The 2026 William T. Grant Scholars Program supports professional development of promising early-career researchers. The grant funds 5-year research and mentoring plans that significantly expand researchers’ expertise in new disciplines, methods, and content areas to address problems of inequality or to improve the use of research evidence.
Applicants should have a record of conducting high-quality research and an interest in shifting their trajectories as researchers.
UW–Madison applicants must be nominated by their division or school. The School of Education (SoE) will hold an internal competition to select one candidate to nominate for this prestigious research award.
Applications for SoE Internal Review are due May 1, 2026. To submit your application, attach a single PDF to an email to Lauren Meyers, lauren.meyers@wisc.edu.
Please include the following:
- cover page including the project title, name, department, contact information of PI, and name of proposed mentor(s) (1 page)
- curriculum vitae of Lead Principal Investigator and project team (if applicable)
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research project summary of no more than four pages, providing a description of how the proposed project meets the goals of the solicitation
Sponsor Deadline: Full applications are due to the William T. Grant Foundation by June 30, 2026
You can learn more about the program and access the application guide on the foundation’s website, download the submission guidelines and watch a webinar offering a program overview and application instructions. Investigators who have applied in previous years are strongly encouraged to apply again this year.