Funding Upcoming Deadlines and Opportunities (January 2025)
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The Grad Center posts a regular digest of highlighted funding and professional opportunities during the regular academic year. External opportunities are shared for informational purposes only and their inclusion herein does not represent an official endorsement by the University.
Ongoing Opportunities & Rolling Deadlines
To see additional fellowships and award opportunities, visit the CURF Resources for Graduate Students and Grad Center Grants and Fellowships webpages.
Additional individual & student group funding, student employment, and financial assistance information can be found in the Graduate Funding & Finances section of the Graduate Resource Guide. Career Services has also compiled a list of various summer funding sources to assist students with professional pursuits during summer months.
Funding and Professional Opportunities
Career Exploration Fellowship for PhD Students
Deadline: January 14
This program provides doctoral students the opportunity to explore careers beyond the professoriate through one-on-one mentoring with an advanced degree holding professional. The list of hosts for 2025 can be downloaded here. This unpaid fellowship runs from February to May and typically entails approximately 8-10 hours of time commitment. In 2024, the program will allow for in-person, virtual, and hybrid fellowships. See full details on the program webpage. You can also see this blog post about the CEF program.
DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship
Deadline: January 16
Generous, multi-year fellowship that supports top students pursuing doctoral degrees in fields that use high-performance computing to solve complex science and engineering problems. Open to masters and first year PhD students.
Boren Fellowship University Endorsement Required
Campus Endorsement (Required) Deadline: January 22
Provides grants of up to $25,000 for 3-12 months of research and language study abroad, plus up to $12,000 for domestic language study prior to departure. Awards granted with preference for countries, languages, duration, and fields of study critical to U.S. national security. U.S. citizens only.
Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation
Deadline: February 3
Penn has been invited to nominate two PhD students for the Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation in biomedicine, broadly defined. To be considered for nomination, applicants must email to provost-ed@upenn.edu in a single PDF (1) Curriculum Vitae; (2) 2-page single-spaced description of the applicant’s “dream research idea” in the field of Biomedical Science, not including references [As a guideline, applicants should imagine what research they would do if they had access to any resource or technology. Applicants should include a description of the design of the project as well as its potential to make an impact in biomedicine]; (3) publication samples as evidence of scholarly achievement; and (3) Applicants must also request a letter of recommendation from your Penn faculty advisor, to be mailed by the recommender directly to provost-ed@upenn.edu. If you have questions, please contact provost-ed@upenn.edu.
Each prize will include a check for $50,000. In addition, prize winners will receive a $5,000 donation to their home institution to help support their seminar series. Semi-finalists and finalists for each prize will be awarded $5,000 (approximately eight to 10 applicants for each prize will be selected for this distinction).
Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships
Deadline: February 7
Supports academic year and summer training in modern foreign languages and related area or international studies or with the international aspects of professional or fields of study. Open to US citizens and permanent residents.
Provost’s Graduate Academic Engagement Fellowship at the Netter Center
Deadline: February 24
Internal fellowship opportunity for all PhD students across the University of Pennsylvania. Fellows are outstanding students whose scholarship significantly involves activities related to Academically Based Community Service (ABCS), including community-engaged scholarship, participatory action research, local problem-solving learning, service-learning, and learning by teaching in public schools. The second year of the fellowship includes full funding for the academic year (inclusive of stipend, tuition, general fee, clinical fee, and health insurance) and one summer stipend. The fellowship also includes $5,000 of research funding and additional support to attend and present at conferences. Sign up here to receive information about upcoming information sessions held throughout the fall.
Quad Fellowship by the Institute of International Education
Deadline: March 3
The Quad Fellowship, initiated by the Quad countries of Australia, India, Japan, and the US, sponsors exceptional STEM master's and doctoral students to study in the US.
The Quad Fellowship is a first-of-its-kind fellowship that offers an unparalleled blend of financial support, cross-cultural exchange, and networking, including:
- A one-time stipend of $20,000 for academic expenses
- Networking opportunities with accomplished minds in STEM, government, and society
- Cross-global alumni network dedicated to advancing innovation and research for positive social impact
YH Park Fellowship in Korean Studies
Deadline: March 24 (tentative)
Provides PhD tuition, 12-month stipend, and health insurance to graduate students in the humanities, social sciences, international management, international studies, or fine arts whose primary research area is Korea and whose dissertation will be on Korea. Fellows are expected to continue their scholarly activities outside of Korea after graduation and must have sufficient proficiency to use Korean-language sources in conducting research and writing dissertations. Open to current master's or PhD students. Open to US citizens and non-US citizens. Learn more.
National Institute of Justice's Graduate Research Fellowship
Deadline: April 22, 2025
NIJ’s Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program supports doctoral research with relevance to criminal or juvenile justice in the United States. This includes criminology, victimization and victim services, forensic science, technology for law enforcement, and more. Applications from all fields of study are welcome, with few exceptions.
The fellowship provides up to three years of support within a five-year period and includes:
- $41,000/year student salary
- $16,000/year cost of education allowance
- $3,000/year research expenses
Ongoing Opportunities or Rolling Deadlines
Campaign for Community Grants
Deadline: rolling
The Campaign for Community aims to strengthen our Penn community by finding ways to discuss and understand key issues that may appear to be difficult or intractable. The program provides grants of up to $1500 for projects and activities that help advance the Campaign's goals of encouraging mutual understanding, respect, and discussion among members of the community on important topics.
Dirksen Congressional Center Congressional Research Grants
Deadline: rolling
Eligibility: Students with a serious interest in studying Congress; a significant portion of the funds is awarded for PhD dissertation research
Data Incubator Data Science Fellowship
Deadlines: Multiple sessions each year, deadlines vary.
An advanced 8-week fellowship for PhDs looking to enter industry. Free for admitted Fellows. Participate either in person in New York City, Washington, DC, the San Francisco Bay Area, or online.
Harold J. Haskins Research Grant
Supports research-related costs for graduate students affiliated with the Center for Africana Studies. The grant can be applied to costs including but not limited to research expenses, travel, conference attendance, and stipends. Each student is eligible for a maximum of $1,500 per academic year. Applications may be submitted at any time.
Penn Employment Opportunities
Recent graduates interested in pursuing a full-time employment opportunity at Penn are encouraged to review opportunities listed on the Careers@Penn website.
New and continuing students - in addition to any student employment opportunities listed above, you can learn more about student employment at Penn on the following sites:
