Internal Funding Resources

A one-year fellowship for ichthyology research students, renewable pending satisfactory progress toward graduation. Available for candidates who have completed one year of teaching and at least one term of curatorial assistantship duties through UMMZ Fish Division.

These fellowships are intended to speed the process of completing the dissertation and should be awarded to students who are graduating within the next academic year. This will permit candidates to work full-time on the final stages of their dissertations. Students apply through the EEB department, not directly with Rackham. Typically four awarded each year.

Block grant funding is provided to the EEB department by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies. 

In addition to the block grant funds provided by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, endowments are provided to the Department through the scholarships listed below. They are available for research expenses and are awarded to students who best fit the intentions of the donors. Specific awards vary year-to-year and will be announced alongside the application. In most years the following awards are available:

Charles F. Walker Scholarship. A single award of up to $2,500 is available for graduate student field research in herpetology.

Hinsdale & Walker Scholarships. Multiple awards are made each year to support doctoral student research projects. Individual awards typically range from $1,500 to $4,000. To be eligible for an award, a graduate student must have achieved candidacy and must be nominated by a UMMZ curator who is either the student’s dissertation chair or co-chair. No student may receive a Hinsdale & Walker Scholarship award more than twice.

Ichthyology Graduate Student Support. Provides research, travel or other support (including salary supplements) to graduate students in ichthyology.

Dr. Nancy Williams Walls Award for Field Research. The Dr. Nancy Williams Walls Award for Field Research is awarded to graduate students engaged in field research with a preference for students studying biodiversity or climate change issues. This award may be used to cover research and travel expenses, and will be based on excellence and merit. Read more about Dr. Nancy Walls>>

Robert R. and Francis H. Miller Endowment. Supports graduate student research in the UMMZ, with preference for those students in the field of ichthyology.

This prestigious scholarship ($5000) is awarded on the basis of outstanding performance as a doctoral student. To be eligible, a graduate student must have been admitted to candidacy, must be nominated by a UMMZ curator who is either the student’s dissertation chair or co-chair, and must not have won this award previously.

All EEB graduate students may apply to the department for up to $250 each fiscal year for equipment or supplies. 

Request forms and more information are available on the InfoReady Review site: https://lsa.infoready4.com/#eeb. Please reach out to the Graduate Office (eeb.gradcoord@umich.edu) with any questions.

All EEB graduate students students may apply for one grant of $400 for travel to a conference at which the student presents a paper or a poster.

Request forms and more information are available on the InfoReady Review site: https://lsa.infoready4.com/#eeb. Please reach out to the Graduate Office (eeb.gradcoord@umich.edu) with any questions.

EEB encourages students to publish papers on their research during their career in the department. To acknowledge a student’s first, first-author publication as an EEB graduate student, the department will award a $30 Barnes and Noble gift card and a certificate of achievement to students who submit their first-author papers to the graduate program staff.

A student is eligible to receive one travel grant award (either domestic or international, but not both) during a fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30, based on the start date of the conference. Awards are up to $900 for the continental US or more for other locations. Applications are rolling. Read more and apply on Rackham's website.

The Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant is designed to support Rackham graduate students who need assistance to carry out research that advances their progress toward their degree. Students are eligible for one $1,500 award as a precandidate or master’s student and one $3,000 award as a candidate. Awards are reviewed on a rolling basis. Read more and apply on Rackham's website.

The Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship supports outstanding doctoral students who have achieved candidacy and are actively working on dissertation research and writing. It supports students working on dissertations that are unusually creative, ambitious, and impactful. Rackham Predoctoral Fellows are expected to work full-time toward the completion of degree requirements throughout the period of the award, which is one year. Students must submit an application to the department through a process announced in advance of the Rackham deadline. The department will review applications and then can nominate up to 4 students to Rackham. Approximately 240 students are nominated by all departments every year and Rackham expects to provide a minimum of 84 fellowships.

Jointly administered and funded by Rackham and the International Institute, these awards support degree-related research outside the United States with no preference for particular fields of study. The maximum award amount is $10,000. This is a competitive award and fewer than 45% of applicants receive funding. The average award amount is approximately $6,500. The application is handled by the International Institute, but you can read more on Rackham's website.

The Rackham Doctoral Intern Fellowship Program allows doctoral students to pursue a fully supported and funded internship during their graduate training (spring/summer, fall, or winter). Internships offer students a mentored professional learning experience in diverse career settings. The program is made possible by Rackham and the generous support of our donors. The program has two tracks—students may apply to ready-made internships Rackham has set up with host organizations or for funding to support an internship they have secured with an organization. The eligibility requirements and application instructions vary by term and program track (host organization or student-identified). Please make sure to read carefully to understand your eligibility to apply.