OARacle Newsletter

OAR invites graduate students to submit research proposals for the annual Graduate Research Grant Program. Opened on September 9, OAR has started accepting proposals from students pursuing graduate studies in the United States and abroad. The maximum award for master’s candidates is $1,000, while doctoral and post-doctoral candidates are eligible for a maximum award of $2,000.

Interested students should first review the 2025 Request for Proposals and OAR’s funding guidelines, then apply online. Proposals will be accepted through February 3, 2025.

Since the program was established in 2004, OAR has awarded over $329,266 in grants to more than 190 graduate research studies. In 2024, OAR awarded five students with grant awards totaling $7,199. OAR hopes to build on this success in 2025, continuing its commitment to support the next generation of applied autism researchers.

OAR’s Scientific Council will evaluate the proposals it receives for scientific and technical merit. Review criteria for the evaluation include:

• Significance: Does the study address an important problem? How will it advance scientific knowledge in the field?
• Approach: Are the concepts, design, methods, and analyses adequate and appropriate? Are alternate approaches accounted for?
• Innovation: Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches, or methods? Are its aims original? Does it challenge existing paradigms?
• Meaningful outcomes: OAR places special emphasis on the research’s importance to the autism community and its application to the practical challenges of autism. While a proposal’s scientific merit in terms of design, methodology, and analysis is vital, the meaningfulness of its outcomes will carry great weight in the final review.

OAR’s Board of Directors will grant awards based on these evaluations and the recommendations of the Scientific Council. OAR will announce grant recipients in May 2025 and make the awards in July 2025.

For more information, please contact us at research@researchautism.org or 571-977-5391.