Federal and Private Fellowships Besides the NSF GRFP

Why look beyond the NSF GRFP

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship gets the most attention, but it only covers STEM and STEM education fields, and it rejects far more applicants than it funds. Several other federal and private fellowships pay similar or higher stipends, cover different fields, and run on their own separate timelines, which means a GRFP rejection does not close off equally strong funding elsewhere.

NDSEG: National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship

NDSEG funds US citizens pursuing a PhD in a defense-relevant STEM field, including engineering, math, computer science, and the physical and life sciences. For the 2025-2026 cycle, the fellowship pays a $40,800 annual stipend ($3,400 a month) for three years, full tuition and fees, and a $1,400 health insurance contribution (NDSEG ). You apply as a senior or in your first or second year of graduate study, and there is no service obligation to the Department of Defense after you finish.

NIH F31: Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Fellowship

The F31 funds PhD students in biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research fields at institutions with an NIH-funded training program. The FY2026 stipend is $29,364 a year, up from $28,296 in FY2025, plus a separate institutional allowance of $4,750 a year for health insurance and other training-related costs, and tuition/fee support equal to 60% of actual tuition, up to $16,000 a year (Boston University Office of Research ). Unlike the GRFP, the F31 needs a sponsoring mentor's research and training plan attached to your application, so line up your advisor's support well ahead of the deadline.

Ford Foundation Predoctoral and Dissertation Fellowships

The Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship pays $27,000 a year for three years and targets students working toward a PhD who will bring diversity to college and university faculties. The Dissertation Fellowship pays a one-year $28,000 stipend for students in the writing stage of their degree (National Academies ). Both fellowships are open across most research fields, not limited to STEM.

Hertz Fellowship

The Hertz Fellowship targets students pursuing a PhD in applied physical and biological sciences, math, or engineering. It pays a personal stipend of about $38,000 a year for up to five years, on top of full tuition, and adds an extra stipend for fellows with dependent children (Hertz Foundation ). You qualify as a college senior, a first-year graduate student, or during a gap period before graduate school, and you need to be a US citizen or permanent resident.

When each fellowship opens applications

Deadlines shift by a few weeks each year, so confirm the exact date on each program's page before you plan your timeline. NDSEG typically opens its application window in early August and closes in late October (NDSEG ). The Hertz Fellowship opens in late August and closes in late October as well, with finalist interviews in the winter and awards announced in the spring (Hertz Foundation ). NIH accepts F31 applications on standard due dates set several times a year, so check the current cycle dates on the funding opportunity announcement for your institute (NIH ). Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship deadlines typically fall in late fall, through the National Academies application portal.

What each application requires

NDSEG asks for a research statement, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation, similar in structure to the NSF GRFP. The F31 application requires a specific aims page, a research strategy, and a training plan co-written with your faculty sponsor, since NIH funds the mentored training experience as much as the research itself. Ford Foundation applications ask for a personal statement and a research statement that connects your work to increasing diversity in your field. Hertz applications include a research statement plus, for finalists, an interview panel of scientists in your field.

What winning one of these means for your department funding

Most of these fellowships pay directly to you and your school, replacing your TA or RA line rather than adding to it. Ask your department how it handles an outside award, since some programs pass along a bonus on top of your outside stipend, while others simply free up department funding for another student instead.

Applying does not affect your existing funding

Winning or losing one of these fellowships does not affect your enrollment or your existing offer from your program. Apply even if you already have solid departmental funding, since winning frees up department money for another student and often adds prestige to your CV that helps later job or postdoc searches.

How to decide which ones to apply to

• Check citizenship and field requirements first, since several of these fellowships exclude international students by design.

• Apply to more than one if you qualify, since these fellowships run on separate committees and deadlines from the NSF GRFP.

• Reuse your NSF GRFP essays as a starting draft for these applications, then adjust the framing to match each program's mission.

• Line up your recommenders and, for NIH F31, your faculty sponsor months before each deadline.

• Read each program's most recent solicitation directly, since stipend amounts and eligibility details change from year to year.

None of these fellowships require you to apply through your university, unlike most departmental funding, so a rejection from one program does not affect your candidacy for the others. Treat every eligible fellowship as a separate application with its own reviewers and its own criteria.