Grad Students & Postdocs

 

Overview

ORSP supports graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with identifying suitable external funding opportunities. We can also provide resources to help you to develop a highly competitive proposal. If you already identified a suitable funding opportunity or are in the process of preparing a proposal for submission to an external sponsor, notify your Grant Specialist as the next step.

 

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Graduate Student Funding

A good place to start is with the Grants and Grantsmanship Library Guide at Dana Library, an excellent overview and guide to proposal development with lots of additional resources. If you have questions, please contact the ORSP Senior Grants Facilitator at orsp-preaward@newark.rutgers.edu

 

Common Federal Sources

National Science Foundation (NSF)

• Graduate Research Fellowship Programs (GRFP) is the program page, with a link to the program announcement and a video describing the program and application process
• Other NSF Special Programs for Graduate Students

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award – F31
• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31 – Diversity)
• Ruth L. Kirschstein Individual Predoctoral NRSA for MD/PhD and other Dual Degree Fellowships

Other Federal

• Department of Energy: Computational Science Graduate Fellowship
• National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship
• Department of Justice (DOJ)

 

Free Access Databases at Rutgers

• Pivot: Comprehensive award database available at no cost to Rutgers faculty, students, and staff that can be customized based on research interests, type of sponsor, type of award, and many other criteria. An easy to use “How-to” guide is available here.
• GradFund: Database of funding opportunities funded and maintained by the School of Graduate Studies, Rutgers – New Brunswick that has been opened to Rutgers – Newark students
• Foundation Directory Online: Information on more than 100,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and grant-making public charities in the U.S. The directory describes its mission, interests, geographic focus, support, application, and award restrictions. The database includes recent awards, grant beneficiaries, and IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF. New grants and RFPs are added daily.

 

PhDs.me website (2023 resources and some current resources)

The website phds.me has a very well-organized, comprehensive overview of funding for graduate students, including The PhD Student’s Guide to Fellowships, which has links to  funding opportunities data at universities, private funders, and federal agencies and also provides an overview of the types of fellowships and how-to guides for preparing a fellowship application. Also see their listing of Scholarships & Grants for Doctoral Students.

 

Databases maintained by other institutions but are publicly searchable

• Duke University
• Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• Harvard University
• UCLA Graduate and Postdoctoral Extramural Support (GRAPES) Database
• University of Illinois Database of Grants and Fellowships for Graduate Students
• NIH – Fogarty Center Non-NIH funding for predoctoral and graduate researchers
• H-Net— humanities and social sciences opportunities
• Institute for Broadening Participation Funding and other resources for graduate students

 

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Grant Writing Guides and Assistance

(updated 3/5/2025; If you encounter a broken link, please email me at Anthony.Mayo@rutgers.edu)

General

• Candid Learning.  A 501(c)3 organization that provides free professional development materials including information on nonprofit startups, grant proposal writing, and fundraising resources.
• Harvard University, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Scholarly Pursuits: A Guide to Professional Development during the Graduate Years.
• Tracking Federal Changes (2025) to Federal Grants – A resource provided by the University of Michigan’s Research and Sponsored Projects office
• Introduction to Proposal Writing(Candid Learning Center)
• Introduction to Project Budgets (Candid Learning Center)
• The Nonprofit Grant Writing Guide: How to Apply for Funding, John Killoran (Snowball Fundraising)
• Fundamental Grant Proposal Template: 8 Crucial Components, Jamie L. (Snowball Fundraising)
• A Guide to Proposal Planning and Writing, Jeremy T. Miner and Lynn E. Miner

Humanities

• Writing Proposals for ACLS Fellowship Competitions, Christina M. Gillis

Social Sciences

• On the Art of Writing Proposals Adam Pzreworski & Frank Salomon, Social Science Research Council

Biomedical Sciences

• Write Your Application (NIH Office of Extramural Research)
• All About Grants Podcasts, NIH
• Grant Glossary, NIH

General Science

• Tips on Writing a Competitive EPA Grant Proposal & Budget
• EPA Grants Management Training for Applicants and Recipients, in six modules
• The Art of Grantsmanship (Dr. Jacob Kraicer)