Predoctoral Fellowship List
Department of Molecular Biosciences
Predoctoral Fellowship List
Last Edited: 11/27/23 (Nicole Suchy)
The information presented is current as of the date above. If you do find any errors please send an email to sjmac@ku.edu and we will update the document.
American Heart Predoctoral Fellowship
Deadline
(2024 deadline forthcoming)
Eligibility
Applicant must be a US citizen, permanent resident, or hold one of a range of non-immigrant visas (e.g., F1, J1 - see application website above). At the time of award activation a candidate must also have "completed initial coursework and be at the stage of the program where he/she can devote full-time effort to research or activities related to the development into an independent researcher". (See website above for further information.) Molecular Biosciences interprets this statement to mean that applicants should be post-orals, or at least approaching the orals exam. Additionally, an applicant must be an AHA Professional Member.
General information
The proposal should be on a topic broadly related to cardiovascular disease and stroke, and be addressed from a basic, clinical or population research perspective. The applicant will need to submit a research plan (5 pages), biosketch (5 pages maximum), and details of their academic record, amongst other documents. Note that several documents are required from the applicant's mentor, so ensure that your mentor has plenty of time to generate/submit these documents. The application should be submitted through KUCR. Your mentor can assist you with this process.
Funding
The Fellowship provides 1 or 2 years of an annual stipend approximately the same as a standard Molecular Biosciences GTA/GRA.
DoD SMART Program
Deadline
December 1, 2023 (Application opens annually from August 1 - December 1)
Eligibility
The applicant must be a citizen of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom at time of application. Those awarded multi-year awards are required to serve as interns in DoD labs during the Summer, so coordinate with your dissertation mentor prior to considering submitting an application for this award.
General information
This program targets those individuals who have a strong interest in working for the DoD following their graduate career. The application requires a range of questions to be addressed describing your research experiences, community work, leadership experiences and so on; See the application website above. Note that given the Fellowship program is through the Department of Defense, proposals should reflect the DoD mission.
Funding
This Fellowship provides 1-5 years of support with a stipend at least equivalent to that of a standard Molecular Biosciences GTA/GRA.
Ford Foundation Fellowship Programs
To go to Ford foundation Fellowship Programs
Deadline
December 12, 2023, 5 pm EST (for 1-year dissertation-writing application)
December 12, 2023, 5 pm EST (for 3-year predoctoral application)
Eligibility
Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents. For the 3-year predoctoral application, the candidate must anticipate completing the PhD in a minimum of 3 years from the start of the Fall semester the year following the application deadline. In practice, Molecular Biosciences students would typically need to apply in either their 1st or 2nd year. For the dissertation application, the expectation is that, by the application deadline, you "have completed all departmental and institutional requirements" for the degree aside from writing/defending the dissertation. In practice this means you will need to apply in your second-to-last year of graduate study (so could receive the award for your final year.)
General information
A principal goal of the Ford Foundation is to enhance the ethnic and racial diversity of US university campuses by increasing the number of professors who will use diversity to enrich education. The application requires a personal statement that describes your experience and commitment to the goals of the Ford Foundation Fellowship Programs, a statement describing your previous research, a plan for your graduate study and longer-term career goals, and contact details for 3-5 professional referees. (See detailed instructions for each application available from the URL above.)
Funding
The Fellowship provides an annual stipend approximately equivalent to a standard Molecular Biosciences GTA/GRA.
Graduate Women in Science
Deadline
January 8, 2024 5 pm EST (2025 deadline not yet announced)
Eligibility
All women scientists conducting research in the natural sciences regardless of nationality are eligible for application for any of the GWIS Fellowships.
General information
This award will not support salary/tuition, but instead can be used for supplies, small equipment and other research-related expenses. Financial need for research funding is a requirement for the application, so the applicant will need to state that their proposed project is not currently supported by other means.
Funding
A maximum of $10,000 can be requested to be used over a single academic year. The award supports research-related expenses rather than stipend.
Hertz Foundation
Fellowship Award
Deadline
2024 deadline not yet announced. Website states 2025 application opens August 2024.
Eligibility
Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents. The website makes it clear that applicants must, in nearly all circumstances, not be beyond the 1st year of graduate study. A Master's degree obtained prior to the start of your PhD in our program is highly likely to count as "your first year of graduate study" if it is in the same field as your PhD.
