Funding Opportunities

Call for Seed Grant Proposals

We are no longer accepting applications for the 2025 Seed Grants Program.

The Asian American Research Center at Stanford (AARCS) is an interdisciplinary hub for generating and sharing knowledge about Asian American/diaspora issues. We support and make accessible innovative research into all dimensions of Asian American life.

The Asian American Research Center at Stanford (AARCS) seeks to advance Stanford as a leading center of scholarship on Asian American/diaspora issues. Our primary areas of focus include research; education; community & public engagement. We recognize the diverse geographic formations, experiences, and identities that comprise Asian American/diaspora communities.

We recognize and welcome applications from the diverse communities often grouped under or with the term, "Asian," including Central Asian, East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, West Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

We are no longer accepting applications for our 2025 Seed Grants.

Submission Guidelines

The proposal (2-3 pages, excluding bibliography) should include the following:

  • Project Summary
    • Core research topic
    • Relationship of project to current Asian American/diasporic communities and/or scholarly conversations
    • Projected timeline of project
  • Individual or Team involved (faculty, postdocs, staff, and/or students as appropriate)
  • Requested funding amount and detailed budget
  • For students: Provide the name and contact information of your Stanford advisor (faculty or staff), and a summary of your project discussions with them
  • Bibliography (no max or min limits, at the end of the PDF file)

Proposals are due on Sunday, March 23, 2025 and will undergo review by Center Leadership. Award recipients will be notified in April 2025 and the number of awards will be limited for this round. For graduate student awards, priority given to students at more advanced stages of their research. Please submit the applications to Chali Lee (stanfordaarcs [at] stanford.edu (stanfordaarcs[at]stanford[dot]edu)).

Selection Criteria

  • Likelihood to advance knowledge about Asian American issues
  • Whether the proposed team has the proper credentials to complete the project
  • Intellectual merit of the proposal, balanced with quality and creativity
  • Potential to address societal issue(s) facing Asian Americans

Eligibility

We welcome proposals from graduate students, postdocs, academic staff, and Stanford faculty. Proposals coming from graduate students must include a Stanford faculty or staff member as an advisor.

Note: Last year, we were able to offer Seed Grants to undergraduate students. Due to updated university policies and guidelines, undergraduates are no longer eligible to apply. In our firm commitment to supporting undergraduate researchers, we have partnered with Stanford's Asian American Studies program this year to fund undergraduate participation in the Association for Asian American Studies Conference in Boston, MA in April 2025.

Funding Awards (maximum)

  • $5,000 for Graduate Students
  • $10,000 for Faculty, Postdocs, Academic Staff

Funding Uses

Possible uses of AARCS funds include

  • Hiring student research assistants 
  • Travel directly associated with research activity 
  • Publication expenses 
  • Collaborative projects with external or community partners 
  • Technological support: website development, archival collections, etc. 
  • Workshops, lectures, or programs that directly advance research 
  • Minor equipment expenses 
  • Operating supplies 

Awardee Requirements

  • Attend and present  funded research project at future AARCS events 
  • Serve as a reviewer for future seed grant proposals 
  • Acknowledgement of AARCS funding in published work or related events
  • List any Seed Grant-funded events on the AARCS website 
  • Submit a brief update on use of funds / request for a year-long extension for funds one year after the award

Questions?

Please send any questions about the Seed Grant or application to Chali Lee (stanfordaarcs [at] stanford.edu (stanfordaarcs[at]stanford[dot]edu)).

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