Sustaining Graduate Research: Funding, Capacity Building, and Professional Growth

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

This session supports graduate students in developing sustainable research agendas amid evolving funding landscapes. Panelists will explore how to strategically build research capacity and professional pathways when resources are limited. Speakers will share insights on navigating institutional assistantships, pursuing external opportunities, and aligning funding efforts with long-term scholarly goals. The discussion will highlight tangible strategies for locating and securing funding, communicating needs with mentors and departments, and strengthening proposals through clarity of purpose and impact. By addressing both structural realities and individual agency, this session contributes to AERA’s call to imagine more equitable and sustainable futures for education research.

Sub Unit

• Graduate Student Council

Chair

• Marjorie M. Hahn, Stanford University

Panelists

• George L. Wimberly, American Educational Research Association

• Dawn G. Williams, Howard University

• Jon Hale, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign