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URMC / Microbiology & Immunology / Education / Graduate Student Funding

 

Graduate Student Funding

The Department of Microbiology & Immunology does not require students to obtain individual fellowships. However, students with strong academic credentials and research experience are strongly encouraged to apply for extramural support to be eligible for an enhanced stipend.

Students are strongly encouraged to apply for support from extramural agencies. Students who receive competitively funded extramural fellowships are eligible to receive an additional $2,000 per year in stipend support for the duration of the award.

Doctoral students who meet the criteria of other sources of assistance may apply for additional aid through the Financial Aid Office.

National Competitive Fellowships

American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowships

Website: American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowships

Objective: To help students initiate careers in cardiovascular and stroke research by providing research assistance and training.
Science Focus: Research broadly related to cardiovascular function and disease and stroke, or to related clinical, basic science, bioengineering or biotechnology, and public health problems, including multidisciplinary efforts.

Deadline: Two funding cycles per year - winter & summer. Program descriptions of funding opportunities are generally posted on the AHA web site in March prior to the July deadlines or September prior to the following January deadlines.

Eligibility:

At the time of application, the applicant must: 

  • Be a post baccalaureate, predoctoral M.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.V.M. (or equivalent) student who seeks research training with a sponsor/mentor prior to embarking on a research career.
  • Be a full-time student working towards his/her degree

At the time of activation, the applicant must:

  • Have completed initial coursework
  • Be at the stage of their doctoral program where they can devote full-time effort to research or activities related to their development into independent researchers

American Society for Microbiology Robert D. Watkins Minority Graduate Fellowship

American Society for Microbiology Robert D. Watkins Minority Graduate Fellowship

Three-year tenure for senior-level graduate students from historically excluded and underrepresented groups to conduct research in microbiology.

Deadline: May 1

Eligibility: Eligible candidates must be from groups that have been determined by the applicant's institution to be underrepresented in the microbiological sciences.

In addition, applicants must:

  • Be formally admitted to a doctoral program in the microbiological sciences in an accredited U.S. institution
  • Have successfully completed the first year of the graduate program (first year graduate students cannot apply)
  • Be a student member of ASM
  • Be mentored by an ASM member
  • Be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident
  • Not have funding OR have funding that will expire by the start date of the fellowship
  • This fellowship cannot run concurrently with other national fellowships from NIH, NSF, HHMI, etc.  

Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program Predoctoral Traineeship

Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program Predoctoral Traineeship

See website for specific proposals and eligibility requirements.

Ford Foundation Fellowships

Ford Foundation Fellowships

The predoctoral fellowships provide three years of support  for individuals engaged in graduate study leading to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree.

Deadline: Friday - November 15, 2013

Eligibility:

  • All citizens or nationals of the United States regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation
  • Individuals with evidence of superior academic achievement (such as grade point average, class rank, honors or other designations)
  • Individuals committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level

National Institutes of Health Predoctoral Fellowships

National Institutes of Health Predoctoral Fellowships

Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Individual Fellowship Funding Opportunities

F30 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD and Other Dual Doctoral Degree Fellows (Parent F30) (PA-11-110)
The purpose of the F30 award is to support individual predoctoral MD/PhD and other dual doctoral degree students with the expectation that these training opportunities will increase the number of future physician and clinician investigators in basic, translational or clinical research.

F31Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31 - Diversity)
(PA-11-112)

The purpose of the F31 predoctoral fellowship to promote diversity in health-related research is to provide up to five years of support for research training leading to the PhD or equivalent research degree, the combined MD/PhD degree (up to six years of support); or another formally combined professional degree and research doctoral degree in biomedical, behavioral, health services, or clinical sciences.

F31 NIH: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (Parent F31) (PA-11-111)

The purpose of the predoctoral fellowship (F31) award is to provide support for promising doctoral candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes during the tenure of the award. The Kirschstein-NRSA for Individual Predoctoral Fellows will provide up to five years of support for research training which leads to the PhD or equivalent research degree, the combined MD/PhD degree, or another formally combined professional degree and research doctoral degree in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (DDIG) (Solicitation 12-590)
The NSF awards Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in selected areas of the biological sciences. These grants provide partial support of doctoral dissertation research to improve the overall quality of research. Allowed are costs for doctoral candidates to participate in scientific meetings, to conduct research in specialized facilities or field settings, and to expand an existing body of dissertation research

Search engines for other agencies that might fund your area of research

GrantsNet
Community of Science
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NIH Office of Extramural Research