Funding, Awards & Scholarships
Boston University participates in the Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Program. Graduate students receive direct loans through this program, which has the same loan limits, interest rates and fees as the Federal Stafford Loan Program. Work-study and other financial aid opportunities are available through the Graduate Medical Sciences financial aid office.
Coming Soon: New GMS Student Recognition Awards for both Masters & Doctoral Students
- Research Achievements
- Community Service
GMS/BU Training Programs and Awards
Boston University Academic Scholarships
- Ruth and Martin Levin Scholarship
- Graduate Medical Sciences Provost Scholarship
- Boston University Women’s Guild Scholarship
- All University BU Award Opportunities
- Graduate Student Award Opportunities
- Martin Luther King Scholarship
- Charles River Scholarship page
Boston University Scholarships
- Russek Student Achievement Award
- Erika Ebbel Angle Award for Service in STEM
- GMS Travel Award
- GMSSO Community Service Award
- Alexis Gavras Graduate Scholarship for Greek Students
- Boston University Women’s Guild Scholarships
- Boston Medical Center Employee Discount
Faculty Awards
- GMS Faculty Recognition Award for Teaching (Masters)
- GMS Faculty Recognition Award for Teaching (Doctoral)
- McCahan Faculty Recognition Award
- Distinguished PhD Alumni Award
Outside Scholarship Opportunities
- Loan Forgiveness Opportunities
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
- NIH Loan Repayment Opportunities
- National Health Service Corps
- Military Loan Repayment Programs
- Other Private Scholarships
External Funding for Doctoral Students
| Funding | Eligibility |
| Chateaubriand Fellowship – Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) The Chateaubriand Fellowship aims to initiate or reinforce collaborations, partnerships or joint projects by encouraging exchange at the doctoral level. To that end, the OST supports PhD students who are registered in an American university and wish to conduct research in a French laboratory for a 4 to 9 month period of time as part of a co-supervised research project. |
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| The PhRMA Foundation Fellowships Pre doctoral and Post Doctoral Fellowships in multiple categories including Informatics, Health Outcomes, and Pharmacology/Toxicology and many more. |
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| The UNCF/Merck Foundation: Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowship The United Negro College Fund and the Merck Company Foundation announce the availability of the UNCF●Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowships. These fellowships are a component of the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative, the goal of which is to support the training and development of world-class African American biomedical scientists. |
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| Dissertation Fellowship Program The Dissertation Fellowship Program seeks to encourage a new generation of scholars from a wide range of disciplines and professional fields to undertake research relevant to the improvement of education. These fellowships support individuals whose dissertations show potential for bringing fresh and constructive perspectives to the history, theory, or practice of formal or informal education anywhere in the world. Applicants must be candidates for the doctoral degree in any field of study at a graduate school. They need not be US citizens. Dissertation topics must concern education, and all pre-dissertation requirements must be completed by June 1 of the academic year prior to support. |
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| Jacob Javits Program, US Department of Education This program provides fellowships to students of superior academic ability—selected on the basis of demonstrated achievement, financial need, and exceptional promise—to undertake study at the doctoral and Master of Fine Arts level in selected fields of arts, humanities, and social sciences. |
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| Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research (GIAR) The program awards grants of up to $1,000 to students from all areas of the sciences and engineering. Designated funds from the National Academy of Sciences allow for grants of up to $5,000 for astronomy research and $2,500 for vision related research. |
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| Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation: Dissertation Grants in Women’s Studies The Women’s Studies Fellowships are provided to Ph.D. candidates at institutions in the United States who will complete their dissertations during the fellowship year. The most competitive applications include not only a clear, thorough, and compelling description of the candidate’s work, but also evidence of an enduring interest in and commitment to women’s issues and scholarship on women. |
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| American Association of University Women: American Fellowships American Fellowships support women scholars who are completing dissertations, planning research leave from accredited institutions, or preparing research for publication. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of scholarly excellence; quality and originality of project design; and active commitment to helping women and girls through service in their communities, professions, or fields of research. |
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| Autism Science Foundation ASF is inviting applications for Pre- and Post-doctoral Training Awards from graduate students, medical students and postdoctoral fellows interested in pursuing careers in basic and clinical research relevant to autism spectrum disorders. In the past four years, ASF has funded over $1.1 million in pre- and post-doctoral grants. |
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| Cosmos Scholars The program provides grants to meet specific research needs not covered by other supporting funds, including but not limited to special supplies, travel, unanticipated expenses that would enhance the work, and the like. Specifically excluded are general financial support, tuition, and living expenses (except in connection with supported travel). |
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| Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program Supports students in the physical sciences. Candidates may be seniors or students who have already begun graduate study. They must be US citizens or in the processing of acquiring permanent residency. The awards are for one academic year and are renewable. The award includes a stipend plus an allowance for tuition and other expenses. |
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| Ford Foundation Fellowship These fellowships are designed to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. |
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| National Consortium for Graduate Degrees For Minorities In Engineering and Science, Inc. (GEM) GEM also offers mentoring workshops, graduate research orientation workshops, summer internships with a sponsoring company, and student development seminars. Level of support varies by fellowship program. |
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| Howard Hughes Medical Research FellowEstablished in 1989, the Medical Research Fellows Program aims to strengthen and expand the nation’s pool of physician-scientists, dentist-scientists, and veterinarian-scientists. More than 1,500 students have participated in the program, which allows students to choose their own mentor; develop a basic, translational, or applied research project; and conduct full-time research for one full year. |
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| National Science Foundation Fellowships cover a wide variety of disciplines and are awarded for three years. US citizens or permanent residents only may apply. |
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| NSF East Asia And Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) NSF and selected foreign counterpart science and technology agencies sponsor international research institutes for U.S. graduate students in seven East Asia and Pacific locations at times set by the counterpart agencies between June and August each year. The Summer Institutes (EAPSI) operate similarly and the research visits to a particular location take place at the same time. |
