Finding Funding
The resources on this page are geared toward faculty and staff researchers. If you are a graduate student, please contact the Office of Graduate Studies for more information on graduate student funding. If you are an undergraduate, you will need to work with your mentor or department to find funding–but you can also reach out to the Undergraduate Research Center and Global Affairs.
To watch a recording of a recent UCD webinar on finding funding, click here.
Sign Up for Weekly Research Funding Updates
These moderated listservs distribute information about important funding opportunities. You must subscribe using your UC Davis (_@ucdavis.edu or _@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu) email account. If you are not already signed in to Kerberos, you will need to sign in for the subscription to take effect.
- Campus-Wide Funding Announcements:
https://lists.ucdavis.edu/sympa/subscribe/funding/index.html - Early Career Faculty Funding Announcements:
https://lists.ucdavis.edu/sympa/subscribe/fundingearlycareer/index.html - Humanities Funding Announcements: https://lists.ucdavis.edu/sympa/subscribe/fundinghum/index.html
- Social Science Funding Announcements: https://lists.ucdavis.edu/sympa/subscribe/fundingss/index.html
Search a Comprehensive Funding Database
Pivot-RP
funding opportunities
Pivot Video Tutorials from UC Davis Administrators
- Logging in and Starting a Search
- Full Video Tutorial
- Saved Searches (coming soon)
- Additional Pivot Features (coming soon)
Search Additional Databases & Funding Resources
Federal Funding
Grants.gov is a database where all federal grant-making agencies are required to publish their funding opportunities. Users can create unique saved searches, and browse by funding categories for the 29 sponsoring federal agencies.
To run a search, and set up saved searches, specifically for the National Science Foundation (NSF), click here.
To run a search, and set up saved searches, specifically for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), click here.
State Funding
The California Grants Portal is your one-stop destination to find all grants and loans offered on a competitive or first-come basis by California state agencies.
Foundation and Corporate Funding
For help with funding from private entities, please contact the UC Davis Office of Foundation and Corporate Engagement.
Philanthropy News Digest serves as a source for private foundations and other philanthropic organizations. View a list of RFPs, search by keywords, or browse by subject. Additionally, Philanthropy News Digest includes an option to sign up for RSS feeds and newsletters.
UC Davis Office of Research Funding Programs
Interdisciplinary Research Catalyst (IRC) Awards
These awards (Conversations and Faculty Fellows Program) are intended to enable, facilitate, and support faculty to pursue large scale interdisciplinary funding opportunities.
Science Translational & Innovative Research (STAIR) Grant
The STAIR program helps bridge the gap between basic research and early-stage commercialization efforts, by providing funding and resources to translate basic UC Davis research with commercial potential by demonstrating proof-of-concept and establishing market viability.
Principal Investigator (PI) Bridge Program
This program provides one-time funding to PI’s who have lost or will lose their primary extramural funding. Funds ensure the continuation of a research project for an interim period until extramural support can be re-established. To apply, fill out the Internal Research Funding Form. School of Medicine PIs, please review this document: SOM PI Bridge Funding Process
The Publications Assistance Fund assists ladder faculty, particularly those early in their career, with the publication of books or monographs and exhibition or performance of works of art representative of University of California standards. The intent of the fund is to defray certain costs that would not normally be covered by the publisher, thus enhancing the possibility of the work to be published. This program is co-sponsored by the Office of Research and the participating colleges and schools. To apply, fill out the Internal Research Funding Form.
UC Davis Internal Funding Opportunities
This list is not exhaustive. Contact research institutes and centers related to your research to find out if they offer internal funding to researchers.
- Academic Senate Research & Travel Grants
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center Development Awards
- California National Primate Research Center Pilot Research Program
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Support Grant Developmental Awards
- Environmental Health Sciences Center Award Programs
- Seed Grants for International Activities
UC System-Wide Funding
UC Research Initiatives offer unique opportunities for collaboration and seed funding across the full breadth of academic disciplines and scholarship at UC, from the arts and humanities to engineering, natural sciences, social sciences, education, and medicine. You can also look for opportunities on the Research Grants Program Office page.