PhD and research fellowships

The main kinds of PhD and research fellowship

Graduate fellowships, before or early in the PhD. National programmes that fund a doctorate for several years, chosen on the applicant's record and research plans. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is the best known in the USA; it is open to US citizens, nationals and permanent residents only (NSF's rules). Many countries run similar schemes for their own citizens.

Doctoral fellowships inside funded programmes. Some PhD positions are fellowships in all but name. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks recruit doctoral candidates across Europe on salaried contracts, with a mobility rule: you can't have lived, worked or studied in the host country for more than 12 months in the 36 months before you're recruited. The European Commission's MSCA site has the full rules and links to the open positions on EURAXESS.

Industry PhD fellowships. Technology and pharmaceutical companies fund PhD students in their fields, often with an internship and a mentor at the company. Several, including the Apple Scholars in AI/ML programme, take candidates only through a nomination by their university, so ask your department early.

Dissertation fellowships. Funding for the final year of a PhD, to finish writing without teaching. They are most common in the USA, in the humanities and social sciences. The Ford Foundation Fellowships, long among the best known for doctoral and dissertation funding, have ended: the Ford Foundation wound down the programme, which the US National Academies ran for it, and it no longer accepts applications.

Research stays abroad. Short fellowships that pay for a few months in a lab or archive in another country during your PhD, such as the DAAD's Research Grants in Germany for doctoral candidates enrolled elsewhere, listed in its scholarship database, or travel fellowships from scientific societies. They ask for less than a multi-year fellowship and look good on a later application.

Fellowships for master's students. Rarer. They are mostly paid research internships, or government programmes that fund a master's under the name of fellowship. Our master's scholarships page covers master's funding in full.

Fellowship, studentship or PhD position?

How a doctorate is funded depends on the country, and so do the words:

• In the UK, a "studentship" is a funded PhD place, usually paying fees and a stipend, often attached to a project or a doctoral training programme.
• In the USA, PhD programmes usually admit students with a funding package that combines fellowships with teaching or research assistantships.
• In much of continental Europe, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, PhD candidates are often employees with a salary and a contract, recruited to a position like any other job; in Finland, many are funded by grants instead.

A fellowship is funding that follows you: you win it on your own application and can take it to a host that accepts you. That makes it valuable even where funded positions exist, because it lets you choose the project and the supervisor.

In job titles, "research fellow" means something else again. At universities in the UK, Australia and parts of Asia, a research fellow is usually a researcher who already holds a doctorate: see postdoctoral fellowships.

Who can apply: the rules that narrow research fellowships

Research fellowships are narrow. Before you start an application, check:

1. Citizenship and residence. Many national fellowships fund only their own citizens, or only research done in the funding country.
2. Career stage. Some take only students in the first or second year of a PhD, others only those about to finish. Years are usually counted from your enrolment or your previous degree.
3. Mobility. International fellowships often require you to move country, as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie rule above does.
4. Field. Many funders cover only some disciplines.
5. A host. Many research fellowships need a supervisor or institution that agrees to take you on before you apply.

The Scholarway search reads these rules for each fellowship. Add your nationality, career stage and field, and it shows the fellowships you can apply for.

What makes a strong research fellowship application

• A project that fits the funder. Read the funder's aims and the criteria its reviewers score. The NSF, for example, assesses intellectual merit and broader impacts, and asks applicants to address each one under its own heading.
• A supervisor who backs you. A specific letter from your host, saying why your project fits their group, carries weight.
• Evidence that you can do research. You don't need publications for most PhD fellowships, but you need to show research experience: a thesis, a project, a conference poster.
• More than one application. Combine your university's internal fellowships, national programmes and fellowships from foundations and companies in your field.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a research fellowship and a PhD scholarship?

Both can fund a doctorate. A scholarship usually pays fees and a living allowance for a degree; a research fellowship pays you to carry out research, sometimes with a salary and research costs, and isn't always tied to a degree. In practice the names overlap, so compare what each one pays and expects.

Can master's students get research fellowships?

Some. Paid research internships, summer research programmes and a few government programmes fund master's students, and many PhD fellowships accept applications in the final year of a master's, before you start the doctorate.

Do research fellowships pay tuition?

PhD fellowships in the USA usually pay tuition and a stipend. In much of Europe, doctoral tuition is low or free, so fellowships there pay mainly a salary or stipend. Each fellowship in the search above shows what it covers.

Is the Ford Foundation Fellowship still open?

No. The Ford Foundation Fellowship Program, run by the US National Academies, has ended. Search for dissertation and doctoral fellowships in your field instead.