Funding Opportunities
Proposal or Pilot (PoP) Grant
We are dedicated to supporting affiliate research in the area of language and literacy. CISLL’s Proposal or Pilot Grant (PoP) grants offer awards that vary in purpose and maximum award amount (described below). Award amounts may vary depending on need. Each fall we will issue a call for proposals. To be eligible, you must be a CISLL affiliate.
In the 2025-2026 academic year we offer grants to support CISLL faculty and student affiliates totaling up to $15,000. We will offer awards intended to support faculty affiliates in the completion of a proposal for an externally funded grant. There will be awards of up to $11,000 available. Depending on the proposals submitted, funds may be awarded to more than one proposal up to $11,000 (e.g., two awards at $5500 or three awards of varying amounts that add up to $11,000).
We will also offer awards intended to support student affiliates with the collection of pilot data for dissertations or theses, collections of pilot data for grant proposal to support a dissertation or thesis, and/or provide the student with a guided experience of writing a grant and conducting research. These funds may be awarded to more than one proposal up to $4,000.
If CISLL affiliates succeed in getting grants with indirects, we will be able to offer additional faculty and graduate student pilot study grants.
Get more information about faculty PoP grants and student PoP grants.
CISLL Outstanding Faculty/Student Awards
All CISLL graduate student affiliates pursuing a master's or doctoral degree and engaged in research related to language and literacy at NIU are eligible for the CISLL Outstanding Student Award (COSA). We are dedicated to nurturing a new generation of scholars with a comprehensive understanding of language and literacy studies.
Each year, the COSA recognizes a student who has exemplified CISLL's mission throughout their graduate career and shows great promise as a future researcher or professional in these fields. This award includes a $500 stipend to honor the student’s scholarly contributions. During the fellowship year, the recipient is expected to continue their research on language and literacy at NIU, participate in center-sponsored events, and present their work at the CISLL Annual Retreat on May 1, 2026.
Faculty affiliates are eligible for the CISLL Outstanding Faculty Award (COFA), which honors those who exemplify our mission and provides a $500 stipend to support their ongoing research and contributions.
Acknowledgment Statement
Awardees of CISLL funding are requested to acknowledge CISLL support when disseminating their work. An example acknowledgment statement is provided below.
The research was supported by the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy (CISLL) at Northern Illinois University. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CISLL.
Contact Us
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and LiteracyGabel Hall 156
cisll@niu.edu
