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Fellowships

Find information about submitting Fellowships.

UC San Diego defines an individual fellowship as a formal commitment to provide monetary assistance to an individual, usually to support advanced study and training. The Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) will handle General Campus and Health Sciences (non-NIH) fellowship proposals for postdoctoral scholars, residents, professional degree students (M.D. or Pharm.D.), or dual degree students (M.D./Ph.D.)

Considerations for Fellowships

Fellowships are distinct from basic research and therefore handled slightly differently. Here are some things to consider when working on your Kuali Research submission.

Submitting Requests

Create a Kuali Research Record: For tips and guidance related to entering various agreements into the enterprise system of record.

Kuali Research Systems Training: To register for various eCourses and Virtual Instructor Led training related to the various Kuali modules and to access the Kuali Research Training Guides.

Additional Resources and Help: To get more information on various resources, search the knowledge base and how to contact a Research Administration Client Experience agent.

Fellowship Criteria and Exclusions

Criteria

Individual Fellowships that are administered by the University through a Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) will meet the following four criteria:

  1. Merit-Based – in response to a competitive application/announcement
  2. Awarded to a Specific Individual – the award follows the individual should they leave the University
  3. Mentored – awardee is not an independent investigator and will be guided/hosted by a UC San Diego faculty member in their lab
  4. Intended to enhance an individual’s potential to develop into an independent researcher/scholar

Exclusions

At UC San Diego, individual fellowships that are administered by the University through a SPO do not include:

  • Awards to faculty – these will be handled as grants or contracts
  • Undergraduate fellowships – these will be handled on a case-by-case basis if University administration is required
  • Postdoc Pay Directs and Graduate Students paid directly – these are not administered by the University
  • Fellowship programs administered by the University where the University picks the fellow(s) – these are classified as grants or contracts
  • Programs or fellowships funded by gifts – these are administered through the Gifts Processing Office

Scope/Intent of Fellowship

Clearly Defined Intent in Sponsor Funding Opportunity

For both Federal and Foreign sponsors, you must have a specific funding opportunity to reference for identifying the intent.

Federal Foreign
  • Must have a specific funding opportunity identifying the intent to award fellowships.
  • The proposal is submitted through a central office (grants.gov, NIH ASSIST).
  • As with US federal fellowships, the original sponsor should have a specific funding opportunity identifying the intent to award fellowships.
  • Foreign government fellowships may be received as a subaward from a foreign university or non-profit, requiring additional scrutiny or negotiation.
  • Foreign government fellowships may pay the fellow directly but still require an agreement with the US host institution.

When the Intent Undefined or Unclear

It is important to be very careful about the sponsor's intent and determine the intent of the funding for both non-profit and industry sponsors.

Industry Non-profit
  • The program must be for the development of the individual.
  • The intent must be clearly distinguishable from research contracts solicited by the company that has anticipated outcomes in specific areas of interest to the company.
  • If the intent is not clear in the announcement or sponsor website, clarification with a sponsor is needed.
  • Determining factors include:
    • Does it meet the high-level definition?
    • How does the sponsor classify it?
    • What are the reporting requirements/deliverables, final outcomes, and basic financial reporting?
    • Are the terms and conditions appropriate for a fellowship?

Indirect Costs (IDC)

If Indirect Costs are allowed they need to be requested/budgeted. 

The appropriate federally negotiated rate is to be used, though a reduced rate may be allowed if the sponsor meets the following conditions: 

  • Federal – has a clear written policy in funding announcements or other documentation
  • Non-profit – has a written policy for the rate (funding announcement, website, FAQ, letter from funder); if total costs are capped or the IDC policy is unclear, work with your SPO officer to confirm the correct rate
  • Industry – reduced IDC (lower than the federally negotiated rate) may be allowed under very specific conditions for a fellowship, work with your SPO officer to confirm the correct rate
  • Foreign government – has a clear written policy in original funding documentation, SPO officer will work with foreign institutions to confirm the correct rate

Conflict of Interest

When COI is required

  • Federal PHS funding and sponsors that have adopted the PHS FCOI policies: disclosure is required for the PI (fellow) and all senior/key personnel, which includes the faculty mentor/sponsor.

When COI is not required

  • Non-Federal 700U disclosures are not required for non-profit or for-profit fellowships.

For more information on COI disclosure requirements and Kuali COI tutorials.

NIH NRSA Fellowship Process & Loan Repayment Program

As of July 1, 2018, the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) is only responsible for the review, submission, award activation, and acceptance of NIH Individual NRSA Fellowships for the following applicants:

  • Health Sciences Post-Doctoral Fellows (F32s); and 
  • Health Sciences Professional Degree Pre-Doctoral Fellows (M.D. or Pharm.D applicants or dual degree applicants (M.D./Ph.D. and Pharm.D./Ph.D)) (F30s).
Additionally, the SPO is the appropriate office for all Health Sciences NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) applications.
For a single degree (Ph.D.) Pre-Doctoral fellowships (F31):
  • Please contact the Sponsored Projects Office.
  • Pre-Doctoral (Ph.D.) fellowship applications are signed by Dr. James Soto Antony, Dean of Graduate Division.

For all other Health Sciences fellowship and junior faculty applicationsplease contact researchadmin@ucsd.edu for assistance.

