Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation

Harry Guggenheim established the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation to support research on violence, aggression, and dominance because he was convinced that solid, thoughtful, scholarly and scientific research, experimentation, and analysis would in the end accomplish more than the usual solutions impelled by urgency rather than understanding. We do not yet hold the solution to violence, but better analyses, more acute predictions, constructive criticisms, and new, effective ideas will come in time from investigations such as those supported by their grants. Grants are open internationally as noted below.

The foundation places a priority on the study of urgent problems of violence and aggression in the modern world and also encourages related research projects in neuroscience, genetics, animal behavior, the social sciences, history, criminology, and the humanities which illuminate modern human problems. Grants have been made to study aspects of violence related to youth, family relationships, media effects, crime, biological factors, intergroup conflict related to religion, ethnicity, and nationalism, and political violence deployed in war and sub-state terrorism, as well as processes of peace and the control of aggression.

Dissertations

The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (HFG) welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression, and dominance. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence, aggression, and dominance in the modern world.

In addition to our program of support for postdoctoral research, ten or more dissertation fellowships are awarded each year to individuals who will complete the writing of the dissertation within the award year. These fellowships of $15,000 each are designed to contribute to the support of the doctoral candidate to enable him or her to complete the thesis in a timely manner, and it is only appropriate to apply for support for the final year of Ph.D. work. Applications are evaluated in comparison with each other and not in competition with the postdoctoral research proposals. Applicants may be citizens of any country and studying at colleges or universities in any country.

Particular questions that interest the foundation concern violence, aggression, and dominance in relation to social change, the socialization of children, intergroup conflict, interstate warfare, crime, family relationships, and investigations of the control of aggression and violence. Research with no useful relevance to understanding and attempting to cope with problems of human violence and aggression will not be supported, nor will proposals to investigate urgent social problems where the foundation cannot be assured that useful, sound research can be done. Priority will also be given to areas and methodologies not receiving adequate attention and support from other funding sources.

Applications for dissertation fellowships must be received by February 1 for a decision in June.

Applications are reviewed during the spring term and final decisions are made by the Board of Directors at its meeting in June. Applicants will be informed promptly by letter of the Board's decision.

Awards ordinarily commence on September 1, but other starting dates (after July 1) may be requested if the nature of the project makes this appropriate.

These grants are made to Ph.D. candidates who are in the writing stage of the dissertation. Usually, this means that fieldwork or other research is complete and writing has begun. Both you and your advisor are asked to assure them that the thesis will be complete within the grant year, which may commence in July, August, or September of the year you apply and ends twelve months later. In some disciplines, particularly experimental fields, research and writing can reasonably be expected to be completed within one year, and in that case it is appropriate to apply. In all other cases, do not apply for support for your dissertation research. And if your analysis and writing are not far enough along for you to be confident that you will complete the dissertation within the year, do not apply. The application will not be competitive with those that comply with their timetable, it will not have a chance of funding, and your poor judgment will taint your chances of receiving a fellowship in the following year, when you are truly eligible.

Research

The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (HFG) welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression, and dominance. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence, aggression, and dominance in the modern world.

Particular questions that interest HFG concern violence, aggression, and dominance in relation to social change, the socialization of children, intergroup conflict, interstate warfare, crime, family relationships, and investigations of the control of aggression and violence. Research with no useful relevance to understanding human problems will not be supported, nor will proposals to investigate urgent social problems where the foundation cannot be assured that useful, sound research can be done. Priority will also be given to areas and methodologies not receiving adequate attention and support from other funding sources.

HFG awards research grants to individuals for individual projects and does not award grants to institutions for institutional programs. As discussed in the section on "Budgeting & Taxation," individuals who receive research grants may be subject to taxation on the funds awarded, depending on locality, tax status, timing, nature of the award, and other factors.

HFG ordinarily makes awards in the range of $15,000 to $30,000 a year for periods of one or two years. Applications for larger amounts and longer durations must be very strongly justified.

New applications must be received by August 1, for a decision in December. Applications are received once a year and final decisions are made by the Board of Directors at its meeting in December. Applicants will be informed promptly by letter of the Board's decision. Grants ordinarily commence on January 1, but later starting dates may be requested if the nature of the research makes this appropriate.

Applications for continuation are also due on August 1 for a decision in December or on February 1 for a decision in June.

http://www.hfg.org/