Internal Research Funding Opportunities

Research Opportunities

Janice Scully Dorman Endowed Omics Research Fund Award (CLOSED)

Janice Scully Dorman Endowed Omics Research Fund Award

The Janice Scully Dorman Endowed Omics Research Fund was established by Dr. Janice Dorman, the Founding Director of the School of Nursing's current T32 training grant in genomics. The fund shall be used to provide support for Omics research conducted by fulltime graduate student(s) or current faculty member(s) at the School of Nursing. The fund may be renewed in successive years. The fund may not be used to support travel costs.

The maximum amount available for 2025-2026 is $792.These funds can be used to support Omics research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Funding will cover research that is conducted starting July 1, 2025 through June 31, 2026.

Deadline for application submission is 4:00 pm ET on Monday, June 23, 2025. Notification of the award will be made by mail and announced at the School of Nursing’s Scholarship and Awards Luncheon in the fall.

This award was made possible by the generosity of our alumni and friends at the School of Nursing. If your award was sponsored by an active School of Nursing donor, you will be contacted and asked to participate in our online Scholar Profile program. The Scholar Profile is sent to the donors of your scholarship. Please be on the lookout in the fall for an email to complete your questionnaire and thank you note. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to Caitlin Harvey, Manager of Scholarship Engagement and Donor Relations at Caitlin.Harvey@pitt.edu.

If you are a PhD or DNP student and are interested in applying for more than internal research award, please submit one application and indicate your award interest using the attached checklist. At most, one award will be issued per application.

Janice Scully Dorman Research Award Guidelines

Eligibility Criteria

1. The applicant must either a student enrolled full-time and in good standing in the graduate level program or a current faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.
2. Principal investigators (PIs) are limited to submitting one application per year.
3. If the project is part of a larger project, applicants must delineate the portion of the larger research project that is the PI's responsibility.
4. Applicants are required to notify and return unused funds to the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing if funding is received from other sources.
5. Awards may be repeated to a graduate student or faculty member if the proposal is meritorious.
6. Qualified candidates shall submit a brief research proposal, including a budget. Budgets should be prepared with the assistance of the grants management staff in the Office of the Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.
7. Students who have satisfactorily completed their overview or have obtained approval of their DNP project and are in the implementation/ data collection phase of their dissertation or DNP project will be given preference, although graduate students who are earlier in their training and have not completed overview will also be considered.
8. Students shall be required to submit a brief proposal outlining the planned work, as well as a budget and budget justification.

Application Requirements

1. The application deadline is 4:00 pm EST, Monday, June 23, 2025. All proposals must be received at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing by this date. No extensions for submission will be granted.
2. Proposed projects requiring funds in excess of the award amount will be reviewed; however, actual sources of funding to support a larger amount need to be identified.
3. Paper-and-pencil Instruments proposed for use in the study should be included in the appendix.
4. Submit the proposal electronically as one combined PDF to:

Janice Scully Dorman Endowed Omics Research Application Committee
Office of Research and Scholarship
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Email: NURSRS@pitt.edu

Questions may be directed to NURSRS@pitt.edu; Kathleen Kennedy at kke100@pitt.edu; or to Paulina Gatarz at pag17@pitt.edu.

Ruth Perkins Kuehn Research Award (CLOSED)

Ruth Perkins Kuehn Research Award

Ruth Perkins Kuehn, PhD, RN was founder and the Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing for over 20 years. In honor of her dedication to research and education, an endowment was established in her name by alumni and friends, which has resulted in the provision of annual funding to support promising nurse researchers.

The maximum award amount for the current year of 2023-2024 is $34,458.

The purpose of the award is to encourage the research career development of University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing alumni and faculty through support of research conducted by nurses. The award will be given to fund clinical research. A clear application providing support for the practice of nursing must be evident. Priority for funding is based upon the scientific merit of the proposal with consideration given to the investigator's ability to conduct the study.

Deadline for submission is 4:00 pm EDT, Monday, June 19, 2023. Notification of the award will be made by mail and email. Plans are tentatively being made for the School of Nursing to host its annual Scholarship Luncheon in the fall term. You will receive more information on date and time at a later date.

