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The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) is a research center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, not a general-purpose funder. It does run a handful of funding and training programs, and each one is open to a different audience. The practical question for most searchers is which of those programs, if any, they are eligible for. This guide sorts them by career stage, using the wording on IRP’s own pages, checked on 2026-10-29.
What it is and who runs it
IRP describes itself as an “independent, multidisciplinary center” in the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Letters and Science. It was founded in 1966 with federal funding as a national center for the study of the nature, causes, and cures of poverty, and its stated mission is to advance understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality. Its research draws on economics, sociology, social work and demography, with topic areas that include child support, children, economic support, education and training, employment, food and nutrition, health, housing, inequality and mobility, the justice system, place, and poverty measurement. It also operates the Wisconsin Administrative Data Core (WADC). The center is based in the William H. Sewell Social Sciences Building on the Madison campus. Its About page lists the National Research Center on Poverty and Economic Mobility and the U.S. Collaborative of Poverty Centers among its connections, and cites over 200 poverty research affiliates.
Institute for poverty research, poverty research institute
People also search for this organization as “institute for poverty research” or “poverty research institute”. These are other phrasings of the same query; the center at Madison is the one this page describes. Other poverty research centers exist, so confirm you are on irp.wisc.edu before acting on any deadline.
Eligibility
Eligibility depends entirely on which program you mean. The two ends of the range are almost opposites, which is why this is the most useful thing to settle first.
Extramural Large Grant for Poverty and Economic Mobility Research
Per the program page, proposals are invited from principal investigators who hold a doctorate or the highest degree appropriate for their discipline at the time of application. Individuals not associated with a university (domestic or foreign) and foreign entities are ineligible, and University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and postdoctoral fellows are ineligible for funding. In short, this grant is aimed at doctorate-holding investigators at universities other than Madison. For a refresher on the role, see principal investigator.
Graduate Research Fellows Program
This program is for current UW-Madison social science Ph.D. students doing poverty and economic mobility research. Fellows are eligible to request up to $1,000 per year in support for their research training. Further benefits, including funding, WADC access and the Dissertation Fellowship, require an active fellowship, described as being a current-academic-year fellow who regularly attends at least 80% of seminars.
National Dissertation Award
Proposals are invited from doctoral students at US universities other than UW-Madison who come from low-income backgrounds. The award is listed at $25,000.
What it funds or requires
- Extramural Large Grant: awards of up to $50,000 each for research projects that can be completed within 24 months or less.
- Graduate Research Fellows: up to $1,000 per year for research training. Fellows must attend the IRP Seminar Series and a training seminar, both held on Thursdays during the academic year.
- Dissertation Fellowship (for fellows): a year of support to complete the doctoral dissertation, for fellows who are close to finishing and sponsored by an on-campus IRP affiliate.
- National Dissertation Award: $25,000 for outstanding dissertation projects on poverty and economic mobility in human services.
Review criteria and post-award reporting rules are set in each call, so check the current call text for those before you plan around them.
Application or compliance steps
For the Extramural Large Grant the selection process has two stages. Applicants first submit a letter of interest, and only afterwards a full proposal. The call text, not the program page, carries the exact dates and instructions, so open the current call. If no call is posted, the page shows a “Current Call” section with nothing in it, as on 2026-10-29.
For the Graduate Research Fellows Program there is no outside application: it serves UW-Madison students, and the extra supports above depend on keeping active-fellow status through seminar attendance. For the Dissertation Fellowship the page says calls for applications are released in February. For the National Dissertation Award, calls are released in the fall with a due date in January or February.
Typical timeline phases
These are phases as IRP words them, not fixed dates, and they can change from one cycle to the next.
| Phase | As described on the official page |
|---|---|
| Extramural Large Grant: call released | Late November or early December |
| Extramural Large Grant: letters of interest | Due in early January |
| Extramural Large Grant: full proposals | Due in mid-March |
| Extramural Large Grant: project length | 24 months or less |
| Dissertation Fellowship: call | Released in February |
| National Dissertation Award: call | Released in the fall, due in January or February |
Common mistakes
- Assuming IRP funds anyone. Each program has its own audience; the extramural grant excludes Madison faculty and postdocs, while the fellows program is only for Madison students.
- Applying as an individual with no university. The extramural announcement rules out individuals not associated with a university, and foreign entities.
- Applying before the doctorate is in hand. The extramural page asks for the doctorate at the time of application.
- Treating a past cycle’s dates as current. The page lists funded proposals for 2023-2025, 2024-2026 and 2025-2026; use the live call for the cycle you want.
- Letting fellow status lapse. The 80% seminar attendance expectation is tied to funding, WADC access and the Dissertation Fellowship.
Related programs
IRP’s training page groups its offerings by career stage. Names below are as listed on that page; eligibility is given where the program page states it.
| Career stage | Program (official name) | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty | Emerging Poverty Scholars Fellowships; Visiting Poverty Scholars Program; Early-Career Mentoring Institute at UC Davis | See each program page |
| Faculty (grant) | Extramural Large Grant for Poverty and Economic Mobility Research | Doctorate-holding PIs at universities; not UW-Madison faculty or postdocs |
| Postdoctoral | National Poverty Fellows Program | See program page |
| Graduate | Graduate Research Fellows Program | Current UW-Madison social science Ph.D. students |
| Graduate | National Dissertation Award | Doctoral students at other US universities from low-income backgrounds |
| Graduate | Economic Mobility Fellowship Program; IRP Dissertation Research Fellowship; Graduate Student Research Workshop at Howard University; Virtual Professional Development Training Series | See each program page |
| Undergraduate | Careers in Poverty Research webinar and podcasts; Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP) | See each program page |
If IRP does not fit, other funders are covered in Russell Sage Foundation grants, Spencer Foundation grants and private foundation research funding. Early-career researchers can compare options in early-career foundation fellowships compared, and the general term is defined at research funder.
FAQ
Is the Institute for Research on Poverty a funder?
It is primarily a research center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It also administers grants, fellowships and an award, listed above.
Who can apply for the extramural grant?
Doctorate-holding principal investigators associated with a university. Madison faculty and postdocs, unaffiliated individuals and foreign entities are excluded.
How much is the extramural grant?
Up to $50,000 per award, for projects of 24 months or less.
When does the extramural call open?
The page says calls are released in late November or early December, with letters of interest due in early January and full proposals in mid-March.
Can graduate students outside Madison apply for anything?
The National Dissertation Award is described as open to doctoral students at US universities other than UW-Madison who come from low-income backgrounds.
Sources
- IRP, About: irp.wisc.edu/about (checked 2026-10-29)
- IRP, Research: irp.wisc.edu/research (checked 2026-10-29)
- IRP, Training: irp.wisc.edu/training (checked 2026-10-29)
- IRP, Extramural Large Grant: irp.wisc.edu/training/extramural-research-funding-program (checked 2026-10-29)
- IRP, Graduate Research Fellows Program: irp.wisc.edu/training/graduate-research-fellows-program (checked 2026-10-29)
- IRP, National Dissertation Award: irp.wisc.edu/training/national-dissertation-award (checked 2026-10-29)
Program details are as described on the official pages on 2026-10-29. Programs change between cycles.
