Fellowships

There is a wide array of 'outside' predoctoral science fellowship funds (e.g., from non-Harvard funding sources) available to DMS PhDs, and we have compiled a directory of them below.  These non-Harvard resources can be used to help support--or even augment--the University's financial aid package, and we encourage you to look them over. 

DMS Fellowships Coordinator Alex Shimada-Brand is pleased to offer individual fellowship counseling services to DMS students.  He may be contacted at ashimada [at] hms.harvard.edu, 617-432-2087.

An alphabetical directory of outside science fellowships that our DMS students have applied for and received in the past appears below.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows Program

Eligibility: The AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows work for 10 weeks during the summer as reporters, researchers, and production assistants in mass media organizations nationwide. Fellows collaborate with media professionals at radio and television stations, newspapers, and magazines. As part of their job, the student-scientists and their host-journalists strive to make science news easy for the public to understand. Applicants must be enrolled as college or university students (in their senior year, or in any graduate or post graduate level) in the natural, physical, health, engineering, computer, or social sciences or mathematics in order to apply. Successful applicants will attend an orientation at AAAS headquarters at the beginning of the summer and a wrap-up session at the end of the summer. They will prepare reports on the progress of their fellowships throughout their placement.

Tuition: No

Stipend: $450/wk during the summer

Other: Travel funds between AAAS and your site.

Aging Research Dissertation Awards to Increase Diversity

Eligibility: Encouraged applicants are individuals from racial and ethnic groups that have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis, individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals that have completed all non-dissertation requirements for your Ph.D. degree by the anticipated start date of the award.

Tuition: No

Stipend: current fiscal year National Research Service Award (NRSA) predoctoral stipend level (http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm#policy) and up to $15,000 for additional expenses.

American Association of University Women International Fellowships

Eligibility: International Fellowships are awarded for full-time study or research in the United States to women who are not United States citizens or permanent residents. Doctoral applicants must have applied by December to an accredited institution of study for the period of the fellowship year and must indicate the name of the institution in the International Fellowship application.

Tuition: No

Stipend: $20,000

American Heart Association Founders Affiliate Predoctoral Fellowship

Eligibility: Post baccalaureate, pre-doctoral M.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.V.M. (or equivalent) students seeking research training with a sponsor/mentor prior to embarking on a research career. Awardee must meet American Heart Association citizenship criteria throughout the duration of the award.  See link for criteria details. All basic disciplines as well as epidemiological, community and clinical investigations that bear on cardiovascular and stroke problems.

Tuition: No

Stipend: $20,000

Other: $1,000 for insurance

American Psychological Association Minority Predoctoral Fellowship Program in Neuroscience

Eligibility: Applicants must be American citizens or permanent resident aliens with an alien registration card (I-151 or I-551). Fellowship recipients must be enrolled full-time in a program leading to the PhD by the fall term immediately following the application deadline. Those students identified as under-represented ethnic minorities in the neurosciences are strongly encouraged to apply.

Tuition: No

Stipend: Yes, varies year to year

Other: Travel funds to attend the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. Summer Program in Neuroscience, Ethics, and Survival (SPINES) at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. Lifetime professional association with our network.

American Society for Microbiology Robert D. Watkins Graduate Research Fellowship

Eligibility: Eligible candidates must be from groups that have been determined by the applicant's institution to be underrepresented in the microbiological sciences,  have successfully completed the first year of the graduate program (first year graduate students cannot apply),  have successfully completed all graduate coursework requirements for the doctoral degree by the date of activation of the fellowship,  be a student member of ASM and be mentored by an ASM member, and be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident.  Candidates must not have funding OR have funding that will expire by the start date of the fellowship.

