1. Advice for every step of your academic career (a growing list):
I want to apply for a PhD! …I think.
Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors.
2. Money, funding, scholarships, scarcity…

Here is a list of resources for students, academics, and curious minds looking for fellowships, funding, and other opportunities for research, training, learning, etc.
Undergraduate-level opportunities
Name | Purpose | Amount | Deadline |
Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship | Trains and inspires new leaders in the movement to end hunger and poverty in the United States. Fellows gain vital first-hand experience through placements with community-based organizations across the country as well as policy-focused organizations in Washington, D.C | $38,000- $45,000 | Early January |
Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership | The Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) seeks to empower Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth by increasing access to public service opportunities and building a strong AANHPI public service pipeline. | $3,000 | Mid Feb |
Center for Disease Control & Prevention Undergraduate Public Health Scholars (CUPS) | program prepares a diverse body of students to consider public health as a career to ensure a future where the American public benefits from a more diverse and better trained public health workforce. During their internships, students work in a variety of public health settings including community organizations, health departments, university-based programs, and federal agencies. CUPS offers several opportunities that are open undergraduates entering their junior or senior year and recent baccalaureate degree students. CDC partnership institutions include: Columbia, Kennedy Krieger Institute (Maternal/Child Health, Infectious Disease), Morehouse (IMHOTEP, PHLFP), Michigan, UCLA. | stipend, room/board, travel, etc. | Early January |
Fulbright US Student Program | Provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs in a participating country outside the U.S. | Varies by country | Typically early Fall |
Greenlining Institute Policy Fellowship | 11-month training program for emerging leaders interested in learning to take the lead on race and advocate for change on a systemic level. Fellows are assigned to specific policy program areas and develop expertise with the direction of a policy director and the Academy Director. | Late Feb | |
Immigrant Justice Corps | Identifies promising lawyers and advocates passionate about immigration, places them with legal services and community-based organizations where they can make the greatest difference and supports them with training and expert insights as they directly assist immigrants in need. | “Full” salary & “benefits” | Mid March |
Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers | Addresses the lack of diversity in the nation’s teaching faculties by recruiting outstanding students of color committed to diversity, counseling them through the graduate school application process, and advocating for sufficient funding for advanced study. | PhD app guidance, mentoring, app fee waivers, etc. | March 1 |
McNair Scholars | Designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. McNair participants are either first-generation college students with financial need, or members of a group that is traditionally underrepresented in graduate education and have demonstrated strong academic potential. | Varies by school | Varies by school |
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship | The fundamental objective of MMUF is to address, over time, the problem of underrepresentation in the academy at the level of college and university faculties. This goal can be achieved both by increasing the number of students from underrepresented minority groups (URM) who pursue PhDs and by supporting the pursuit of PhDs by students who may not come from traditional minority groups but have otherwise demonstrated a commitment to the goals of MMUF. | Varies by school | Varies by school |
NIH Postbac IRTA | Provides recent college graduates who are planning to apply to graduate or professional school an opportunity to spend one or two years performing full-time research at the NIH. | Full salary + benefits | No deadline |
Public Policy & International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute | The Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) works to promote the inclusion and full participation of underrepresented groups in public service and to advance their leadership roles throughout our civic institutions serving domestic and international affairs. | stipend, room/board, travel, test prep, etc.. | Nov 15 |
Summer Research Opportunities | Many universities and organizations host their own summer research programs where applicants can apply to work or get placed with a faculty member or research team to conduct research. Programs are usually called Summer Research Opportunities Programs (SROP), Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF), REUs (see below), etc. Here are a small handful of the many programs out there: American Bar Foundation, CalTech, Emory, Leadership Alliance, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, UC Irvine, UCLA, UNC Chapel Hill, UTSA, etc. | Usually summer stipend (~$5k) + travel, housing, etc. | Usually Jan-March |
Research Experiences for Undergraduates – National Science Foundation | NSF funds a large number of research opportunities for undergraduate students through its REU Sites program. An REU Site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates who work in the research programs of the host institution. Each student is associated with a specific research project, where he/she works closely with the faculty and other researchers. | Stipend, housing, travel, etc. | Varies |
US Federal Agencies | Smithsonian, State Department, USDA | Varies | Varies |
Other websites
Graduate Student Funding Opportunities: https://mcnairscholars.com/funding/