National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research – Research Merit Fellowships Program

The purpose of the Research Fellowships Program

is to build research capacity by providing support to enable highly qualified individuals, including those who are individuals with disabilities, to conduct research on the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities.

Fellows must conduct original research in an area authorized by section 204 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (the Act). Section 204 authorizes research designed to maximize the full inclusion

and integration of individuals with disabilities, especially

individuals with the most severe disabilities, into society, by fostering improvements in the areas of employment, independent living, family, support, and economic and social self-sufficiency, and to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Act.

Eligible individuals must have training and experience that indicate a potential for engaging in scientific

research related to the solution of rehabilitation problems of individuals with disabilities.To be eligible for a Merit Fellowship, an individual must have

either advanced professional training or independent study experience in an area that is directly pertinent to disability and rehabilitation. In the most recent competitions, recipients had research experience at the doctoral level.

You can obtain an application package via the Internet or from the Education Publications Center (ED Pubs). To obtain a copy via the Internet, use the following

address: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html