Ruth Perkins Kuehn Research Award Guidelines

Eligibility Criteria and Application Guidelines (Closed)

Proposals will now be accepted only electronically as a single PDF file.

Questions may be directed to:
Ruth Perkins Kuehn Research Award Application Committee
c/o Kathleen Kennedy
Center for Research and Evaluation
University of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing
Phone: (412) 624-4854, Email: kke100@pitt.edu

Leslie A. Hoffmann Endowed Acute Care Research Fund (CLOSED)

Leslie A. Hoffmann Endowed Acute Care Research Fund

The Leslie A. Hoffman Endowed Acute Care Nursing Research Fund was created to honor Dr. Leslie Hoffman’s life-long commitment to nursing research, the advancement of nursing practice, and continued improvements in patient care. Leslie Hoffman, PhD, RN, FAAN, served as a division head and later the Chair of the Department of Acute and Tertiary Care at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing from 1992-2010.

The maximum amount available for 2025-2026 is $16,287. These funds can be used to support a research project related to acute care at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Applicant must be a full-time or part-time graduate student enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing or current faculty member of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Funding will cover research that is conduced starting September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025

Deadline for submission is 4:00 pm EST, Monday, June 23, 2025. Notification of the award will be made by mail and email. Plans are tentatively being made for the School of Nursing to host its annual Scholarship Luncheon in the fall term. You will receive more information on date and time at a later date.

Leslie A. Hoffman Endowed Research Award Guidelines

Eligibility Criteria

1. Applicant must be a full-time or part-time graduate student enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing or current faculty member of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.
2. Principal investigators (PIs) are limited to submitting one application per year.
3. If the project is part of a larger project, applicants must delineate the portion of the larger research project that is the PI's responsibility.
4. Applicants are required to notify and return unused funds to the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing if funding is received from other sources.
5. Award may be repeated to a particularly worthy researcher.
6. Preference will be given to projects related to pulmonary and/or critical care nursing.
7. Qualified candidates shall submit a research proposal, including a program budget, related to issues of acute care nursing.

Application Requirements

1. The application deadline is 4:00 pm Eastern, Monday, June 23, 2025. All proposals must be received at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing by this date. No extensions for submission will be granted.
2. Proposed projects requiring funds in excess of the award amount will be reviewed; however, actual sources of funding to support a larger amount need to be identified.
3. Paper-and-pencil Instruments proposed for use in the study should be included in the appendix.
4. Submit the proposal electronically as a PDF to:

Leslie A. Hoffman Research Award Application Committee
Office of Research and Scholarship
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Email: NURSRS@pitt.edu

The Judith A. Erlen Nursing PhD Student Research Fund Endowment (CLOSED)

The Judith A. Erlen Nursing PhD Student Research Fund Endowment

The Judith A. Erlen Nursing PhD Student Research Fund Endowment was established in July 2010 with initial gifts raised through a campaign coordinated by the PhD students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. The purpose of this endowment is to provide awards to students in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing PhD Program. Awards shall be used for student expenses related to their dissertation, pilot study, or other research-related activities.

The maximum amount available for 2025-2026 is $4,676. These funds can be used to support research being conducted by a student in the PhD program in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Funding will cover research that is conducted starting July 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025.

Deadline for application submission is 4:00 pm ET on Monday, June 23, 2025. Notification of the award will be made by mail and announced at the School of Nursing’s Scholarship and Awards Luncheon in the fall.

This award was made possible by the generosity of our alumni and friends at the School of Nursing. If your award was sponsored by an active School of Nursing donor, you will be contacted and asked to participate in our online Scholar Profile program. The Scholar Profile is sent to the donors of your scholarship. Please be on the lookout in the fall for an email to complete your questionnaire and thank you note. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to Caitlin Harvey, Manager of Scholarship Engagement and Donor Relations at Caitlin.Harvey@pitt.edu.

If you are interested in applying for more than one PhD student research award, please submit one application and indicate your award interest using the attached checklist. At most one award will be issued per application.

