National Academy of Education
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About National Academy of Education
The National Academy of Education (NAEd) advances high-quality research to improve education policy and practice. The Academy undertakes research studies to address pressing educational issues and administers professional development fellowship programs to enhance the preparation of the next generation of education scholars.
Focus Areas
Education researchTeacher preparationAssessmentEducational equityCivic educationProfessional development and fellowships
Who They Fund
postdoctoral researchersearly-career scientists / scholarsrecent PhD / doctoral degree holders transitioning to independent research
Funding Style
fellowship supportindividual researcher support
About National Academy of Education
The National Academy of Education’s largest recurring awards are $70,000 postdoctoral fellowships that support early-career scholars in education research, paired with professional development retreats and mentorship. That pattern points to a funder built around individual scholar support rather than institutional program grants. The Academy’s recent grant records show a steady emphasis on helping researchers move from doctoral training into independent work through fellowship funding tied to education policy and practice questions. The same structure appears in its dissertation program, which awards $27,500 to doctoral candidates writing dissertations relevant to improving education. The fellowship is open to candidates from a wide range of disciplines and professional fields, indicating that the Academy’s research interest is not limited to education departments alone. Its EMERG initiative adds another layer by supporting equity in mathematics education research. Across these programs, the Academy funds people at key stages of the research pipeline: doctoral candidates, postdoctoral scholars, and early-career academics. The emphasis is on research development, mentorship, and sustained scholarly work in education-related fields.
What National Academy of Education Funds
One major theme is education research training. The NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship provides $27,500 to doctoral candidates to support the writing phase of dissertation research relevant to improving education, with professional development retreats and mentorship built in. A second theme is postdoctoral development. The NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship gives $70,000 to early-career postdoctoral scholars and is tied to education research, education policy, and education practice. The Academy also supports equity-focused work in mathematics education through EMERG, a grant program centered on math education and equity in education research. In addition, its fellowship programs are open to scholars from a range of disciplines and professional fields, showing an interdisciplinary approach to education research support.
How National Academy of Education Gives
The typical grant size is tightly clustered: p25, median, and p75 are all $13,750 or $35,000 depending on the program, while the recurring postdoctoral fellowship sits at $70,000 and the dissertation fellowship at $27,500. The recent record shows repeated awards to scholars across multiple years, especially in the postdoctoral program, which appears in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Academy is structured around fellowship support and individual researcher funding rather than project-only grants. It funds individuals and also offers at least one unsolicited program, the dissertation fellowship.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3.8M
Total Assets
$12.6M
Total Revenue
$321K
Total Expenses
$6.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $14K and $35K, with a median of $14K.
25th Percentile
$14K
Median
$14K
75th Percentile
$35K
Geographic Reach
National34 states funded
About 0% of grants go to recipients in MN.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where National Academy of Education Funds
Top 5 recipient countries by grant volume for National Academy of Education.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 344 | $8.9M | 97.7% |
| 2 | Canada | 5 | $245K |
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