Student-initiated Funding
Here are a number of avenues to explore for students who are interested in seeking funding for their graduate education:
- CU-Boulder and Regional Awards and Grants
- Dissertation Fellowships
- National Fellowships
- International Opportunities
- Search Websites for Fellowships and Scholarships
- Loans and Student Employment
CU-Boulder and Regional Awards and Grants
Graduate School Awards
- Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grants sponsored by alumni, provides small grants for research at the master's or doctoral level.
- Dorothy Martin Doctoral Student Award, $2000 to a student active in women's issues enrolled in a doctoral program.
- Reynolds Dissertation Award, provides one full AY support to aid in dissertation completion.
- Graduate School Dissertation Completion Fellowship provides one academic semester of support to aid in dissertation completion.
Travel Grants provide partial funding for students traveling to conferences to present their research.
Additional Awards and Grants
- Brown/Ricketts/Udick Grant awards three $1,000 grants to graduate women attending the University of Colorado.
- Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships for Asian language and area studies are available to full-time graduate students in any department or professional school who are taking both modern Asian language and Asian studies courses. Fellows must be American citizens or permanent residents.
- John W. Marr Ecology Fund provides grants for Ph.D. candidates doing field research in plant ecology in the Rocky Mountains or the Arctic.
- UGGS Student Group Grant
Additional Sources of Public and Private Funding
Unfortunately, CU Boulder cannot offer financial awards to all qualified applicants. Prospective applicants are urged to apply for fellowships or grants from national, international, industrial or foundation sources. Below we have listed some of the major national fellowships available for graduate study. Additional information on fellowships may be obtained through undergraduate financial aid or career counseling offices or from directories of funding sources, such as the Annual Register of Grant Support and The Grants Register, in university libraries.
Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowships for Research Related to Education: no citizenship requirement, but doctorate must be sought at a U.S. university.
AAUW Educational Foundation Dissertation Fellowships: female U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships: ethical or religious values in all areas of human endeavor.
Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Grants in Women's Studies and Women's Health: research about women in society, history, the psychology of women, and women as seen in literature and art. A separate grant promotes research on issues relating to women's health.
Harry Frank Guggenheim Dissertation Fellowships: human dominance, aggression, and violence (applications especially encouraged from students in biological and social sciences) 1 year for dissertation write-up.
National Science Foundation SBE Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants: in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in the Directorate for Biological Sciences; Ph.D. students enrolled at U.S. institutions; up to 24 months; open, allow up to 6 months for normal processing.
See also the CU-Boulder and Regional Awards and Grants category above.
American Association of University Women Foundation Administers various scholarship programs. Each program has its own eligibility criteria, open/close dates, and required documents.
American Indian College Fund (AICF) Disburses approximately 6,000 scholarships annually for American Indian students seeking to better their lives through higher education.
AT&T Labs Fellowship Program (ALFP) Offers three-year fellowships to outstanding under-represented minority and women students pursuing PhD studies in computing and communications-related fields.
Department of Education Administers various scholarship programs. Each program has its own eligibility criteria, open/close dates, and required documents.
Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship (SSGF) Program Provides outstanding benefits and opportunities to students pursuing a Ph.D. in areas of interest to stewardship science, such as high-energy-density physics, low-energy nuclear science, or properties of materials under extreme conditions and hydrodynamics. Fellows also participate in research at a DOE laboratory.
Department of National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program Fellowships are awarded to applicants who will pursue a doctoral degree in, or closely related to, an area of DoD interest.
DoD’s: The Science, Mathematics & Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program Supports undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Fannie and John Hertz Fellowships in the Applied Physical Sciences The Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship empowers outstanding young people pursuing a PhD degree in the applied physical, biological, and engineering sciences with the freedom to innovate and explore their genius in collaboration with leading professors in the field.
DOE Office of Science Graduate Fellowship Program Program to support outstanding students to pursue graduate training in basic research in the areas of physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, computational sciences, and environmental sciences relevant to the Office of Science and to encourage the development of the next generation of scientific and technical talent in the U.S.
EPA STAR Fellowships Funds research grants and graduate fellowships in numerous environmental science and engineering disciplines.
Ford Foundation Predoctoral and Dissertation Fellowships for Minorities Fellowships are made at the predoctoral, dissertation, and postdoctoral levels to students who demonstrate academic excellence, a commitment to pluralism, and a strong interest in teaching and research. Only U.S. citizens or nationals in research-based fields are eligible.
Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) Administers various scholarship programs. Each program has its own eligibility criteria, open/close dates, and required documents.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grants Fellowships and grants supporting biomedical research.
Jacob K. Javits Fellowhips for Graduate Study in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences 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.
