Funder: National Collegiate Athletic Association
Due Dates (Anticipated): May 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $7,500 per recipient; one-time, nonrenewable awards, typically four annually
Summary: Supports graduate student social and behavioral science research on intercollegiate athletics and college student-athletes’ psychosocial experiences.
Key Information: Applicants must be full-time graduate students at active or reclassifying NCAA member institutions.
Description
The NCAA Graduate Student Research Grant Program supports research examining the role of intercollegiate athletics in higher education and the psychosocial experiences of college student-athletes. Administered by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the program funds social and behavioral science research that contributes to the empirical knowledge base on college sports and informs decisions across the NCAA membership.
Awards support work leading to a master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation or publication in a scholarly journal. Alongside research funding, recipients receive NCAA staff guidance and opportunities to connect findings with institutions, athletics administrators and student-athletes who can use them. The program emphasizes research relevant to NCAA priorities, sound questions and methods, feasible projects, and practical implications for member institutions. Exercise science and physical health and safety projects are outside its scope.
