Why Apply?
Individual predoctoral fellowships provide research training opportunities to graduate students and undergraduates, including international students. Although graduate students in good standing are guaranteed support for their stipend, tuition, fees, and health insurance, there are considerable benefits to applying for an individual fellowship, including:
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Experience: The process of applying for a fellowship develops grant writing skills and familiarity with the grant submission process.
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Prestige: Competing against a national pool of candidates and receiving an individual fellowship from an external source can make a trainee more competitive for future funding or awards.
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Financial Benefits: Some graduate programs allow for stipend augmentation if the student receives an extramurally funded fellowship. In addition, many awards come with funds to support travel and other educational related expenses (computer, tablet, books, etc.).
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Benefit to Mentor: Individual fellowships free up funds for the lab's research and other personnel.
Health sciences graduate students who are US citizens, national, or permanent residents should consider applying for internal Institutional Training Grants or applying for the NIH individual predoctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA), F30 or F31 award, or the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award.
Foundations and organizations also support individual graduate fellowships for both domestic and international graduate students. These opportunities are often tied to particular research areas, support students at a certain thesis stage, or have specific eligibility criteria (e.g., students from underrepresented backgrounds).