Introduction:
The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) established the Graduate Research Grant Program in February 2004 to encourage and support students conducting research related to the assessment, intervention, and support of autistic individuals and their families. Since its creation, OAR has awarded over USD 348,000 in grants to fund more than 200 graduate research studies across diverse topics impacting the autism community.

General description:
OAR invites proposals for its annual Graduate Research Grant Program, which funds independent research studies conducted by graduate and post-graduate students. Beginning in 2025, priority will be given to early-career autistic investigators, in recognition of OAR's commitment to supporting autistic researchers in building their careers and advancing meaningful autism research. Applicants without autism will receive full consideration, and an autism diagnosis will only be considered when deciding between two equally qualified candidates.

The program supports research in applied areas such as:

• Analysis, evaluation, or comparison of assessment, treatment, or service models

• Applied aspects of early intervention, school-based education, behavioral or communication intervention

• Adult issues such as continuing education, employment, housing models, and later interventions

• Family support, social and community integration, and management of challenging behavior

• Effectiveness of alternative or augmentative communication systems for autistic individuals across the lifespan

• Applied research conducted in real-world (in vivo) contexts where interventions are expected to be implemented

OAR seeks to fund studies that produce practical and objective results to help families, professionals, and autistic people make informed choices leading to healthier and happier lives.

The maximum grant awards are $2,000.00 for Doctoral or Post-doctoral candidates and $1,000.00 for Master's candidates. 

Objectives:

• Promote applied, impactful autism research that addresses real-world challenges.

• Encourage early-career autistic investigators to pursue independent, meaningful research.

• Applicants must be enrolled in a master's, doctoral, or postdoctoral program, or be early-career researchers in disciplines related to autism research.

• Research must be independent and not part of a larger funded project.

• Open to U.S. and international applicants.

• Proposals must be written in English and budgets presented in U.S. dollars.

• The research must take place strictly within the grant period (July 1, 2026 - December 31, 2027).

• All applicants will receive full consideration; an autism diagnosis will only be taken into account when candidates are equally qualified.

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