Call for Applications: 2025 Waterhouse Family Institute (WFI) Grants and Outreach for Scholars & Doctoral Students Worldwide (over $900,000 in grants)
The Waterhouse Family Institute (WFI) has long been committed to supporting innovative research that examines the intersection of communication and social change. Since its inception in 2010, the Institute has provided over $900,000 in grants, helping more than 100 scholars and doctoral students worldwide to explore complex issues surrounding justice, injustice, and the role of communication in shaping societies.
These grants have resulted in impactful presentations, publications, and public events, making significant contributions to communities globally. The Institute is particularly interested in supporting projects that address how communication can bring about social transformation, advancing justice through thoughtful, strategic engagement.
Grant Criteria
WFI grants do not restrict applicants to any specific methodological approach or sub-disciplinary focus. However, all projects funded by the Institute share two main principles:
- Communication is the Primary Focus: Projects must center on the role of communication in society.
- Focus on Social Change: Research should explore how communication can impact societal transformation, particularly in addressing issues of justice and social change.
Funds can be used for various research-related activities, such as hiring graduate assistants, acquiring resources, traveling for research purposes, and other relevant expenses. The maximum grant project timeline is one year, during which grantees must submit both progress and final reports to the Institute.
Call for Applications
Each year, the grant application deadline falls in mid-May, with funds being distributed to successful applicants during the summer months. Specific dates for the grant cycle will be announced as part of each year’s call.
Proposals submitted to WFI undergo a peer-review process. Applications are judged based on the following criteria:
- Research Quality: The depth and rigor of the proposed project.
- Originality: The novel contribution the research will make to the field.
- Mission Alignment: How well the project aligns with the WFI’s mission of using communication to foster social change.
Applicants can find detailed instructions on how to prepare their grant proposals by visiting the application link provided by WFI.
2025–2026 Grant Submission Deadline
The deadline for the 2025–2026 WFI research grant submissions is May 15, 2025, at 11:59 P.M. All interested applicants must ensure their proposals are submitted by this deadline to be considered for funding.
2024–2025 WFI Research Grant Recipients
The following research projects have been selected as recipients of the 2024-2025 WFI Research Grants:
- The Intersection of Racial Privilege and Gender Oppression Among White Women: Investigating the transmission of identity awareness and engagement in anti-bias communication across three generations.
- Fending Off Generative AI Textpocalypse: Analyzing lessons from social change communicators on the evolving challenges of generative AI in communication.
- Recovering the Visibility of Post-Deportation Experiences in El Salvador: A family communication approach to understanding the experiences of deportees and their families.
- Communicating About LGBTQI+ Collegiate Athletes: Exploring how discourses surrounding sports bans influence the experiences of openly LGBTQI+ athletes in varsity sports.
- Africanfuturism: Beyond Development: Investigating how Africanfuturism challenges and reimagines traditional concepts of development in the context of global communication.
- Dorothy Day and Dialogic Encounter: Focusing on communication ethics in community, drawing on the life and work of Dorothy Day.
- Applying the Ecological Model of Medical Encounters: Understanding patient-centered communication for older Korean migrants in the U.S. through the lens of the ecological model.
- Culturally Responsive Training: Developing communication skills for nonprofit professionals at the Latino Community Center, focusing on culturally relevant practices.
- On Language Revitalization: Examining the role of CHamoru survivance and decolonial rhetoric in the language revitalization movement.
These projects exemplify the diversity of research supported by WFI, addressing vital issues such as racial and gender equality, digital ethics, and cultural preservation through communication.
The Waterhouse Family Institute continues to play a critical role in shaping the future of communication research, with a focus on projects that aim to create meaningful, positive change in society.
Researchers and scholars around the world are encouraged to apply for grants that align with these goals and contribute to the ongoing dialogue about justice, equity, and transformation in communication practices.