Tuition: No

Stipend: $63,000 ($21,000 a year) for a three-year period

A*STAR National Science Scholarships

Eligibility: Singaporeans, Singapore Permanent Residents and ASEAN Nationals. Successful candidates who are not Singapore Citizens are expected to take up Singapore Citizenship.  Candidates must have a first degree in relevant disciplines, and have obtained First Class Honours, GPA of 3.8 and above from US universities or a CAP of 4.5 and above from local universities.  Awardees are expected to attain good GRE scores. Successful candidates are required to undergo a one-year research attachment at an A*STAR research institute, prior to their PhD studies. Exceptions may be granted but will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 

Tuition: full for up to 5 years

Stipend: yes, varying according to country and university

Other:  Many other benefits, see website for details

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Canada CIHR Predoctoral Research Fellowship

Eligibility: Canada’s CIHR. This Doctoral Foreign Study Award (DFSA) provides support to students who are pursuing a doctoral degree in a health-related field outside of Canada.

Tuition: No

Stipend: C$30,000 per annum.

Other: C$5,000 per annum research allowance.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral Research Award

Eligibility: The program is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada at the time of application. Only those students engaged in full-time research training in a graduate school are eligible for support. At the time of application, all candidates must have completed at least 12 months of graduate study at the Master's or PhD level. Candidates who have transferred directly from a Bachelor's degree to a PhD program (with no time in a Master's program) cannot have been registered for more than 34 months as a full-time student in a PhD program.

Tuition: No

Stipend: CA $13,000/year

Canadian Federation of University women (CFUW) Margaret McWilliams Pre-Doctoral Fellowship

Eligibility: A female who is a Canadian citizen or has held landed immigrant status for at
least one year.  The candidate must have completed at least one full calendar year
as a full-time student in doctoral level studies, and be a full-time
student at the time of the application.

Tuition: No

Stipend: varies

Croucher Foundation Scholarship

Eligibility: Applicants who are permanent residents of Hong Kong who devote themselves to a period of full-time study or research in NATURAL SCIENCE, MEDICINE or TECHNOLOGY for a PhD in approved academic institutions outside Hong Kong. Applicants must have obtained First Class Honours in their first degree.  A Croucher Scholarship normally comprises an annual maintenance allowance, assistance towards air passage, plus tuition fees up to and including the third year of the relevant PhD studies programme – this does not therefore necessarily mean that all recipients will get three years ofsupport, e.g. a candidate starting the Scholarship from the second year of his/her PhD study will get only two years of support, starting from the third year of PhD will get one year, etc.

Tuition and Stipend: Annual maintenance allowance, assistance towards air passage, plus tuition fees up to and including the third year of the relevant PhD studies programme, as well as additional benefits (see website).

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Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship

Eligibility: Students in their first or second year of graduate study in the physical, engineering, computer, mathematical, or life sciences are eligible to apply for the DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship. Applicants must be either U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens.  Students must be enrolled at a department that either does not require that graduate students perform support activities (e.g., teaching, grading, etc.) to qualify for the doctoral degree, or will waive such requirements, if they exist, for DOE CSGF fellows during the period of their fellowship. Support of this fellowship is limited to 4 years and must be renewed each year.

Tuition: Full tuition and required fees

Stipend: $31,200

Other:   A $1,000 academic allowance is paid annually to the fellow to be used for duplication expenses, conferences, copies of conference proceedings, travel, or other expenses incurred while doing research or activities directly related to the professional development of the fellow. Upon request, matching funds of up to $2,500 will be made available to provide computer support. Specifically, these matching funds are available to help purchase a computer workstation or an upgrade to an existing workstation that may be used during the fellowship program.

Drug Abuse Dissertation Research: Epidemiology, Prevention, Treatment, Services, and Women and Sex/Gender Differences (R36)

Eligibility: A citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or an individual who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence. A doctoral student who receives support for dissertation research under a grant from NIDA may not hold concurrently another federally sponsored fellowship or similar Federal award. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) announces the availability of NIH Dissertation Award grants (R36) to support drug abuse doctoral dissertation research in epidemiology, prevention, treatment, services, and women and sex/gender differences, areas in which there is a significant need for new investigators.

Tuition: No

Stipend and Other Expenses:  may not exceed $50,000 per year in direct costs (salary plus limited research costs)

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Epilepsy Foundation Predoctoral Research Training Fellowship

Eligibility: Graduate students must be matriculating in a full-time doctoral (Ph.D.) program with an academic career focus.  Areas of interest considered include, but are not limited to neuroscience, physiology, pharmacology, psychology, biochemistry, genetics, nursing, or pharmacy may apply.

