Funding Opportunities
There are many funding opportunities available to graduate students. This list is not comprehensive. See the “Search for Funding” page for additional resources to perform your own search for external funding sources.
This list is continually updated. To submit a grant opportunity to be included, please email Alexandra_L_Thomas@rush.edu.
Federally Supported Graduate Fellowships
The most popular fellowships for graduate students in the biomedical sciences are supported by the National Institutes of Health.
- Alternatively, the Individual Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Transition Award (F99/K00) is appropriate for 3rd or 4th year graduate students planning to pursue a postdoctoral research position. This award provides support in two phases – as a PhD student and then as a postdoctoral fellow. An identified postdoctoral mentor is not required at the time of application. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. At this time, the following programs are active:
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) also supports graduate fellowships through the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. This award is intended for early-stage graduate (PhD and Master’s) students. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.
- Late-stage graduate students can also apply for the NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB). The fellowship is awarded to the individual, not an institution, and applicants must apply directly. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.
Grants & Fellowships from Other Organizations
- American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Graduate Student Fellows Program
- Must be Lantina/o/x and/or Hispanic and enrolled in PhD program
- Annual summer deadline
- American Epilepsy Society
- Predoctoral Fellowship for epilepsy-related research projects
- Open to international students
- Annual, deadline in January
- American Heart Association
- Predoctoral Fellowship for cardiovascular-related research
- Open to international students
- Annual, deadline in September
- Autism Science Foundation
- Predoctoral Fellowship for autism spectrum disorder-related research
- Open to international students
- Annual, deadline in December
- American Society of Hematology (ASH) Minority Hematology Graduate Award
- Hematology-focused projects
- Specific to minority applicants
- Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. or Canada
- Annual, deadline in January
- Fahs-Beck Scholars
- Doctoral dissertation grant program
- Open to international students
- A fellowship program is open to faculty and postdocs
- Two annual deadlines: April 1st and November 1st
- Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship Program
- Provides three years of funding for research-based PhD-level training
- Must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident
- Annual, deadline in December
- Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
- Provides one year of funding for the writing and defense of a dissertation leading to a PhD
- Must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident
- Annual, deadline in December
- Gerber Foundation Novice Research Grants
- Must submit a “Concept Paper” prior to full proposal
- Open to international students
- Two annual deadlines: February 15th and August 15th
- Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study
- Open to pairs of thesis advisors and PhD students (2nd or 3rd year)
- Advisor-student pairs must be nominated
- Must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident or DACA eligible
- Annual, deadline in December (nomination deadline in September)
- Hanna H. Gray Fellow Program
- For graduate and medical students transitioning to a postdoctoral position focusing on biomedical and life science basic research
- Also open to early stage postdocs (less than 16 months of postdoctoral research)
- Specific to individuals from underrepresented groups in life science research
- Open to non-US citizens with a degree from a US research institution
- Annual, deadline in December
- Parkinson’s Foundation
- Postdoctoral fellowships for PD-related projects
- Must have an identified postdoctoral mentor
- Open to international students
- Annual, deadline in February (LOI due December)
- PhRMA Foundation
- Predoctoral fellowships relating to Health Outcomes,
- Informatics, Pharmaceutics, and Pharmacology/Toxicology
- Open to international students
- Check website for deadlines
- Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program
- Predoctoral fellowship for tobacco-related disease research.
- See website for the program’s specific research priorities
- Open to international students
- Annual, deadline in the fall