The Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy was established in 1997 by Irving Louis Horowitz and Mary E. Curtis as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Its general purpose is to support the advancement of research and understanding in the major fields of the social sciences. Its specific purpose is to provide small grants to aspiring PhD students at the dissertation level to support the research they are undertaking for their project.

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The idea for the Foundation emerged from Irving Louis Horowitz’s experience working with doctoral students. He found that many faced financial barriers to completing their research. Dr. Horowitz initially provided assistance to these scholars personally, and later through Transaction Publishers’ Grants-in-Publication Program. After the termination of that program, the foundation was established in 1997. The first grants were issued in 1998.