The $25,000 National Dissertation Award for Research on Poverty and Economic Mobility supports outstanding dissertation projects that explore issues of poverty, inequality and economic mobility in human services. Proposals are invited from doctoral students at US universities, other than UW–Madison, from disadvantaged backgrounds. Calls for applications are released in the fall with a due date in January or February.
View the 2025-26 National Dissertation Award Application Process Webinar
Webinar Application Process Slides (PDF file)
2023–2024 National Dissertation Awardee
Isaac Sederbaum
Position title: 2023–2024 National Dissertation Awardee
Address:
Evans School of Public Policy & Governance
University of Washington
Isaac Sederbaum is a graduate student in Public Policy. His dissertation project is titled “The Costs of Being Trans: Administrative Burden, Citizen-State Interactions, and the Welfare of Transgender People in the US.”
Dates of Dissertation Award: August 2023–September 2024
Advisor: Dr. Karin Martin
Twitter: @IsaacSederbaum, @uwevansschool
2022–2023 National Dissertation Awardee
Melanie Nadon
Position title: 2022-2023 National Dissertation Awardee
Address:
Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
University of Chicago
Melanie Nadon is a graduate student in Social Work. Her dissertation is entitled: “The Nexus of Poverty, Place, Race, and Bureaucracy: A Multi-Method, Multi-Level examination of Child Welfare Investigations.”
Date of Dissertation Award: August 2022 – September 2023
Dissertation Award Policy Brief: Contradictory Constraints: Parental Experiences of Safety Net Reductions and Financial Hardships while Navigating the Child Welfare System, December 2024.
Advisor: Jennifer Mosley
Twitter: @MelanieNadon, @UChicagoCrown, @UChicago