Graduate Students
The R2 office has compiled a list of funding resources for graduate students studying at the Mailman School. If you would like to apply for one of these opportunities and have any questions, please review the funding opportunity announcement carefully and contact either the contact person listed in the announcement or the Research Resources Office.
Additional Information Required For F31 and F32 Applications:
A reminder toapplicants, their mentors, and administrators of the new “Additional Educational Information” document required in the applications. All applications lacking this attachment will be considered incomplete and will not proceed to review. Please refer to the following notices regarding this new requirement: NIH Notice of Clarification (F31s); NIH Notice of Clarification (F32s); FAQs for Fellowships; Columbia University’s Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) provides template language you can include in the “Additional Educational Information” document for F32s. This language can be obtained from the OPA website. If you have any questions regarding this new requirement, please contact your SPA Project Officer.
American Public Health Association (APHA) Student Opportunities
APHA's Public Health Student Opportunities (PHSO) page offers information about:
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Student Funding Information
The ASPPH Graduate Training Programs page offers information about ASPPH-sponsored fellowships, internships, and other programs available to students of public health.
CDC Student Internships and Fellowships
CDC offers a variety of fellowships and internship programs for undergraduate and graduate students. Detailed information about these programs can be found on the CDC's Student Internships and Fellowships page.
NIH Graduate Student Funding Opportunities
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA)
Named for Dr. Ruth L. Kirschstein, the first woman director of an NIH Institute and an important scientific contributor to polio vaccine development, NRSA awards provide support for pre-doctoral students. Several types of NRSA Individual Fellowship Funding Opportunities or "F Series" awards are available for individual graduate students. More detailed information about these awards, including contacts, deadline and submission information can be found at the NIH F Kiosk.
NRSA Individual Fellowship (F31/F31-Diversity) "Cheat Sheet," created by the Mailman School Research Resources Office.
NRSA Individual Fellowship (F Series) Mechanisms:
- Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD and Other Dual Doctoral Degree Fellows (Parent F30)
Purpose of F30: To provide support to individuals for combined MD/PhD and other dual doctoral degree training (e.g. DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, AuD/PhD) with the expectation that these training opportunities will increase the number of future investigators with both clinical knowledge and skills in basic, translational or clinical research. - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31 - Diversity)
Purpose of F31: To improve the diversity of the health-related research workforce by supporting the training of predoctoral students from groups that have been shown to be underrepresented (including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds). - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows (Parent F32)
Purpose of F32: To provide support to promising Fellowship Applicants with the potential to become productive, independent investigators in scientific health-related research fields relevant to the missions of participating NIH Institutes and Centers. - NRSA Policy Information
- Click on the NIH RePORTER link for an updated list of F31 Grants.
- NIH RePORTER is an electronic system to search NIH research projects using a variety of codes, including public health area of interest, and provide information on publications and patents resulting from NIH-funded research, NIH RePORTER (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools).
- Sample NIH REPORTER Searches, Active, 2014, backwards to 2008:
NSF Research Funding Opportunities
NSF maintains a list of funding opportunities specifically targeted to graduate students.
These include:
- Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (DDIG)
- Please note that DDIG awards are offered through NSF's Behavioral Systems Cluster of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) and through the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB). Please review the scientific areas for each program to decide which is more appropriate for your proposed research. Program officers for each program are listed on DDIG's main page.
- NSF Grant Research Fellowship Program (GRFP): Individuals enrolled in or beginning doctoral programs must not have completed more than 12 months of graduate school (including any masters work), and their work must fall into one of the eligible fields of study listed on the program's eligibility guide. For additional guidance, please see the NSF GRFP "Cheat Sheet," created by the Research Resources Office.
The Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program is "the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government"
Institute of International Education Student Funding Opportunity Page
The Institute of International Education (IIE) is a private nonprofit that collaborates with governments, foundations and other sponsors to programs of study and training for students, educators and professionals from all sectors. IIE administers the Fulbright program and the Gilman undergraduate scholarship program. IIE also maintains a Program Finder page, a browsable database of student programs.
Columbia University Funding Opportunity Resources
- Columbia College maintains a Find a Fellowship page. Many of the fellowships listed on this database are appropriate for graduate students.
Other Graduate Student Funding Opportunities
- American Anthropology Association offers Fellowships & Support resources for students conducting research with an anthropological focus, including the AAA Minority Dissertation Fellowship.
- American Council of Learned Societies offers funding opportunities including: Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowships.
- American Philosophical Society offers funding opportunities, including: The Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research, for doctoral students and the Phillips Fund Grant for Native American Research to support research for masters theses or doctoral dissertations.
- American Psychological Association Scholarships and Fellowships: For graduate students in psychology.
- American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) offers funding for both U.S. and Scandinavian students to study and conduct research abroad.
- American Sociological Association (ASA) offers a Minority Fellowship Program for doctoral students to support the development and training of sociologists of color, Student Forum Travel Awards, including papers by graduate students.
- Charlotte W. Newcome Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships: For doctoral students preparing a dissertation in which ethical or religious values are a central concern, enrolled in doctoral programs in the humanities and social sciences at graduate schools in the United States.
- Council on Library and Information Resources offers The Mellon Fellowships for Dissertation Research in Original Sources: Fellowships for dissertation research in the humanities in original sources.
- Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Dissertation Fellowships: The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation awards ten or more dissertation fellowships for research on the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression, and dominance, from any of the natural and social sciences and humanities.
- Hewlett Foundation/Institute of International Education (IIE): Hewlett Foundation/IIE Dissertation Fellowship in Population, Reproductive Health, and Economic Development, sponsored by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Applicants should be enrolled in Ph.D. programs in sub-Saharan Africa, the United States or Canada. Students in economics, economic demography, geography, and epidemiology are especially encouraged to apply. Students should have completed their coursework by the start of the fellowship.
- Jack Kent Cooke Dissertation Fellowship Award: Supports advanced doctoral students completing dissertations that further the understanding of the educational pathways and experiences of high-achieving, low-income students.
- Middlebury College Language Schools- Kathryn Davis Fellowships for Peace: Investing in the Study of Critical Languages: These fellowships cover the full cost of summer language study at the Middlebury College summer Language Schools (Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Portuguese, or Russian) for " exceptionally qualified individuals with demonstrated interest in one or more of the following areas: international, global, or area studies; international politics and economics; peace and security studies; and/or conflict resolution."
- Resources for the Future (RFF): RFF is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization aimed at improving environmental and natural resource policymaking worldwide through objective social science research. RFF sponsors several internship and fellowship programs, available at their Fellowships and Internships page , including the Joseph L. Fisher Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships to support students in their final year of dissertation research (primarily focused on economics and other social sciences).
- Social Science Research Council (SSRC): For research that advances knowledge about non-U.S. cultures and societies and engages themes ranging from global issues facing the U.S. and Japan, to security, drugs and democracy in Latin America.
- Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Policy Fellowships: Opportunities for researchers to one-year fellowships in Washington, DC and use developmental science outside of the academic setting to inform public policy, open to doctoral scientists from any discipline relevant to child development.
- Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Inc.: opportunities that support dissertation research related to anthropology.
Guidance for graduate students applying for funding
The research resources has created these guidance slides for graduate students (specifically, doctoral students) who are preparing proposals to leading funding agencies. Please contact us if you are a Mailman School doctoral student who has questions about finding funding.