Research Funding & Career Advancement Opportunities at the National Institute of Justice

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Justice.  NIJ provides funding for research, evaluation, and program development/testing on a myriad of criminal justice topics.  The workshop will be comprised of NIJ social science staff who will discuss signature grant programs, review the NIJ application process, and provide helpful tips for submitting quality applications.  Participants will have the opportunity to learn about current and future funding opportunities and speak directly with NIJ staff about potential applications.  

This workshop will provide an overview of ongoing funding opportunities and mechanisms at NIJ with an emphasis on its signature programs including:

 1)      Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women: Funds research and evaluation on specific issues related to violence against women including sexual violence, stalking, and adolescent relationship abuse.

 2)      Research and Evaluation on Children Exposed to Violence: Funds research and evaluation on children as both direct victims and as bystanders or observers of various forms of violence in the home, school, or community

 3)      Data Resources Program to Support Analysis of Existing Data: Provides an opportunity for researchers to perform secondary analyses of existing data and research trends to test new hypotheses with existing data and pose questions beyond those for which the data was originally collected.

 4)      W.E.B. DuBois Fellowship Program: Emphasis on crime, violence and the administration of justice in diverse cultural contexts within the U.S. Researchers are provided with an opportunity to elevate independently generated research and ideas to the level of national discussion. Candidates must have a terminal degree and be early in their academic career.

 5)      NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship Program in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: Provides assistance to accredited universities to support outstanding doctoral students undertaking research on crime, violence and other criminal justice related topics relevant to NIJ’s mission. Awards are made annually in the form of a grant to cover a doctoral student fellowship.

 6)      Building and Enhancing Criminal Justice Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships: Sponsors projects and activities that create, enhance and/or sustain criminal justice researcher-practitioner partnerships which, in turn, produce objective, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime and justice.

 7)      Graduate Research Assistantship Program: Provides highly qualified doctoral students with practical and applied research experience at the National Institute of Justice.  NIJ provides funds to participating universities to pay salaries and other costs associated with research assistants.

 8)      Visiting Fellows Program: Brings leading researchers into residency at NIJ to make important scholarly contributions in a specific area of criminal justice research.