External Funding Resources

The following is a list of possible funding sources available to graduate students. This list is NOT complete or comprehensive. It includes select fellowships awarded to graduate students in recent years, but students regularly apply for and receive awards that no one else in EEB has received before. Search the web and talk to your advisor and colleagues for leads on fellowships and grants within your particular area of research.

In addition to the sources below, please see the U-M library guide for student funding.

Before applying to fellowships intended to provide academic term support (stipend, tuition waiver, health insurance), please speak with the graduate program coordinator to make sure the fellowship will be able to cover the full costs or to see if there may be cost-sharing opportunities. 

In addition to the main three listed here, students have also recently received funding from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Deparment of Energy (DOE). There may also be funding opportunities at state agencies.

• The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellows Program aspires to build a more inclusive scientific ecosystem by supporting scientists at two levels—graduate students and their faculty thesis advisers. The program invests in graduate trainees who are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in science and empowers them as future science leaders. Students are nominated by the university and do not apply directly. EEB students have successfully received this award in the past, along with the prior HHMI graduate student fellowship.
• Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowships provide one year of support for individuals working to complete a research-based, dissertation-required Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree that will prepare them for the pursuit of a career in academic teaching or research. The fellowship is intended to support the final year of writing and defense of the dissertation.

• AAUW American Fellowship: AAUW American Fellowships support women scholars who are pursuing full-time study to complete dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research full time, or preparing research for publication for eight consecutive weeks. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
  
• American Genetics Association (AGA) Ecological, Evolutionary, and Conservation Genomics (EECG) Research Awards
• The American Livebearer Association’s Vern Parish Award for outstanding college and graduate student research in the area of livebearing fish.
• The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) provides seed research grants for students and young professionals intending to do field-based research, as well as to use the AMNH collections. EEB students have regularly received the Frank M. Chapman Memorial Grants.
• American Society of Mammalogists - research and conference travel awards
• American Orntihological Society - research grants up to $2,500.
• Animal Behavior Society - research grants from $500 - $2,000.
• Botanical Society of America - research awards of $1,500.
• The Garden Club of America (GCA) offers 29 merit-based scholarships, fellowships and awards in 12 areas.
• Graduate Women In Science (GWIS) National Fellowship Program: Research awards up to $10,000. Anyone who identifies as a woman is welcome to apply.
• The Lewis and Clark Fund encourages exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation. Applications are invited from disciplines with a large dependence on field studies, such as archeology, anthropology, biology, ecology, geography, geology, linguistics, paleontology, and population genetics, but grants will not be restricted to these fields. Grants are available to doctoral students and typically ranger from several hundred dollars up to $5,000. 
• Phi Kappa Phi has supported the educational pursuits of its members through robust award and grant programs. The Society awards  $1.3 million each year to outstanding students, members, chapters and institutions.
• The Sigma Xi Grants in Aid of Research (GIAR) program has provided undergraduate and graduate students with valuable educational experiences. Members are elgible for up to $5,000 and non-members, up to $1,000.
• Society for the Study of Evolution Graduate Research Excellence Grants: Research awards to support early and late stage doctoral students.
• Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) Graduate Student Research Awards: These grants are for collection of preliminary data or to enhance dissertation research (e.g., by visiting additional field collection sites or museums). Applicants may be from any country, but must be members of SSB. Awards will range between $1000 - $3000 and can be used up to the end of the awardee's studies.
• The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) Grants In Aid of Research (GIAR): The GIAR program typically makes 25-35 awards for a total of approximately $30,000 to students from all divisions of the Society. Awards are made in amounts up to a maximum of $1,000.