant’s status (doctoral student) and the submission being routed through an eligible U.S. institution, consistent with NSF’s standard award and submission rules.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Biological Anthropology Program - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.075.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 12, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 26, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 40 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 23 504

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