GRANTS
Research Award Program (RAP)
Extends modest financial assistance to Filipino graduate students in the social sciences to enable completion of their graduate thesis or dissertation.


PSSC Research Award Program (PSSC-RAP)
The PSSC Research Award Program (PSSC-RAP) was established in 1972 to assist graduate students in the social sciences complete their thesis or dissertation requirements and obtain their Master’s or Ph.D. degrees. A modest financial assistance is awarded to successful PSSC-RAP grantees—maximum of P50,000 for PhD students and P25,000 for MA students.
NOTICE: The PSSC Research Award Program is currently suspended until further notice. For questions or concerns, you may send an email to grants@pssc.org.ph
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for a RAP grant, the applicant must:
1) be a Filipino graduate student of a Philippine university/college who will be finishing a degree in the social sciences (e.g., anthropology, communication, economics, demography, geography, history, linguistics, political science, psychology, social work, public administration, sociology and statistics). Graduate students in other fields (e.g., education, health, philosophy, Philippine studies) whose thesis/dissertation topic relates to the social sciences can also apply, but will be accorded lower priority in PSSC-RAP grants.
2) be a Filipino graduate student studying abroad provided that the topic of his/her thesis/dissertation is about the Philippines, and that data gathering will be done in the country.
3) have successfully defended the thesis/dissertation proposal. Hence, at the time of application, the applicant is expected to be either preparing for fieldwork, collecting or analyzing data.
4) note that in order to qualify, the schedule of thesis/dissertation defense should not fall during the period for reviewing PSSC-RAP applications, which is from April to June each year.
THE THESIS/DISSERTATION GRANT PROPOSAL
The thesis/dissertation grant proposal to be submitted by a RAP applicant must be no more than 15 pages long (A4 size paper, double-spaced, font size 12). This must be based on the thesis/dissertation proposal, which has been approved by the applicant’s panel of critics and advisers. The grant proposal must include a description of the following:
Statement of the Problem
This should be concise and to the point. It must indicate that the applicant has gone beyond having a general area of interest (e.g., gender, kinship, environment, governance, sustainable development etc.), and has now formulated a focused question/problem worth researching. The statement of the problem must inform readers what new knowledge they are going to gain from the thesis/dissertation research that they do not already know. Along with the statement of the problem is the articulation of the rationale and significance of the research.
Literature Review
The statement of the problem must be embedded within a given field of inquiry. Hence, the applicant must provide a summary of the relevant literature and theoretical framework/s informing his/her thesis/dissertation problem. A good grant proposal demonstrates not only an awareness of relevant literature and previous scholarly arguments, but locates the thesis/dissertation problem within the intersections of on-going debates and theoretical currents.
Theoretical Framework/s
The research should be guided by social science theories that will frame the study and provide the parameters of the research. It would be best to show how theoretical frameworks are operationalized in relation to the topic being studied. The framework may also be used as analytical tool of the study.
Methodology
The grant proposal must specify the research approach, procedures and activities that the applicant will undertake, and how the results from these research operations will be analyzed and interpreted in terms of the thesis/dissertation problem and objectives. Research operations and methods (i.e., archival work, surveys, interviews, observation and testing statistical patterns etc.) vary by discipline, but the applicant must be able to argue why his/her choice of methodology is the best approach to answering the thesis/dissertation’s central problem.
Timetable and Activities for the Grant Period
The applicant must indicate the remaining activities he/she needs to do to complete the thesis/dissertation, bearing in mind that the RAP grant period is for one year only.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- RAP grants are disbursed as follows:
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- Sixty (60) percent of the approved grant shall be released upon grantee’s acceptance of the terms and conditions of the grant;
- Forty (40) percent shall be given upon the submission of electronic and hard copies of the completed thesis/dissertation to PSSC.
- The grant money is intended to cover direct research expenditures during the grant period, but not for (a) honoraria for the grantee; (b) payment for data processing and analysis; (c) payment of enrolment fee; and (d) purchase of capital equipment.
- Grantees are expected to complete their thesis dissertation and degree requirements within one year after receiving a PSSC-RAP grant.
- A grantee may be given an extension of one year. To request for an extension, a grantee must:
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- write a formal letter of request to PSSC explaining in detail the reason/s for delay and the new date for completion duly noted by his/her thesis/dissertation adviser;
- submit a revised timetable of the research.
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- Non-submission of the final thesis/dissertation beyond the grant period (with or without extension) will mean an automatic reversion of the grant balance to the PSSC-RAP fund.
- If requested by PSSC, the grantee must present a paper based on his/her thesis/dissertation in a public lecture or forum organized by PSSC.
- The grant may be terminated anytime by PSSC for violation of norms of social science research (e.g., plagiarism, intellectual dishonesty).
- PSSC shall be given due acknowledgment in the final copy and in any publication of the research.
DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED
NOTICE: The Research Award Program is currently suspended until further notice. Please email grants@pssc.org.ph for more information
Applicants must submit an electronic copy and hard copy (two sets) of the following no later than March 15:
- Accomplished RAP application form;
- Signed proof of approval of thesis/dissertation proposal;
- A 12-15 pages (A4 size paper, double-spaced, font size 12) grant proposal based on the approved thesis/dissertation research proposal (as described above);
- Recommendation of (a) thesis/dissertation adviser; and (b) department chair (using the enclosed recommendation form). If the adviser is also the department chair, the applicant can request from one of the panel members. The recommender may send the recommendation form directly to PSSC by post mail or email at grants@pssc.org.ph
Hard copies of the documents must be submitted to:
PSSC Secretariat
Philippine Social Science Council
PSSC Center, Commonwealth Avenue
Diliman, Quezon City
For online application, please click RAP Application Form
Only applications with complete requirements will be reviewed, and no application documents will be returned to the applicant.
REVIEW PROCEDURE
Each PSSC-RAP proposal is reviewed by two members of the PSSC Research Committee based on the following criteria: (a) clarity of research problem; (b) contextualizing research problem within existing literature and theoretical framework/s; (c) methodology; and (d) overall presentation and study significance.
The financial requirement of the research and the availability of other funds are also considered in the review.
The proposals are ranked according to the ratings given by the reviewer. Priority is given to research proposals in the social sciences and those that are above the passing rate.
Results are announced in the last week of May or early June.