Funding Opportunities Upcoming Deadlines & Opportunities (April 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
Schmidt Science Fellows
Nomination Deadline: April 4
Penn is one of a select number of institutions invited to nominate graduating PhD students for the Schmidt Science Fellows in partnership with the Rhodes Trust. Schmidt Fellows receive a stipend of $110,000 a year for up to 2 years, and are supported to pursue a postdoctoral placement at a world-leading laboratory anywhere in the world in a disciplinary pivot from their PhD. During their Fellowship Year(s), they also participate in a varied and challenging Global Meeting Series that introduces new research ideas, techniques, and questions, in addition to a tailored training program. Students must complete a PhD in the sciences before the deadline and should be nominated by a faculty member.
Call for nominations has been shared with Penn graduate deans and faculty in eligible schools. Open to students in Nursing, SAS, SEAS, and PSOM-BGS. Internal school processes for selection may vary. Contact your school's associate dean for graduate studies or graduate group chair for more information. Learn more about the program here.
National Institute of Social Sciences (NISS) Dissertation Grant Program
University Nomination Deadline: April 4
NISS Dissertation Grants are designed to support outstanding Ph.D. students who need additional resources to complete doctoral work that promises to significantly advance their fields of study. Grants of up to $5000 may be used to cover any necessary expenses related to completing a dissertation, including but not limited to travel to a library or archive, photography or photocopying, field research, and conference support. NISS seeks projects in the fields of Anthropology, Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. Interdisciplinary projects that include one or more of these fields as a major component may also be considered.
Eligible doctoral students must apply for nomination. More information and instructions are provided here.
GAPSA Summer Internship Funding Program
Deadline: April 4
Graduate students seeking summer internship experiences that are unfunded may now apply for a limited pool of summer internship funding from Penn Career Services. With financial support from GAPSA, Penn Career Services has limited funds in 2025 to support selected students to pursue unfunded summer opportunities. Awards are intended to cover travel expenses, living expenses, and/or other expenses related to the summer experience, up to $3,500. Funding amounts will be related to the career development value of the internship, the number of hours/weeks, and the identified needs of students.
This funding is open to all degree-seeking, residential (i.e., not fully online) graduate students whose graduation date is scheduled for or after August 2025. This is a competitive process - please pay close attention to the details on the program webpage. Learn more and apply here.
Google PhD Fellowship
University nomination deadline: April 14
Recognizes outstanding graduate students conducting research in computer science and related fields. Current PhD students only. Learn more
YH Park Fellowship in Korean Studies
Deadline: April 14
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.
CWiC Critical Speaking Fellowship
Deadline: April 21, 2025
Each year, CWiC supports two doctoral candidates in the School of Arts and Sciences who want to develop new courses that are built around oral communication. In the critical speaking seminar, public speaking is not a peripheral part of the course, but rather, an integral part of understanding the course’s issues. During the 2025-26 academic year, applicants must be in their final year of doctoral work in the School of Arts and Sciences. SAS Graduate students may be supported by SAS for no more than two years after the term of their initial fellowship offer (of 4 or 5 years).
National Institute of Justice's Graduate Research Fellowship
Deadline: April 22
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, including a yearly stipend, cost of education allowance, and research funds.
SNF Paideia Graduate Fellows
Deadline: April 28
This is a part-time fellowship. Each fellow can expect to contribute roughly 10-15 hours per month to fellowship work, beginning in August 2025 and concluding in early May 2026. Graduate fellows can gain experience teaching and advising undergraduate students, designing and implementing student-oriented dialogue programming, and working professionally as part of a multi-disciplinary team to achieve academic program goals. Graduate fellows receive a $7,000 stipend. For questions or guidance, contact Sarah Ropp (SNF Paideia Dialogues Director), sropp@upenn.edu
Dow Building Engineering and Science Talent (BEST) Symposium
Deadline: April 30 | Symposium Dates: July 28-30
This annual conference was developed to introduced advanced doctoral students and postdoctoral scientists from minoritized backgrounds to the range of rewarding careers in industrial research and, in particular, to opportunities with one of the world’s largest and leading materials science companies, Dow. Applicants must be pursuing degrees in: Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or other closely related fields and should have a doctorate degree or expect to receive one by December 2026. Please visit the BEST Symposium website for more details and to apply.