Tuition and Stipend: $20,000/year

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Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship for Minorities

Eligibility: All citizens or nationals of the United States who are enrolled in or planning to enroll in an eligible research-based program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree at a U.S. educational institution.  Individuals committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level.  Positive factors include membership in one or more of the following groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding, capacity to respond in pedagogically productive ways to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds, or sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and an ability to bring this asset to learning, teaching, and scholarship at the college and university level.

Tuition: $2,000

Stipend: $20,000

Other: Expenses paid to attend at least one Conference of Ford Fellows

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Harvey Fellows Program

Eligibility: The Harvey Fellows was developed to encourage followers of Jesus Christ to integrate their faith and vocation and pursue leadership positions in strategic fields where Christians appear to be underrepresented.   All individuals receiving the Harvey Fellowship must affirm and sign the Lausanne Covenant as an expression of their faith and theological understanding.

Tuition: no

Stipend: $16,000, renewable for up to three years

Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship Award

Eligibility: Eligible applicants for Hertz Fellowships must be students of the applied physical sciences who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States of America, and who are willing to morally commit to make their skills available to the United States in time of national emergency (see website's Moral Commitment section). The only HILS field that qualifies is "Quantitative Biology and Bio-Engineering."

Tuition: yes

Stipend:    Two options:  $31,000/ 9-month personal stipend renewable for 5 years, OR $36,000/ 9-month personal stipend for 2 years and $3,500/ year supplemental stipend* from Hertz to supplement another fellowship

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study

Eligibility: Past participants in the HHMI Exceptional Research Opportunities Program (EXROP); must be graduating seniors or recent baccalaureate recipients (within two years) who have completed no more than one year of Ph.D. training. No citizenship requirement.

Tuition and Stipend: 2012-2013 fellowship year: $46,500, renewable up to 5 years

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NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Eligibility: The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are in the early stages of their graduate study. Applicants must be United States citizens or nationals, or permanent resident aliens of the United States.  Applicants are expected to have adequate preparation to begin graduate study and research by summer or fall of the application year.  Applicants must have completed no more than twelve months of full-time graduate study or its equivalent by the August 31st prior to the program submission deadline. Medical sciences or research with disease-related goals, including work on the etiology, diagnosis or treatment of physical or mental disease, abnormality or malfunction in human beings or animals, animal models of such conditions, or the development or testing of drugs or other procedures for their treatment are ineligible for this award.

Tuition and Stipend: $42,000 for new fellowships in FY 2012 pending the availability of funds.

National Defense Science and Engineering Fellowship

Eligibility: The NDSEG Fellowship Program is open only to applicants who are citizens or nationals of the United States. Applications are encouraged from women, persons with disabilities, and members of ethnic and racial minority groups that historically have been underrepresented in science and engineering fields.  To be eligible, applicants must either be enrolled in their final year of undergraduate studies, or have completed no more than the equivalent of one year of academic full-time graduate study as a part-time or full-time student.

Tuition and Stipend: Tuition plus 12 month stipend (~ $31,000)

Other: Maximum $1,000 for insurance

National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Pre-Doctoral Fellowships (F31)

Eligibility: The applicant must be at the dissertation research stage of their training and must show evidence of both high academic performance in the sciences and substantial interest in a research area of high priority to the participating Institutes.  Participating Institutes may have different eligibility requirements for individuals applying for a Kirschstein-NRSA F31 award.  Additional information and requirements specific to a particular Institute are located at the F31 contact website (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/pa-21-051.html). By the time of award, the individual applicant must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence. An applicant must have a baccalaureate degree and be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. or equivalent research degree program in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences at an accredited domestic or foreign institution.

Tuition: up to $16,000 per year

Stipend: Yes, $22,030 in FY12

Other:  Predoctoral fellows will receive an institutional allowance of $4,200 per 12-month period

National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships (F31) to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research

Eligibility: Encouraged applicants are individuals from racial and ethnic groups that have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis, individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. By the time of award, the individual applicant must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence. An applicant must have a baccalaureate degree and be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. or equivalent research degree program in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences at an accredited domestic or foreign institution.

