(Updated February 17, 2026: Two webinar recordings are available on TIRF’s website—the morning session and the evening session.)

We’re pleased to invite you to TIRF’s 2026 Doctoral Dissertation Grants (DDG) Fellows Mentoring Webinars—a valuable opportunity for potential applicants and their supervisors—to hear directly from TIRF DDG awardees, gain practical guidance on preparing a strong application, and get answers to questions about the DDG program.

Now in its 25^th year, TIRF’s DDG program supports doctoral students worldwide whose research aligns with TIRF’s Research Topics. These webinars are designed especially for prospective applicants in Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs who are preparing proposals for the 2026 DDG competition.

Webinar Sessions

To accommodate participants across time zones, TIRF will offer two, one-hour sessions on

Tuesday, February 10, 2026:

• 8:00am ET – Register here
• 8:00pm ET – Register here

Participants who are unable to attend live are encouraged to submit questions in advance using this form. Panelists will address these questions during the sessions.

Meet the Panelists

Morning Webinar Panel (8:00 AM ET)

• Beth Clark-Gareca, Associate Professor and Director of the TESOL K–12 Program, Binghamton University
• Jonathan Malone, Director, Maryland English Institute
• Inoussa Malgoubri, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Evening Webinar Panel (8:00 PM ET)

• Gavin O’Neil, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Hitotsubashi University
• Ying Zhang, Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Northern Arizona University
• Tabitha Kidwell, Faculty Member, TESOL Program, American University

Why Attend?

• Hear firsthand from DDG Fellows about their experiences;
• Receive practical advice for developing a competitive proposal;
• Learn what reviewers look for in DDG applications; and
• Get your questions answered in a supportive, mentoring-focused setting.

About the 2026 TIRF DDG Program

TIRF’s Doctoral Dissertation Grants provide up to US $5,000 per award to support doctoral research related to language education. The 2026 DDG application cycle is now open, and complete applications are due Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Full details about eligibility, grant categories, and application materials are available here:
https://tirfonline.org/doctoral-dissertation-grants/.

TIRF remains grateful to its partners, including Cambridge, Duolingo, and the TOEFL® program at Educational Testing Service, as well as to its generous individual donors, whose support makes the annual TIRF DDG program possible

We look forward to welcoming you to the webinar and supporting you as you prepare your DDG application.