Sobti Family Fellowship
Deadline: April 30
The Sobti Family Fellowship will provide up to two Penn doctoral students with $12,500 each to develop independent research interests broadly related to CASI’s agenda. The Fellowship award will include an unrestricted $10,000* grant with the addition of up to $2,500 in reimbursed domestic travel expenses, conference attendance fees, and research materials. The award can be received in conjunction with existing graduate funding.
National Academies NRC Research Associateship Program (RAP)
Deadline: May 1
Paid graduate and postdoctoral research opportunities in science and technology at sponsoring federal laboratories and affiliated institutions. Citizenship requirements and eligibility criteria vary by research opportunity.
SIMS 2025–2026 Graduate Student Research Fellowship
Deadline: May 2
The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies (SIMS) is accepting applications for its 2025-2026 GraduateStudent Research Fellowship. This year, in partnership with Penn’s Global Medieval & Renaissance Studies Program (GMRS), the fellowship will support the exploration of AI-driven handwritten text recognition (HTR) and computer vision technologies applied to one or a group of manuscripts in Penn’s premodern manuscript collections. Fellows receive a $3600 stipend.
DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program
Deadline: May 7
Supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to pursue part of their dissertation research at a Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory/facility in areas that address scientific challenges central to the Office of Science mission. Application assistance workshops and office hours available starting March 7
Perry World House/Foreign Affairs Emerging Scholars Policy Prize
Deadline: May 21
This $5,000 prize recognizes outstanding essays with new ideas on how to tackle the world’s biggest policy challenges. Advanced PhD candidates and early career scholars from all disciplines are encouraged to apply, and the winning entries will be published in Foreign Affairs magazine.
Caltech Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship
Deadline: July 18, 2025
This fellowship provides 2-years of partial salary support (up to $45,000/year) as well as professional development and community building opportunities. Additional salary support is provided by faculty advisor support and/or external fellowships. Applicants working in nanoscience may be eligible for full salary support through the Kavli-Caltech Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship. ppfp.caltech.edu
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:
Recent postings include:
Penn AI Practical Learning Series Instructional Assistants
Deadline: May 2
The Penn AI Practical Learning Series, supported by Penn’s Draw Down the Lightning Grant, is a collaboration between the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, & Innovation (CETLI), Information Systems & Computing (ISC), and Penn Libraries. Its goal is to empower faculty and staff to develop foundational AI literacies and utilize AI tools responsibly and effectively in their work and teaching. Instructional Assistants (IAs) will be paid at a rate of $44/hour to work approximately 3 hours/week. IAs will aid in planning, delivering, and evaluating dynamic, in-person workshops for faculty and staff. This series begins in summer 2025 and continues throughout the 2025-2026 academic year.
RDDS Student Data Science & Society Research Assistant
Open until filled
This person will work with the Applied Data Science Librarian to provide support for data science and AI-focused projects and events. We are especially looking for students in Science Technology & Society (STS), Digital Humanities (DH), BioTech, Information Sciences, History of Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences (HSOC), and other interdisciplinary research backgrounds. The position will begin in the summer 2025 and run through the 2025-2026 academic year. Compensation is $15.75/hr.
RDDS Student Statistical Software Consultant
Open until filled
RDDS is hiring a Student Statistical Software Consultant for the Summer 2025 with the possibility of continuing into the 2025-2026 academic year. SSCs provide appointment-based assistance for students, faculty, and staff on statistical analysis software and programming languages, such as Stata, SPSS, Python, and R. Advanced knowledge of one of these is required with preference given to those with knowledge of two or more. Compensation is $15.75/hr.
