Each spring, the Department of City and Regional Planning grants research awards to students in the various programs within the department. These awards will fund research and exit project work.
All CRP students are eligible to apply with the exception of those graduating in May or August 2026. Students may apply for more than one award. Students who have not previously received support from a research fund will be given priority consideration. They will not cover wages, travel, meals, and lodging related to unpaid internships.
Applications will be reviewed by a standing awards committee in the Department of City and Regional Planning, and winners will be announced in the middle of April. The deadline to submit applications is March 27, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Applications for these CRP Awards should specify the award applied for and include:
- A research proposal of no more than 1,000 words.
- A budget and budget justification which explains the proposed use of the funds. (Awards cannot be used for summer living expenses such as rent, utilities, or meals or for support of internships).
- All other grants (internal and external) you have applied for or received must be noted in the budget justification, as well as funds you expect to receive from faculty supervisors or project sponsors.
- A current CV.
- A letter of nomination from your research project advisor.
Nominating materials are due by March 27, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
John W. and Constance P. Reps Summer Research Awards
This award honors the long association of Professor John Reps and his wife Constance with Cornell University’s Department of City and Regional Planning. The award is conferred annually in March to help one or two graduate students in the department explore research as a career path. The student and a faculty member are to collaborate on a research project over the summer, and the hope is that this partnership will blossom into a continuing relationship. The student shall give a presentation about the project and its outcomes in the fall. CRP graduate students who are approaching the end of their first year of graduate studies are eligible. Students should not apply if they are already employed by a faculty member on a proposed research project.
Kermit C. Parsons and Janice I. Parsons Scholarship
The Kermit C. Parsons and Janice I. Parsons Scholarship was established in 2001 to support students in the URS, M.R.P., M.A. HPP, and real estate programs. This scholarship — one at the undergraduate and the second at the graduate level — recognizes the active role of Professor and Dean Kermit C. Parsons in working with all four groups of students. This call is for graduate students in CRP and real estate students, prioritizing promising work in areas of Parsons’s interests: historic preservation, physical planning, urban design, transportation, planning history, garden/green cities, campus planning, and real estate development.
John Reps Planning Pioneer Award
The John Reps Planning Pioneer Research Fellowship honors the living legacy of John Reps, a renowned historian of urban planning and an authority on American urban iconography. A graduate, professor, and former chair of CRP, Professor Reps was designated a Planning Pioneer by the American Planning Association in 1996. This research fellowship supports students on issues related to environmental governance and planning, particularly as they relate to climate change, disaster mitigation, water management, environmental justice, land use planning, and public policy. Students in the department at the undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral levels undertaking thesis, exit project, dissertation research, or other research relevant to their studies may apply. Research funds may be applied towards the cost of travel, data acquisition, software, and data analysis or support for field partners either in the U.S. or abroad.
Portman Family Graduate Award
The Portman Family Graduate Award was established in 1995 for planning students whose work emphasizes the physical aspects of planning. This gift was given in recognition of the contributions that Cornell, the college, and the Department of City and Regional Planning made to the Portman family and their careers and to encourage a focus on the physical and environmental aspects of planning.