General information
The Foundation is focused on supporting students working in the applied physical sciences. From the perspective of a Molecular Biosciences student this is likely to restrict applicants to those interested in quantitative biology or chemistry; See the website for details of fields the Foundation wishes to support. Several pieces of information are required in the application, including an open-topic personal essay.
Funding
This Fellowship provides 2-5 years of support with a stipend in excess of a standard Molecular Biosciences GTA/GRA.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute - Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study
Deadline
2024 deadline not yet announced (internal KUCR "Notice of Intent" due)
2024 deadline not yet announced (nomination deadline)
2024 deadline not yet announced (application deadline)
Eligibility
Applicants must be NIGMS training grant eligible (meaning the applicant must be a citizen or a noncitizen national of the US, or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment), be from racial, ethnic, and other underrepresented groups in the sciences, or Alumni of the HHMI EXROP.
General information
The advisor-student pair must be studying scientific problems in biomedical and life science disciplines including plant biology, evolutionary biology, biophysics, chemical biology, biomedical engineering, and computational biology. The Fellowship will support students in years 3-5 of their PhD studies, so applicants should be in their second or third year, and have advanced to candidacy (i.e., successfully passed their orals exam) by the Fellowship start date. Application for this Fellowship is by invitation only; You must be nominated by KU. In advance of the deadline for institutional nominations to the HMMI, KUCR will request that interested advisor-student pairs submit a "Notice of Intent" that they wish to be nominated. Your advisor will receive this request automatically. Applications will be coordinated via KUCR.
Funding
The Fellowship supports students for up to 3 years of dissertation research (typically years 3-5) at a level in excess of a typical Molecular Biosciences GTA/GRA.
National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG)
Deadline
11/03/2023 (2024 deadline forthcoming)
Eligibility
Applicants must be US citizens or nationals of the US. Permanent residents or visa-holders are not eligible. Applicants must not have completed more than two years of full-time graduate study overall. In practice this means that Molecular Biosciences students must be in the 1st or 2nd year of their PhD.
General information
A range of materials and documents are required for the application. Individuals interested in applying should follow the "Applicant" menu to the "Application, Evaluation, Award" page of the above website. You will need to outline how your proposed research might be of interest to the Department of Defense.
Funding
This Fellowship provides up to 3 full years of financial support with a monthly stipend. The funding level at a level in excess of a typical Molecular Biosciences GTA/GRA.
Deadline
April 8, August 8, December 8 each year
Eligibility
By the time of the award, the applicant must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The applicant "must be at the dissertation research stage of training at the time of award", which Molecular Biosciences interprets to mean the student must be post-orals.
General information
The primary "science" section of the proposal is a 6-page research plan outlining your proposed research. In addition, a number of other documents are required. For instance, one will describe the types of training you will receive as a graduate student, and one other will describe your academic background and future goals. Your mentor will be heavily involved in preparing some of these additional documents, and several letters of recommendation are additionally required, so you must coordinate with your mentor well before the deadline. Review criteria for the award are noted in "Funding Opportunity Announcement" links available at the above website. Note that the application will need to be submitted through one of the KU grants offices (e.g., KUCR or HBC) in common with other NIH proposals. Note that as of 2018 NIGMS no longer supports the F31 program, so if you are interested in applying you should note that your project would need to fit within the remit of one of the participating institutes (NINDS, NCI, and NIAID are common institutes supporting faculty research in MB.) NIGMS, and indeed most of the major institutes, do support the F31-Diversity mechanism for eligible applicants (see website above.)
Funding
Can provide up to 5 years of support, however 2-3 is more typical, at an annual stipend approximately the same as a standard Molecular Biosciences GTA/GRA.
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
Deadline
October 27, 2023 (for Life Sciences applications; 2024 deadline forthcoming)
Eligibility
Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents. Applicants who have started graduate school may only apply to the GRFP once during graduate school, either in the 1st or 2nd year of graduate study. Students should talk to the Director of Graduate Studies or their rotation/dissertation mentor regarding a potential GRFP application.
General information
The application requires a Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement (3 pages), a Graduate Research Plan Statement (2 pages), 3 professional letters of recommendation, and copies of academic transcripts. As with all NSF applications, the GRFP will be evaluated based on two merit review criteria: Intellectual Merit (how will you advance scientific understanding) and Broader Impacts (how will you benefit society more generally), and your proposal must address both of these issues.
Funding
The GRFP provides 3 full years of financial support, with a stipend in excess of a standard Molecular Biosciences GTA/GRA.