Graduate School

External Funding

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External Funding

External awards are prestigious and a valuable acknowledgement of intellectual pursuit and promise. Writing a fellowship proposal can clarify your thinking about your research and improve your ability to communicate its essence and potential impact, and the competition can expose you to valuable feedback. Receiving a competitive external fellowship is an honor that stays with you throughout your career.

Incentive Program for Doctoral Students

The Graduate School also offers financial incentives to students who apply for and are awarded external funding. Explore the incentive program

Advanced Status

While external funding typically does not affect a student’s funding clock, students in the Humanities and Social Sciences receiving funding from outside of the university who would like to pause their funding clock may be eligible for Advanced Status (in years 1-5). This option should be reviewed closely with their Director of Graduate Study (DGS) and the Graduate School. See the Graduate Studies Handbook for additional details.

Finding External Funding

Grant Finding Guide

The Graduate School collaborates with the University Library and other University partners to maintain a Grant Finding Guide with links to a variety of external funding opportunities across all divisions and stages of graduate study.

Includes a section with tips and suggestions specifically for international students.
Includes access to subscription services, such as SPIN, a database of opportunities from federal, governmental, international, private and corporate funders.
This Guide should be one of your first stops in looking for funding opportunities.

Explore the Grant Finding Guide

Institutional Endorsement

The Graduate School also works directly with students who are pursuing external fellowships which require institutional endorsement. These include:

The U.S. Student Fulbright fellowship programs, including applications for both Research/Study and English Teaching Assistantships as well as Critical Language Enhancements.
The DAAD scholarship program for research in Germany.
The Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund Fellowships for research in the Humanities and Social and Natural Sciences.

Additional Opportunities - Grants for Women in Science

The listings in this section are provided as a benefit and a resource to students who seek to apply for external funding support. Brown does not endorse or promote any particular third party entity’s scholarship, grant, fellowship or loan. The following links will take you to the third party provider’s website where you can obtain information about the specific funding requirements. You can then determine on your own whether you are eligible and interested in applying.

American Association of University Women (AAUW) - Educational Foundation

AAUW offers several opportunities, including dissertation fellowships, postdoctoral research leave fellowships, selected professions fellowships, international fellowships, and career development grants.

Daphne Jackson Fellowship

Daphne Jackson Fellowships enable women and men scientists and engineers to return to appropriate careers in UK universities or labs following a career break due to family commitments. A typical fellowship lasts two years and is held on a flexible part-time basis to enable the Fellow to meet ongoing family commitments.

Delta Gamma Graduate Fellowships

The Delta Gamma Foundation offers scholarships for undergraduate work, fellowships for graduate study, and loans for any form of higher education beyond the sophomore year.

National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program

The ADVANCE program is to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce.

Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering Program

Canada's government science and engineering funding agency created the Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE) Program in 1996. The goal of the program is to increase the participation of women in science and engineering, and to provide role models for women active in, and considering, careers in these fields.

Sigma Delta Epsilon - Graduate Women in Science Fellowships

Fellows can apply for up to $10,000 for predoctoral or postdoctoral study. There are no restrictions on nationality or place of study.

Steps for Students with External Funding

Students who have received external funding should promptly forward a copy of their award letter and any supporting documentation to both the Graduate School (at grad_external_funding@brown.edu) and their Program Administrator. The award letter and supporting documentation must:

Be in English or be accompanied by an English translation.
Include the total amount of funding.
Indicate the start and end dates of funding.
Specify if funding will be paid directly to the student or through Brown University.

Steps for Program Administrators

Confirm that the external funding documentation meets the requirements above and that the student has provided the documentation to the Graduate School.
Review with the Graduate School if the student will be receiving top-up funding or an incentive payment (see Incentive Program for Doctoral Students and the Incentive Policy Examples).
Update the student’s appointment in GSIM to reflect the external funding and any incentive payments (contact grad_external_funding@brown.edu with any questions).