Read the guidelines below before applying.

NIJ—the research and development arm of the United States Department of Justice—is seeking applications for funding innovative doctoral dissertation research that is relevant to preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States.

Eligible applicants are degree-granting academic institutions in the United States and its territories. To be eligible, the institution must be fully accredited by one of the regional institutional accreditation agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Under this solicitation, the applicant institution must apply as the sponsoring institution for the doctoral candidate conducting dissertation research relevant to NIJ’s criminal justice mission.

In recent years, NIJ posted separate solicitations for applicants in the social and behavioral sciences (GRF-SBS) and for those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (GRF-STEM). All eligible applicants are now invited to apply under this single funding opportunity, without distinction between SBS and STEM.

Applicants must register with Grants.gov prior to submitting an application.