Institutional Support for External Pre- and Post-doctoral Fellowships and Training Grants

The UO is one of America’s leading research universities. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars contribute critically to the University’s research mission and are the next generation of transformative leaders who will improve our lives. 

The UO encourages graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to pursue prestigious external fellowships that allow them to focus more intensively on advancing their research and professional preparation. 

Most external fellowships designed to support graduate students and postdoctoral scholars cover some, but not all, of the tuition, insurance, stipend, and fees that UO provides to trainee positions. Therefore, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars may request funds for tuition, stipend, mandatory fees, and insurance expenses not covered by the fellowship (i.e., differentials). 

The UO’s process for reviewing and approving support requests is based on the following guiding principles, established in coordination between the Division of Graduate Studies, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI).

Guiding Principles

  1. As a leading American research university, the UO is responsible for providing robust training for our PhD students and postdoctoral scholars through nationally competitive and prestigious institutional training programs and/or independently secured fellowships.
  1. The UO will consider financial support requests from graduate students and postdoctoral scholars applying for nationally competitive awards that require the applicant’s full-time effort for research training or dissertation work, faculty mentorship, and individualized training plans. 
  1. The UO will consider financial support requests from graduate students who are making satisfactory academic progress within the expected time to degree and postdoctoral scholars performing satisfactorily in their employee positions. 
  1. The UO will prioritize nationally competitive awards that cover most of the applicant’s costs for the project period (e.g., stipends, tuition, fees, and insurance); increase the applicant’s competitiveness in the job market; and/or support applicants from underrepresented backgrounds. 
  1. The process for requesting and committing institutional support should be transparent, equitable, and the administrative burden on those who request and commit support should be minimized.

Please note that the UO will not consider support awards that provide funding only for research supplies or travel or that supplement faculty research grants.

Requesting Institutional Support

To guarantee institutional review and consideration, the department grant administrator (or research administrative coordinator) must submit all requests for institutional support at least 30 days before the award application deadline. 

Institutional support may be requested via the External Fellowship Support Request Form. The Division of Graduate Studies and the applicant’s college/school leaders will use the information submitted via this form to determine whether the award aligns with our guiding principles. The request may be supported in full or in part based on alignment with the guiding principles and budgetary capacity. Additionally, tuition support will be provided per the UO’s participant support process.

External Fellowship Support Request Form

Institutional Training Grants

Faculty applying for institutional training grants are expected to submit a request for support via the OVPRI institutional support request form. Research Development Services will coordinate the commitments between units and prepare and finalize a Memorandum of Understanding before submission.

In reviewing any request for institutional support, the Faculty PI is expected to consider the sponsor’s allowable costs and ensure that applications request the maximum possible funding for tuition dollars, insurance, fees, and stipend.

Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships

Most postdoctoral scholars are expected to have differentials for insurance and stipends covered by their faculty sponsor. Exceptions will be considered for programs that support postdoctoral trainees from underrepresented backgrounds. Applications for exceptions will be processed through the External Fellowship Support Request Form.

Implementation Guidance for Department Grant Administrators

Instructions will be emailed to the post-award grant administrator listed on the original request if your support request is approved. They will be responsible for initiating the support process each term.