NIH NRSA fellowship applications are electronic and must be submitted to NIH in ASSIST, by an authorized institutional signing official on behalf of the applicant. Nicole Ketchum, SPO officer, submits the following applications:

  • F32 Postdoctoral Fellowships for applicants with a sponsor in Health Sciences.
  • F30 Predoctoral Fellowships for professional degree applicants (M.D., Pharm.D., M.D./Ph.D. or Pharm.D./Ph.D.)

To submit an application to the NIH, the applicant must be registered as a PI in the eRA Commons. Registration is done by the SPO. Contact Nicole Ketchum if you need an eRA Commons account set up or the PI role added to your current account.

Note: Fellowships are required to be entered into Kuali Research (KR) PD. Work with your Fund Manager (your Sponsor's Fund Manager) to have this entered for you. 

Required Items:

NIH NRSA Fellowships ​New or Resubmission ​RPPR (Progress Report)
​KR PD Record
  • ​Basics: Delivery Info Tab: Submission Description
​Indicate the ASSIST number ​N/A
  • ​Uploaded Attachments:
NIH NRSA Budget Workbook FY 2023 3-24-23** N/A
  • ​Summary/Submit Tab
​​Select Submit for Review N/A
​KR COI Form ​Required for the PI, Sponsor, and any Co-Sponsors located at UC San Diego ​Completed annually
​OnBase ​Fellowship Assurance Form ​N/A
ASSIST ​Change the status in ASSIST to "Ready to Submit" and notify your SPO Officer it is ready for review ​Route your RPPR in eRA Commons to your SPO Officer
​Email ​N/A ​​Internal Budget and/or Updated NIH NRSA Budget Workbook
*Fellowship NIH NRSA RPPRs are not entered into KR PD
**Opens without a password request in Edge and Chrome. 

Notes on Internal Forms:

Internal Deadlines:

Dates What Description
ASAP Intent to Submit For planning purposes, email Nicole Ketchum with the applicant's name, sponsor's name, and fund manager's name as soon as you or your PI decides you with to submit an NRSA Fellowship.
03/25/2024 Draft ASSIST Package Draft ASSIST package for initial review, completed NRSA Budget Worksheet (Uploaded into PD record), fully approved Fellowship Assurance Form, and completed PD record routed to the SPO.
04/01/2024 Final ASSIST Package Fully completed ASSIST package for final review and submission. This will allow a two-day viewing window, as well as help avoid any technical difficulties or system failures.

Fellowship Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs):

Make sure you use the correct FOA for your application set-up in ASSIST:
​Award Mechanism ​FOA Title ​FOA #
​F30 ​Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions with NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30) PA-21-049 
​F32 ​Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (Parent F32) ​ PA-21-048 
​F32 ​BRAIN Initiative Fellows: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32)   RFA-MH-20-620 
​F32 ​Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)-sponsored National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32 PA-17-481 
​F32 ​NINDS Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Training of Postdoctoral Fellows (F32) PAR-21-032 

NIH Loan Repayment Programs

Applications to the NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) can be submitted between September 1 and November 18, 2021.  LRP Online Application System (OAS).

If an applicant is selected, NIH will make payments for educational loans directly to the lender on behalf of the applicant. The applicant applies online for the NIH LRP program but must designate an institutional official to certify the applicant's institutional salary and commitment to research. Elizabeth Tang e8tang@health.ucsd.edu serves as the Institutional Officer for all Health Sciences NIH LRP applications. 

The general eligibility criteria applicable to all five extramural LRPs are listed here as well as below in the recently published notices. All eligible researchers and scientists, including women, individuals from underrepresented groups, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply for loan repayment.

  • NOT-OD-21-139 : Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Clinical Researchers (LRP-CR)
  • NOT-OD-21-143 : Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Contraception and Infertility Research (LRP-CIR)
  • NOT-OD-21-141 : Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research (LRP-HDR)
  • NOT-OD-21-140 : Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Pediatric Research (LRP-PR)
  • NOT-OD-21-142 : Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (LRP-IDB)
  • NOT-OD-21-144 : Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Research in Emerging Areas Critical to Human Health (LRP-REACH)

More information can be found on the LRP Website  and Facebook .

Resources:

NIH Videos and Podcasts:

  •  Video   - PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information Form
  •  Grant Writing 101   - Understanding the Process of Grant Writing (by NIH)
    • Note: if you pause this video, you will need to write down where you are in the video. It will refresh and start all over after a very short time period and will not save where you were last at.
  •  Video   - Fellowships: Navigating NIH Peer Review
  •  Video   - Submitting Reference Letters through eRA Commons
  •  Video   - Using ASSIST to Prepare and Submit Multi-Project Applications to NIH
  •  Podcast   - Writing Your Vertebrate Animal Section
  •  Podcast   - Writing a Fellowship Application (Transcript )
  •  Podcast   - Considerations for Developing a Research Plan (Transcript )
  •  Podcast   - Grant Writing for New Investigators (Transcript )
  •  Podcast   - Graduate Students Considering a Postdoc (Transcript )
  •  Podcast   - Postdocs Thinking About Independence (Transcript )
  •  Video   - What Graduate Students & Postdocs Writing NIH Grants Need to Know (National Research Mentoring Network)

Postdoctoral and Medical Student Funding Opportunities

Non-NIH funding opportunities listed for predoctoral and medical students as well as postdoctoral researchers are available to researchers between completion of a doctoral degree and acceptance of a faculty position. For more information, please see Fogarty International Center's Site on Advancing Sciences for Global Health:

For additional funding opportunities, please see the links below:

For more information or questions email researchadmin@ucsd.edu.