Fellowships

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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).

• 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 applications, please 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. Contact hssppo@health.ucsd.edu to connect with a SPO officer who 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.

<span\>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:

• The PHS COI Forms are required for the PI, Sponsor, and any Co-Sponsors. This needs to be completed in the Kuali Research (KR) COI.
• NIH Fellowship Assurance Form Initiate the form in OnBase. The form should be initiated by the Fund Manager/Department Contact who will work with the PI to start the routing for electronic signatures. Additionally, they will notify the SPO Officer (hssppo@health.ucsd.edu) of the PI's intent to submit.
• If you are a new user for OnBase and need access to the system, please email hssppo@health.ucsd.edu
• If you already have access to OnBase, but you are experiencing issues while logging in, please email onbase@ucsd.edu.
•  NIH-NRSA-Budget-Workbook-FY-2025-3-21-25.xlsx**. Please fill out the appropriate tab for the application type and use the most recent NIH stipend levels which can be found in the 4th tab of the workbook. For F30 and F31 applications, projected Ph.D./M.D. and projected Ph.D./Pharm.D. fees are listed in the last two tabs of the workbook. *Opens without a password request in Edge and Chrome. 

Internal Deadlines:

Fellowship Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs):

Make sure you use the correct FOA for your application set-up in ASSIST:

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.eduserves 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:

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:

• Graduate and Medical Student Fellowship Funding Opportunities 
• Postdoctoral Fellowship Funding Opportunities 

For additional funding opportunities, please see the links below:

• UC San Diego Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations 
• NIH Office of Intramural Training & Education Resources 
• CDMRP Twitter  & YouTube Channel