Grants and Scholarships

ALEX CHARTERS RESEARCH GRANT  WAYNE L. WHELAN SCHOLARSHIP 

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Alex Charters Research Grant

Open to: ACHE members who have maintained a membership for at least one year immediately preceding application or doctoral students with sponsorship from an ACHE member institution
Focus: Research in adult and continuing higher education
Submission period: Closes August 20, 2025

The purpose of the ACHE Alex Charters Research Grant is to promote the development and dissemination of new knowledge, theories, and practices in adult and continuing education. 

ACHE members who have maintained membership for at least one year or doctoral students with sponsorship from an ACHE member institution are eligible to submit research grant proposals. Members of the Research Committee, national officers, and board members are not eligible. The Research Committee urges ACHE members to encourage doctoral students to apply for the grants.

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Submission

Please submit an Alex Charters Research Grant Application, which will includes the following in a summary of not more than 1500 words:

Clear description of the problem

• The problem should be stated clearly.
• The problem should be significant enough to warrant research.

Level of applicability to the practice of adult and continuing education

• The proposal should describe the relevance of the research project including how the literature review will critique pertinent studies.
• The proposal should discuss the implications of the findings for the proposed research project. (Applicants are requested to submit the literature review, if completed already at the time of proposal submission.)

Theoretical or Conceptual Framework

The theoretical framework should link with the problem.
Concepts and the relationships between concepts should be defined.

Research Design

• The proposal should provide a thorough description of the design and its relationship to the problem.

Contribution of Research

• The proposal should discuss how the findings would relate to specific theories and concepts.
• The proposal should address ways in which the proposed research will foster additional research activities.

Budget

• The proposal should include a budget for the proposed research, including personnel and operating expenses that relate directly to the research activities.

Award winners who submit proposals for consideration in a given year will be notified in August of that year of their award. Recipients are then asked to share their research with the ACHE membership in one of three ways:

• by presenting at the Annual Conference & Meeting of the Association within 3 years of their award,
• by submitting their research to the Journal for Continuing Higher Education,
• or by writing about their research for the association's news, Five Minutes with ACHE.

SUBMIT HERE

Wayne L. Whelan Scholarship

The Association will award a scholarship to an ACHE member who has held membership in ACHE for at least one year immediately preceding application and who is engaged in graduate studies on either a full-time or part-time basis. One scholarship in the amount of $1000 may be awarded.

Open to: ACHE members who have maintained a membership for at least one year and are studying in the field of adult continuing higher education
Focus: Graduate study in adult and continuing higher education
Submission period: Closes August 20, 2025

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Eligibility

Applicant must:

• Be a full- or part-time graduate student currently enrolled or accepted for admission in an accredited graduate degree program;
• Be interested in the field of adult continuing education as a profession;
• Be an adult student 25 years of age or older;
• Have maintained an ACHE membership for at least one year prior to application.

Requirements

Applicants must submit the following:

• A personal statement and explanation from the applicant (500-1000 words) of his or her interest in the award, why he or she should be considered a candidate, and financial interests/needs for his or her degree program; 
• Two letters of support delineating the applicant's merits, course of study and how it relates to continuing higher education, and related explanations for the applicant's candidacy. Letters of support should include those from faculty and supervisors; and 
• If the scholarship proceeds go toward research, the awardee shall make the results of that research available to the ACHE membership via Five Minutes with ACHE, the Journal of Continuing Higher Education, or a conference presentation within two years from the time of the award.

SUBMIT HERE

Application Requirements

Applications must include the following information:

• Purpose of the grant

• Description of activities the grant will support

• Names and roles of individuals responsible for fund distribution and reporting

• Proposed timeline for implementation

Accountability

Recipients are required to submit a brief written report to the ACHE Home Office within one year of fund distribution. The report must include:

• A summary of how the funds were allocated and used

• A brief description of outcomes and impact of the supported activities