Michelson Graduate Student Challenge US Graduate students with the top proposals in three categories (gene silencing, depot formulation, and engineering/ materials science approaches to non-surgical sterilization of cats and dogs) will be awarded a $15,000 cash prize and will have the opportunity to apply for grant funding for their proposal in collaboration with a faculty advisor.
NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program Designed to attract highly motivated graduate students to aeronautics and related fields.
NASA: Earth System Science Fellowship Program Fellowships for students pursuing Master of Science or Doctoral degrees in Earth system science, space science, and related disciplines.
NASA: Harriett Jenkins Fellowship Program The program's primary mission is to increase the number of underrepresented persons with master’s and doctoral degrees in the NASA pipeline, and ultimately in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce.
National Academies Fellowships The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council offer several fellowships in science, engineering, and medicine.
National Water Research Institute Fellowships Fellowships to graduate students in the U.S. in the areas of water resources and treatment.
NIH: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards 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 and Centers.
NSF Graduate Research Fellowships (NSFGRF) Provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research.
- Graduate School NSF GRFP Workshop
JoAnn Silverstein, Professor of Environmental Engineering (Joann.Silverstein@Colorado.edu)
Michael Grant, Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology (michael.grant@colorado.edu)
Joyce Kroll, Assistant Director-Proposals, Office of Contracts and Grants (joyce.kroll@colorado.edu)
- JoAnn Silverstein Notes
- NSF Broader Impacts
- NSF Scoring Rubric
- Aaron Rosengren, NSF Fellow in the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Successful Proposal and Rating Sheets
- Rosengren Prior Year Rating Sheets for Unsuccessful Proposal
- Non-Government Site with useful information for applying to NSF GRFP
Social Science Research Council Fellowship and grant programs engage themes ranging from global issues facing the U.S. and Japan, to security, drugs and democracy in Latin America, to approaches to the study of contentious politics. Our largest fellowship program, the International Dissertation Research Fellowship supports the next generation of scholars in the humanities and social sciences pursuing research that advances knowledge about non-U.S. cultures and societies.
The Symantec Research Labs Graduate Fellowship Funds innovative research that has real-world value in areas of Symantec’s business interests in information security, availability, and integrity.
United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Administers various scholarship programs. Each program has its own eligibility criteria, open/close dates, and required documents.
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Fellowships that support the development of future leaders at a variety of career stages in several critical fields.
The university encourages graduate students to apply for international research and study fellowships.
CU-Boulder's Office of International Education has information and advice on how to apply for different fellowships including Fulbrights and CU-sponsored graduate fellowships abroad.
Some of the major sources of outside funding for study abroad are:
Council of American Overseas Research Centers: The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) offers Ph.D. candidates who are in the dissertation writing stage of their doctoral work and Post-doctoral scholars/researchers an opportunity to fund regional and trans-regional research. The fellowship is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department. The fellowship is only open to U.S. citizens.
U.S. Student Fulbright Grants for Graduate Study Abroad (Institute for International Education): any field; U.S. citizens
Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program (U.S. Department of Education): modern foreign languages and area studies; U.S. citizens
DAAD Research Grants for Recent Ph.Ds and Ph.D Candidates in Germany: dissertation or postdoctoral research at libraries, archives, institutes, or laboratories in Germany; U.S. citizens; 2-6 months during calendar year.
Social Science Research Council Dissertation Fellowships for Area Research: social sciences, humanities; graduate students must be enrolled in U. S. institutions; November 1-February 1.
Search Websites for Fellowships and Scholarships
Information about grants, a free scholarship search, and other funding opportunities can be found at:
The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid
College Aid Sources for Higher Education
College Board On Line
College NET Scholarships and Search
Community of Science (COS): Resources for Research, Worldwide
Fast Web
Free Scholarship Information Service
Grants Net
MOLIS Scholarship Search
ResearchResearch
Yale University Fellowship Search
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Office of Financial Aid has information regarding loans and work-study.
Federal Financial Aid: Students applying for financial aid should submit the graduate version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after January 1. Please note beginning fall of 2008, you must be enrolled in at least four semester hours to be eligible to receive federal or state financial aid or to be eligible for a deferment on any of your federal loans.
Student Employment: CU-Boulder's Student Employment Office posts an average of 600 part-time, on-campus and off-campus jobs for students. These notices are posted on MyCUInfo, bulletin boards outside UMC 165, and in the Student Employment office in Regent 205. Domestic U.S. graduate students may qualify for work-study awards; call the Student Employment Office to find out at 303-492-7349. International students may verify their employment eligibility through International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). For more information go to the Student Employment Website.
Loans: Additional resources on the web for student borrowers include:
