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BRET Career Development ASPIRE Program

Identifying the “right” NIH fellowship opportunity

Posted by on Friday, October 24, 2025 in Announcements, Path to Career Resources .

Before you start writing a fellowship application to the NIH, it is important to identify the right funding opportunity and connect with the institute staff who manage that funding opportunity to ensure your project aligns with the institute’s priorities.

  1. Understand the different types of NIH NRSA fellowships that support research training (a.k.a. “mechanisms”).
  • F30: For pre-doctoral MD/PhD (or other dual-doctoral degree training programs). Applicants are expected to apply within 48 months of matriculating into the dual degree program, but no later than 24 months into their dissertation research training. During F30 support, at least 50% of the award period must be devoted to full-time graduate research training.
  • F31: For pre-doctoral students pursuing a PhD. Usually apply during their 2nd-3rd year of graduate school (once you’ve joined a thesis lab). Most students apply around the time of their qualifying exam, and awardees must be post-qualifying exam when their funding starts.
  • F32: For postdoctoral researchers. Applicants are encouraged to apply before joining the proposed postdoc laboratory or within the first 12 months of postdoctoral training.
  • F99/K00: This is a Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Transition Award. Applicants generally apply in their 3rd-5th year of graduate school. The F99 phase supports the final 1-2 years of dissertation research, and the K00 phase provides support as the fellow transitions into a postdoctoral position. (Don’t worry – you don’t need to know where you will do a postdoc when you apply for an F99/K00!) If an F99/K00 sounds appealing to you, talk with your advisor about the timing of applying for an F31 vs. an F99.
  1. Find the right NIH fellowship Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to apply to. These are the official notices describing eligibility, objectives, and requirements for each fellowship mechanism. Search for F30, F31, F32, or F99/K00, announcements on grants.gov or NIH RePORTER/NIH Guide, or on the “research training and career development” page of the NIH website. Sometimes there is more than one FOA for a particular mechanism. For example, F30 fellowships have two different FOAs (PA-25-425 and  PA-25-426) – one for students at institutions that have an NIH-funded MSTP program and one for students at institutions without an MSTP. Once you identify the right funding opportunity, bookmark the Funding Opportunity Announcement page for easy reference.

  1. Verify your eligibility to apply for the FOA – The minimum eligibility requirements are described in Section 3 of the FOA. Carefully review the funding announcement for citizenship requirements (U.S. citizens or permanent residents), enrollment status, and other eligibility criteria. In general, fellowships are only open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents, while some transition awards are open to international students. Also, there is a limit on the number of years of funding support that can be requested, which varies based on your career stage and previous NRSA funding (i.e. support from T32 institutional training grants).
  1. Identify which NIH Institute(s) or Center(s) fund research in your field.
    1. NIH institutes fund research that is aligned with their mission – There are 24 different NIH institutes and centers that fund research at universities, and different NIH institutes have different priorities. Often the mission is part of the institute name (e.g., NIA for aging, NIAID for allergy and infectious disease, NIDDK for diabetes and kidney disease etc…), and you should also view the mission statement on the Institute or Center website to confirm your project aligns with the mission of the specific institute you are applying to. (P.S. Usually, the NIH institute or center most likely to fund your fellowship application is one that funds your PI’s research.)
    2. Use NIH RePORTER Matchmaker tool – Sometimes it seems like your proposal could fall within the missions of >1 NIH institute. If you are unsure which institute your work is best aligned with, paste your Specific Aims or abstract into the Matchmaker tool to find similar funded projects. It shows you which NIH institutes are most aligned with your work, which Program Officers manage those grants, and what funding mechanisms were used. https://reporter.nih.gov/matchmaker
  1. Verify institute participation – not every NIH institute participates in every FOA, and it’s important to verify that the institute you are targeting is listed as a participant. The list of participating institutes and centers is always noted first in the FOA. Some institutes have additional requirements for applicants than are listed in the FOA. These will be found in the Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements, and Staff Contacts linked from Section VII of the FOA.

 

 

  1. Note the NIH submission deadline. Fellowship applications are received in three cycles each year, with deadlines on April 8, August 8, or December 8, or one month later if your proposal is AIDS-related. Don’t forget, though, that your VU grant manager will need your application documents BEFORE the NIH deadline to help you with your submission. 

 

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