The College of Social Science and the Office of Institutional Access has announced the 2026 Institutional Access Small Grants Program awardees. The Dean’s Institutional Access Small Grant Program is a competitive small grants program which provides funding for social science innovation and scholarship that engages thoughtfully with and advances the College's mission of inclusive excellence. Grants are awarded at the beginning of each academic year.
Individuals selected for small grants will utilize their funding to expand on previous access centered pre-dissertation research. Applicants were asked to submit a proposal outlining how they would use the grant to advance Institutional Access in innovative and creative ways in the college and across the university.
Awardees are selected via committee based on a variety of factors, including a thorough presentation of their research methodology and implementation plan. After review of proposals, the committee makes a recommendation to Dr. Nwando Achebe, Associate Dean for Access, Development, and Strategic Implementation.
The 2026 awardees are listed below along with their department affiliations:
Daeun Kim (Human Development and Family Studies)
Advisor: Dr. Desiree Qin and Dr. Yijie Wang
Title: Transactional Ethnic-Racial Socialization in Korean American Immigrant Families in the Midwest
Emmanuel Ankomahene (History)
Advisor: Dr. Michelle Moyd
Title: Living on the Iron Horse: Railway Infrastructure, Labor Mobility, Industrial, Gender and
Ethnic Identities in Ghana, 1898-1980
Jordan Parker (Criminal Justice)
Advisor: Dr. Julie Krupa
Title: Going Beyond the Crime Data: A Qualitative Examination of Programmatic Outcomes for Participants in Community-Based Violence Interventions
Yousef Khajavigodellou (Geography)
Advisor: Dr. Jiaguo Qi
Title: Mapping Global Transboundary Rivers Water Bankruptcy
Yun Zou (History)
Advisor: Dr. Aminda Smith
Title: Whose Reservoir: Gender, Nature, and the Making of a Maoist State
The College of Social Science Institutional Access Small Grants Program awards winners annually each spring. You can learn more about the Institutional Access Small Grants Program here.