There are many opportunities for graduate students to win fellowship funding for their own stipends, tuition, and/or research expenses. The fellowships often provide a stipend that is higher than what the graduate programs normally pay, confer a degree of independence to the recipient, and boost the recipient’s CV with their prestige.
Fellowships Databases
ProFellow is a large, comprehensive, user-friendly database of fellowships that individuals can apply for that provide funding both for graduate student and for work opportunities. You can find fellowships to fund your graduate work by choosing either ‘Graduate study’ or ‘Doctoral study’ under the ‘Fellowship Type’ search field. After you create an account, you can keep track of fellowships of interest to you by bookmarking them.
These comprehensive databases of funding opportunities will also help you find fellowships and grants that you are eligible for:
- Research Funding (Duke)
- External Fellowships (Caltech)
- Graduate Fellowships and Scholarships (Grad School Heaven)
Broad National Fellowships
The fellowships included below are popular among early-stage graduate students because they provide a large number of fellowships each year to students in a range of disciplines.
National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Award: $12,000 toward tuition and fees and a $32,000 stipend for three years
Fields: a variety of fields within chemistry, computer and information science and engineering, engineering, geosciences, life sciences, materials research, mathematical sciences, physics and astronomy, psychology, social sciences, STEM education and learning research
Eligible years: college seniors and first and second year graduate students
Deadline: October to November 2015 (field-dependent)
Further Reading: Preparing an Award-Winning NSF GRFP Application
Department of Defense
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship
Award: tuition, fees, and 12-month stipend of $30,500 in the first year, $31,000 in the second year, and $31,500 in the third year
Fields: Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering; Biosciences; Chemical Engineering; Chemistry; Civil Engineering; Cognitive, Neural, and Behavioral Sciences; Computer and Computational Sciences; Electrical Engineering; Geosciences; Materials Science and Engineering; Mathematics; Mechanical Engineering; Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering; Oceanography; Physics
Eligible years: college seniors and first and second year graduate students
Deadline: December 11, 2015
Fannie & John Hertz Foundation
Award: tuition and $32,000/year for five years
Fields: applied physical, biological and engineering sciences
Eligible years: college seniors and grad students
Deadline: October 31, 2015
Notes: Must agree to a moral commitment.
Do you know of another national fellowship for a variety of disciplines or a great funding database? Leave the name in the comments and we will add it to the list.