Judith A. Erlen Nursing PhD Student Research Guidelines

Eligibility Criteria

1. The applicant must be a student enrolled full-time and in good standing in the PhD Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.
2. Principal investigators (PIs) are limited to submitting one application per year.
3. If the project is part of a larger project, applicants must delineate the portion of the larger ;research project that is the PI's responsibility.
4. Applicants are required to notify and return unused funds to the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing if funding is received from other sources.
5. Awards may be repeated to a PhD student if the proposal is meritorious.
6. Qualified candidates shall submit a brief research proposal, including a budget. Budgets should be prepared with the assistance of the grants management staff in the Office of the Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.
7. PhD students who have satisfactorily completed their overview and are in the implementation/data collection phase of the dissertation will be given preference, although students who are earlier in their training and have not completed overview will also be considered.
8. Students shall be required to submit a brief proposal outlining the planned work, as well as a budget and budget justification

Application Requirements

1. The application deadline is 4:00 pm EST, Monday, June 23, 2025. All proposals must be received at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing by this date. No extensions for submission will be granted. 
2. Proposed projects requiring funds in excess of the award amount will be reviewed; however, actual sources of funding to support a larger amount need to be identified.
3. Paper-and-pencil Instruments proposed for use in the study should be included in the appendix.
4. Submit the proposal electronically as one combined PDF to:

Judith A. Erlen Nursing PhD Student Research Award Application Committee
Office of Research and Scholarship
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Email: NURSRS@pitt.edu

The Ruth and Bill Fincke PhD Student Research Award (CLOSED)

Accordion title 1

The Ruth and Bill Fincke PhD Student Research Award was established to support scholars in their efforts to discover and extend scientific knowledge that advances the science and practice of nursing and clinical care for individuals with chronic disorders.

The maximum award amount available for 2025-2026 is $4,683. These funds can be used by PhD students to pursue their PhD degree in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Funding will cover research that is conducted starting July 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026.

Deadline for application submission is 4:00 pm ET on Monday, June 23, 2025. Notification of the award will be made by mail and announced at the School of Nursing’s Scholarship and Awards Luncheon in the fall.

If you are interested in applying for more than one PhD student research award, please submit checklist. At most, one award will be issued per application.

Ruth and Bill Fincke PhD Student Research Award Application Committee
Office of Research and Scholarship
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Email: NURSRS@pitt.edu

The Ruth and Bill Fincke PhD Student Research Guidelines

Eligibility Criteria

1. The applicant must be a student enrolled full-time and in good standing in the PhD Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.
2. Principal investigators (PIs) are limited to submitting one application per year.
3. If the project is part of a larger project, applicants must delineate the portion of the larger research project that is the PI's responsibility.
4. Applicants are required to notify and return unused funds to the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing if funding is received from other sources.
5. Awards may be repeated to a PhD student if the proposal is meritorious.
6. Qualified candidates shall submit a brief research proposal, including a budget. Budgets should be prepared with the assistance of the grants management staff in the Office of the Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.
7. PhD students who have satisfactorily completed their overview and are in the implementation/data collection phase of the dissertation will be given preference, although students who are earlier in their training and have not completed overview will also be considered.
8. Students shall be required to submit a brief proposal outlining the planned work, as well as a budget and budget justification.

Application Requirements

1. The application deadline is 4:00 pm EST, Monday, June 23, 2025. All proposalsmust be received at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing by this date. No 
2. extensions for submission will be granted. 
3. Proposed projects requiring funds in excess of the award amount will be reviewed;however, actual sources of funding to support a larger amount need to be identified. 
4. Paper-and-pencil Instruments proposed for use in the study should be included in theappendix. 
5. Submit the proposal electronically as one combined PDF to:

Ruth and Bill Fincke PhD Student Research Award Application Committee
Center for Research and Evaluation
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Email: NURSRS@pitt.edu

The Newmeyer-Thompson Doctoral Student Award (CLOSED)

Accordion title 1

The Newmeyer-Thompson Doctoral Student Award was established to provide support to a qualified PhD student(s) in the School of Nursing. The funds may be used for travel, dissertation expenses, dissemination of findings, or other related education expenses.

The maximum amount available for 2023-2024 is $1,104. These funds can be used to support research being conducted by a student in the PhD Program in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Funding will cover research that is conducted starting July 1, 2023 through August 2024.

