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The Sociology Program supports basic research on all forms of human social organization— societies, institutions, groups and demography— and processes of individual and institutional change. The program encourages theoretically focused empirical investigations aimed at improving the explanation of fundamental social processes.
This includes research on organizations and organizational behavior, population dynamics, social movements, social groups, labor force participation, stratification and mobility, family, social networks, socialization, and the sociology of science and technology. The program supports both original data collection and secondary data analysis that use the full range of quantitative and qualitative methodological tools.
Theoretically grounded projects that offer methodological innovations and improvements for data collection and analysis are also welcomed. Principal Investigators should selectPD 98-1331in the program announcement/solicitation block on the proposal cover sheet for submission of regular research projects to the sociology program. Projects are evaluated using the two foundation-wide criteria, intellectual merit and broader impacts.
In assessing the intellectual merit of proposed research, four components are key to securing support from the Sociology Program: (1) the issues investigated must be theoretically grounded; (2) the research should be based on empirical observation or be subject to empirical validation or illustration; (3) the research design must be appropriate to the questions asked; and (4) the proposed research must advance our understanding of social processes, structures and methods.
NSF also offers a number of specialized funding opportunities through its crosscutting and cross-directorate activities; some of the sociology-related opportunities are listed below.
Crosscutting Research & Training Opportunities: ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program Mid-scale Research Infrastructure Programs SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program To get information about these programs and others, please visit thecross-cutting and NSF-wide active funding opportunitiessearch page.
NSF's mission calls for the broadening of opportunities for and expanding participation of groups, institutions and geographic regions that are underrepresented in STEM disciplines, which is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects and activities it considers and supports.
NSF is also committed to public access to publications and data, unless there are countervailing interests that prohibit or limit public access to data, including matters of personally identifiable information of research participants, privacy or other issues of vulnerability such as economic, social or other security interests, etc.).
SeePublic Access to Results of NSF-Funded ResearchandData Management for NSF SBE Directorate Proposals and Awards for more information. Funding Opportunity Number: PD-98-1331. Assistance Listing: 47.
075. Funding Instrument: G. Category: ST.
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Or search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Eligible applicants: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
Yes — Sociology is offered by U.S. National Science Foundation and this listing comes from Grants.gov, an official U.S. federal source. Federal applications generally require registrations (for example SAM.gov or an agency submission portal), so allow extra lead time.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
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The UKRI Policy Fellowships 2025, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, offer 18-month placements for academics to co-design research with UK government and What Works Network host organizations. Awards range from £180,000 to £280,000 and support three fellowship tracks: core policy fellows, Natural Hazards and Resilience policy fellows, and What Works Innovation fellows. Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent research experience, be based at a UKRI-eligible UK organization, and possess relevant subject matter or methodological expertise. Government-hosted positions target early to mid-career academics, while What Works fellowships welcome all career stages. Fellows work directly with policymakers to bridge academic research and policy development on pressing national and global challenges. The application deadline is July 15, 2025.
The Smart Data Research UK Fellowships provide up to £200,000 per project for researchers using smart data to address real-world challenges across the United Kingdom. Funded by UKRI through Smart Data Research UK, this program supports up to ten projects lasting 18 months, with start dates by February 2026. Applicants must be based at eligible UK organizations and demonstrate strong data skills with a compelling research question aligned to one of four SDR UK themes: productivity and prosperity, health and wellbeing, sustainability, or communities and places. Researchers at all career stages may apply, with early career researchers particularly encouraged. Projects may use smart datasets from SDR UK's six national data services or combine smart data with administrative and survey data sources.
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