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| NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. |
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| The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans The purpose of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is to provide opportunities for continuing generations of able and accomplished New Americans to achieve leadership in their chosen fields. Fellowships offer support for up to two years in any academic discipline or professional field, and provide stipend and partial tuition. Applicants must be a senior in a bachelor’s program or a first or second year graduate student, and have status as a “New American”: the holder of a Green Card; a naturalized citizen; or the child of two naturalized citizen parents. |
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| American Association of University Women: International Fellowships International Fellowships are awarded for full-time study or research in the United States to women who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Both graduate and postgraduate studies at accredited U.S. institutions are supported. Applicants must have earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree by September 30, 2013, and must have applied to their proposed institutions of study by the time of the application. Up to five fellowships are renewable for a second year. |
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| National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program (NDSEG) The NDSEG fellowship of the US Department of Defense is intended for students at or near the beginning of graduate study for doctoral degrees in mathematical, physical, biological and engineering sciences. Open to US citizens only, it is a three-year award with stipend plus full tuition and fees. |
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| Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Defense Education Program Through this scholarship program, academically excellent students pursuing degrees in disciplines of particular interest to the Department of Defense receive funding for full tuition, related educational fees, and living expenses and are then placed in civilian laboratory positions upon graduation. The program is open to graduate and undergraduate students. |
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| American Psychological Association Predoctoral Fellowship in mental health and Substance abuse services (MHSAS) Predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships in neuroscience are available for full-time students in nonclinical doctoral programs, or those who hold doctorates and are engaged in full-time postdoctoral training in neuroscience. Members of underrepresented ethnic-minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply. |
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| Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship Program This fellowship is for exceptional undergraduate seniors or first or second year graduate students planning full-time study toward a PhD in the physical, engineering, computer, mathematical, or life sciences with emphasis in high performance computing. Recipients receive full tuition and required fees for up to 4 years of study, a yearly stipend, matching funds for a computer workstation, yearly academic allowance, yearly conferences, and opportunity to complete a practicum at a national DOE laboratory. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent resident aliens. |
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| Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Fellowship supports graduate students planning full-time study for a PhD in areas of interest to stewartship science areas such as high-energy density physics, low-energy nuclear science, or properties of materials under extreme conditions. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent resident aliens. Benefits include yearly stipend, payment of all tuition and required fees for up to 4 years of study at any US university, and a yearly academic allowance for professional development. |
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| The Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund Fellowship This is an external fellowship. Each graduate program may submit one nomination and accompanying application materials to the ODGE for consideration in the internal MIT competition for the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund Fellowship. The ODGE will evaluate, select, and submit three applications for nomination to the Liebmann Trust on behalf of MIT.The fields of eligibility include any recognized field of study in the humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences (including law, medicine, engineering, architecture or other formal professional training). |
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| Glenn/AFAR Schloarships for Research in the Biology of Aging The program is designed to give students enrolled in MD, DO, PhD, or combined-degree programs the opportunity to conduct a three-to-six-month research project focused on biomedical research in aging. The program aims to give students the chance to learn more about the field of aging research, as well as increase their understanding of the challenges involved in improving the quality of life for older people. |
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| Josephine de Karman Fellowship Fellowships are available to students in any discipline entering their senior undergraduate year, or to any candidate for a PhD who has completed all requirements for that degree by January 31. Post doctoral students are not eligible for consideration. International students may apply if they are already enrolled in a university located in the United States and if they will be in the United States by July preceding the fall semester of the academic year for which they have enrolled. Grants include a stipend; they are for one academic year and may not be renewed or postponed. |
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| My American Heart: Predoctoral Fellowship To help students initiate careers in cardiovascular and stroke research by providing research assistance and training. 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. |
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| NASA Graduate Student Researchers Project Training grants, plus a NASA internship, for one year; renewable for a total of three years. Students may apply at any time during their graduate career. An applicant must be sponsored by the department chair or faculty adviser. |
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| Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research (GIAR) The program awards grants of up to $1,000 to students from all areas of the sciences and engineering. Designated funds from the National Academy of Sciences allow for grants of up to $5,000 for astronomy research and $2,500 for vision related research. |
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| Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) For Individual Predoctoral Fellowships 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. |
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| Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (F31) This program encourages students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to seek research doctoral degrees in the biomedical and behavioral sciences to help increase the number of well-trained scientists from underrepresented groups. The fellowship provides up to 5 years of support for research training leading to the Ph.D. or equivalent research degree, the combined M.D./Ph.D. degree, or other combined degrees in the biomedical or behavioral sciences. |
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| American Society for Microbiology: Robert D. Watkins Graduate Research Fellowship The goal of the fellowship is to increase the number of underrepresented groups completing doctoral degrees in the microbiological sciences. The ASM Robert D. Watkins Graduate Research Fellowship is aimed at highly competitive graduate students who are enrolled in a Ph.D. program and who have completed their graduate course work in the microbiological sciences. The fellowship encourages students to continue and complete their research project in the microbiological sciences. |
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