Deadline for application submission is 4:00 pm ET on Monday, June 19, 2023. Notification of the award will be made by mail and announced at the School of Nursing’s Scholarship and Awards Luncheon in the fall.

This award was made possible by the generosity of our alumni and friends at the School of Nursing. If your award was sponsored by an active School of Nursing donor, you will be contacted and asked to participate in our online Scholar Profile program. The Scholar Profile is sent to the donors of your scholarship. Please be on the lookout in the fall for an email to complete your questionnaire and thank you note. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to Caitlin Harvey, Manager of Scholarship Engagement and Donor Relations at Caitlin.Harvey@pitt.edu.

If you are interested in applying for more than one PhD student research award, please submit one application and indicate your award interest using the attached checklist. At most, one award will be issued per application.

The Newmeyer-Thompson Doctoral Student Guidelines

Submission Guidelines and Award Checklist (Closed)

* Research Award packets will only be accepted electronically as a single PDF file.

Please submit your proposal to:

Newmeyer-Thompson Doctoral Student Research Award Application Committee
C/o Kathleen Kennedy
Center for Research and Evaluation
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
3500 Victoria Street, Room 360
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Telephone:; 412-624-4854
Fax: 412-624-1201
Email: kke100@pitt.edu

The Jayne F. Wiggins Memorial Scholarship (CLOSED)

Accordion title 1

The Jayne F. Wiggins Memorial Scholarship in the School of Nursing shall provide annual support to the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Nursing by providing a dissertation award. This award is to go to a student whose approved dissertation proposal is found to be well-designed with the potential to make a substantive contribution to clinical nursing practice. The award will be selected by a committee independent of the dissertation committee.

The maximum amount available for 2023-2024 is $2,535. These funds can be used to support research being conducted by a student in the PhD Program in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Funding will cover research that is conducted starting July 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024.

Deadline for application submission is 4:00 pm ET on Monday, June 19, 2023. Notification of the award will be made by email and announced at the School of Nursing’s Scholarship and Awards Luncheon in the fall.

This award was made possible by the generosity of our alumni and friends at the School of Nursing. If your award was sponsored by an active School of Nursing donor, you will be contacted and asked to participate in our online Scholar Profile program. The Scholar Profile is sent to the donors of your scholarship. Please be on the lookout in the fall for an email to complete your questionnaire and thank you note. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to Caitlin Harvey, Manager of Scholarship Engagement and Donor Relations at Caitlin.Harvey@pitt.edu.

f you are interested in applying for more than one PhD student research award, please submit one application and indicate your award interest using the ;attached checklist. At most, one award will be issued per application.

The Jayne F. Wiggins Memorial Guidelines

Submission Guidelines and Award Checklist (Closed)

* Research Award packets will only be accepted electronically as a single PDF file.

Please submit your proposal to:

Jayne F. Wiggins Memorial Scholarship Research Award Application Committee
C/o Kathleen Kennedy
Center for Research and Evaluation
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
3500 Victoria Street, Room 360
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Telephone: 412-624-4854
Fax: 412-624-1201
Email: kke100@pitt.edu

The Margaret E. Wilkes Scholarship (CLOSED)

Accordion title 1

The Margaret E. Wilkes Scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing was created and generously funded by James and Margaret Wilkes, longtime Pitt supporters who met while Mrs. Wilkes was working as a nurse at the Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic (WPIC).

After graduating from nursing school, Mrs. Wilkes worked at WPIC and met her husband, James, who was a Pitt student working as an attendant in the hospital. Mrs. Wilkes worked as a nurse for only a year or two but feels strongly that her time at the hospital had quite an impact on her.To this day, she has an affinity for nurses and keeps up with the profession by reading newspaper articles and books about medicine or attending lectures on health care.

The Wilkes Scholarship was created in 2008 with an initial gift of $30,000. Due to their annual support of the fund, it now has a balance of more than $183,000. The scholarship supports a nursing student pursuing their PhD in order to help with the shortage of nursing educators. The Wilkes hope that the recipient of their scholarship will one day use the education attained to teach other nurses.

The maximum award amount available for 2023-2024 is $26,762. These funds can be used by the PhD students to pursue their PhD degree in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Funding will cover expenses starting July 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024.

