External Funding Opportunities

Grants and scholarships for undergraduate research activity are available, but sometimes difficult to find. We highly recommend searching online for other award sources, especially those supporting research in the arts and humanities. Our list is not comprehensive!

Select external undergraduate research funding sources:

• American Heart Association Undergraduate Student Summer Fellowship
• American Physical Society awards and fellowships for women and minorities
• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Undergraduate Scholarship
• NASA Office of Education
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP)
• NSF A–Z index of funding opportunities
• Psi Chi awards and grants
• Rochester Academy of Science Student Research Grants
• Johns Hopkins University database on graduate research funding

Fellowships requiring undergraduate research experience:

We encourage you to visit the Fellowships Office, located alongside the Office of Undergraduate Research in Dewey 4-209B. Staff may be available to help with advising related to external awards and/or to help identify other awards that could support your research post-graduate (Fulbright, Beinecke, etc.). Call to schedule an appointment or visit their website for available walk-in hours.

• Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF)**: This award competition is held annually or biennially with current sophomore and junior STEM majors planning to pursue a PhD in a STEM field. Research experience is a desirable qualification for student nominees.
• Goldwater Scholarship**: annual award competition for current sophomore and junior students seeking to become leading researchers in STEM fields. Research experience is a desirable qualification for student nominees.
• Department of Defense Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program: opportunity for STEM students to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed by the Department of Defense (DoD) upon degree completion. Also available for graduate students.
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP): recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. Current seniors and first-year graduate students are eligible.
• Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF): provides benefits and opportunities to students pursuing doctoral degrees in fields that use high-performance computing to solve complex science and engineering problems. Current seniors and first-year graduate students are eligible.

** These awards require a university endorsement. Applicants will need to follow the timeline and instructions provided by the Fellowships Office or the Office of Undergraduate Research.

If you are in search of a paid research position, use the links below to help begin your search:

• Handshake - internships and networking/connections on- and off-campus, though not all postings may be paid opportunities
• Summer research page - searchable databases and selected links for competitive, structured research opportunities