Established in 2025, the GADE Social Work Dissertation/Capstone Grant provides up to two awards of $1,500 to support doctoral students in conducting innovative, high-quality, dissertation research and capstone projects. There is no preference for any methodology or research topic. The Dissertation/Capstone Grant seeks to support doctoral students to conduct rigorous dissertation research and capstone projects addressing a significant substantive area relevant to social welfare and the field of social work, with potential to advance scientific inquiry and impact policy and practice in social work or social welfare.

*Applications open annually on September 15 and are due on October 31 at 11:59pm Eastern. Be sure to subscribe to our Email Updates to be the first to know when applications are live!

Grantees

2026: Christian Adeleke, PhD Student
University of Texas at Arlington, School of Social Work
The Cost of Care: A Mixed Methods Study of Social Work Student Wellbeing, Practicum Pay, and the Future of Feminized Care in the Health Workforce

2026: Jeehae Kang, PhD Student
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, School of Social Work
Pathways to Progress: Understanding Wage Mobility Among Low-Wage Workers in the U.S.