The applicant must demonstrate financial need at the time of submission. Cindy Henderson (hendersn@pitt.edu, 412-624-2406) in Student Affairs and Alumni Relations can provide assistance with completing the necessary forms.

Deadline for application submission is 4:00 pm ET on Monday, June 19, 2023. Notification of the award will be made by mail and email.; Plans are tentatively being made for the School of Nursing to host its annual Scholarship Luncheon in the fall term. You will receive more information on date and time at a later date.
If you are interested in applying for more than one PhD student research award, please submit one application and indicate your award interest using the attached checklist. At most, one award will be issued per application.

Margaret E. Wilkes Scholarship Guidelines

Submission Guidelines and Award Checklist (Closed)

* Research Award packets will only be accepted electronically as a single PDF file.

Please submit your proposal to:

Margaret E. Wilkes Scholarship Fund Award Application Committee
C/o Kathleen Kennedy
Center for Research and Evaluation
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
3500 Victoria Street, Room 360
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Telephone: 412-624-4854
Fax: 412-624-1201
Email: kke100@pitt.edu

Swigart/Gold Doctoral Award for Scholarship in Nursing Ethics

Accordion title 1

The Swigart/Gold Doctoral Award for Scholarship in Nursing Ethics provides support to PhD students who are developing a dissertation focused on ethics-related topics. Possible foci are issues of discrimination in health care, ethical problems in clinical practice, care of vulnerable populations, palliative care, death and dying, quality of life, issues of human or women’s rights, and methods for teaching nursing ethics. Selection of award recipients will be made by current nursing ethics faculty and as customary will be approved by the Dean of the School of Nursing.

The maximum amount available for 2023-2024 is $2,500. These funds can be used by a PhD student in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing doing research involving issues related to nursing ethics. Funding will cover research that is conducted starting September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024.

Deadline for application submission is 4:00 pm ET on Monday, June 19, 2023. Notification of the award will be made by mail and announced at the School of Nursing’s Scholarship and Awards Luncheon in the fall.

If you are interested in applying for more than one PhD student research award, please submit one application and indicate your award interest using the attached checklist. At most, one award will be issued per application.

Swigart/Gold Doctoral Award Guidelines

Eligibility Criteria and Application Guidelines (Closed)

* Research Award packets will only be accepted electronically as a single PDF file.

Please submit your proposal to:

Swigart/Gold Fund Award Application Committee
C/o Kathleen Kennedy
Center for Research and Evaluation
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
3500 Victoria Street, Room 360
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Telephone: 412-624-4854
Fax: 412-624-1201
Email: kke100@pitt.edu

The E. Jane Martin Research Award

Accordion title 1

The E. Jane Martin PhD Student Research Award was established to support PhD students in their efforts with their dissertation research work, including support for tuition and other education-related expenses.

The maximum amount available for 2023 is $8,358. These funds can be used by the PhD students to pursue their PhD degree in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Funding will cover research that is conducted starting July 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024.

Deadline for submission is 4:00 pm EST, Monday, June 19, 2023. Notification of the award will be made by email and announced at the School of Nursing’s Scholarship and Awards Luncheon in the fall.

If you are interested in applying for more than one PhD student research award, please submit the checklist. At most, one award will be issued per application.

* Research Award packets will only be accepted electronically as a single PDF file.

Please submit your proposal to:

E.Jane Martin Research Award Application Committee
C/o Kathleen Kennedy, kke100@Pitt.edu
Office of Research and Scholarship
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing

Education Opportunities

Distinguished Clinical Scholar Award (Closed)

The Distinguished Clinical Scholar Award (DCS) is an annual award that recognizes one (appointment stream) faculty member from the School of Nursing who demonstrates the attributes of a Distinguished Clinical Scholar and proposes an exemplary project to improve clinical education and practice. Proposals should describe a sustainable project that positively impacts student education. Sufficient monies are available to support the research project, salary support for the primary investigator and other consultants as well as monies for travel. Deadline for application submission is May 5, 2023 at 5pm. The Scholar award will run 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2024. For an application or to submit an application please contact Kal Husted at kah427@pitt.edu. Additional questions can be directed to the Faculty Practice Chair (Beth) at ecrago@pitt.edu.