Tuition: 60% of the level requested by the applicant institution, up to $16,000 per year

Stipend: Yes, $22,030 in FY12

Other:  Predoctoral fellows will receive an institutional allowance of $4,200 per 12-month period

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Fellowship

Eligibility: Applicants must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, must have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, between four and 36 months of studies (full-time equivalent) in the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding, and have obtained a first-class average (a grade of "A-") in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent).

Tuition: no

Stipend: $21,000 per year

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Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

Eligibility: A New American is an individual who (1) is a resident alien; i.e., holds a Green Card, or, (2) has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen, or (3) is the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens. The applicant must either have a bachelor's degree or be in her/his final year of undergraduate study. To be eligible you must not be older than thirty years of age as of NOVEMBER 1.The Trustees strongly encourage applications from candidates who have not yet begun their graduate studies, but full consideration will be given to candidates in the first or second years of graduate studies in their current program.

Tuition: one-half the tuition cost of the U.S. graduate program attended by the Fellow (up to a maximum of $16,000 per academic year)

Stipend: $20,000

PCRP Prostate Cancer Training Award

Eligibility: Prostate Cancer Training Awards provide research traineeship opportunities to individuals in the early stages of their careers under the guidance of an experienced prostate cancer researcher.  Must be graduate students enrolled full time in an accredited doctoral program; and must have successfully completed comprehensive examinations or otherwise met predissertation requirements by yearly deadline. 

Tuition and Stipend: Total funds are a maximum of $92,500 for 3 years.

Other: Funding must be requested for the PI to travel to the next PCRP IMPaCT (Innovative Minds in Prostate Cancer Today) Meeting (tentatively scheduled for 2010).

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation (PhRMA): Predoctoral Fellowships for Training in Pharmacology and Toxicology

Eligibility: The fellowship program of pre doctoral support is designed to assist full-time, in-residence Ph.D. candidates in the fields of pharmacology or toxicology who are enrolled in USA schools of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, or veterinary medicine. The program supports full-time advanced students who will have completed the bulk of their pre-thesis requirements (at least two years of study) and are engaged in thesis research as Ph.D. Candidates by the time the award is activated. Students just starting in graduate school should not apply.

Tuition: No

Stipend: $20,000 a year for a maximum of 2 years

Other: An individual may not simultaneously hold or interrupt any other fellowship providing stipend support during the PhRMA Foundation fellowship.

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Samsung Scholarships

Eligibility: Korean Nationals studying Engineering, Science, Liberal Arts and Social Science. Individuals who have not completed the mandatory military service must be under 24 for Ph.D degree, while students who have completed military service must be under 30.

Tuition and Stipend: tuition and living expenses up to US$50,000 each year

Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowships for Overseas Studies

Eligibility: Applicants must:

  • be permanent residents of Hong Kong;
  • have received at least 7 years of continuous education in Hong Kong;
  • fulfill all application procedures and admission requirements at the institution of their choices and be offered places subsequently;
  • hold good Honours degrees obtained in Hong Kong or equivalent qualifications OR expect to obtain such degrees or equivalent qualifications; and
  • be proficient in English and Chinese and have a good command of the language in which their studies will be undertaken.

Tuition and Stipend: HK$283,000 for the 2007/2008 academic year

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UNCF • Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowship

Eligibility:  African American full-time Ph.D. degree candidates engaged in and within 1-3 years of completing dissertation research having successfully completed all qualifying exams. A citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

Tuition: No

Stipend: Each fellowship provides up to a maximum of $52,000, which includes a Stipend of up to $42,000 for the Fellow and a Research Grant of up to $10,000 to support the research needs of the Fellow.  The fellowship stipend is intended to cover from 12-24 months of fellowship tenure.  A maximum of $30,000 in stipend may be received in any 12-month period.

Other: Each UNCF • Merck graduate Fellow will be mentored by a Merck scientist and will be expected to maintain regular contact with his/her mentor.  Each Fellow will present a progress report of research work during the last half of the fellowship tenure.

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