Graduate Fellowships at UW‑Madison: Eligibility, Funding, and Resources

# Overview Graduate fellowships at UW‑Madison provide financial support and professional development for students pursuing advanced degrees. Fellowships can be awarded by the university, external agencies, professional societies, or private foundations. They typically require sustained progress in research and completion of degree requirements. # University‑Funded Fellowships - **Funding Forward**: A program that equips students to apply for external fellowships. It offers workshops, writing groups, and one‑on‑one consultations. No stipend is provided directly; it supports the application process. - **Hoodie Incentive**: Students who apply for certain external fellowships during the 2025‑26 academic year may receive a free UW‑Madison hoodie. Eligible fellowships include ACLS Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, BTAA/Smithsonian, Charlotte W. Newcombe, Ford Foundation, FINESST, Hertz, HHMI Gilliam, Mellon/ACLS, National GEM Consortium, National Physical Science Consortium, NSF GRFP, NIH Training Grants, Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Research Scholars, Rome Prize, SSRC, Spencer, NSERC, DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, and others. # External Fellowships | Fellowship | Eligibility | Stipend / Tuition | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | **NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)** | U.S. citizens or permanent residents | $37,000 annual stipend + $16,000 tuition assistance (3 years) | Requires sustained progress in science/engineering research. | | **Fulbright‑Hays Doctoral Research Fellowship** | U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident | Not specified in source | Supports study, teaching, or research abroad. | | **HHMI Gilliam Fellowships** | Second or third‑year biomedical or life‑science PhD students and their advisors | Not specified | Focus on mentorship and professional development. | | **Hertz Fellowship** | College seniors or first‑year graduate students; U.S. citizens or permanent residents | Not specified | Emphasizes inclusive research methodologies. | | **Spencer Dissertation Fellowship (NAEd/Spencer)** | PhD students who have completed pre‑dissertation requirements | Stipend + professional development retreats | Supports final dissertation analysis and writing. | | **Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship** | Doctoral students in humanities or interpretive social sciences; encourages underrepresented groups | Stipend + funding for research, travel, mentorship | Supports innovative dissertation projects. | | **DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program (SCGSR)** | Graduate students eligible for DOE lab research | Not specified | Provides thesis research opportunities at DOE laboratories. | | **HHMI Gilliam Fellowships** | Second or third‑year biomedical or life‑science PhD students and their advisors | Not specified | Focus on mentorship and professional development. | | **Hertz Fellowship** | College seniors or first‑year graduate students; U.S. citizens or permanent residents | Not specified | Emphasizes inclusive research and innovative methodologies. | | **Spencer Dissertation Fellowship** | PhD students who have completed all pre‑dissertation requirements | Stipend + professional development | Supports final dissertation writing. | | **Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship** | Doctoral students in humanities or interpretive social sciences | Stipend + additional funding for research, travel, mentorship | Encourages applications from historically underrepresented groups. | | **DOE SCGSR** | Graduate students with access to DOE laboratories | Not specified | Supports thesis research at DOE labs. | # Resources for Grant‑Seeking - **Funding Forward**: Workshops and micro‑courses on grant writing. - **Micro‑Course: Grants & Funding**: Introductory course covering planning, researching, writing, and follow‑up. - **Grants Information Collection (GIC)**: Databases, guides, and directories for identifying grants and fellowships. - **Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH)**: Search portal for scholarships, grants, and fellowships specific to UW‑Madison students. - **International Fellowships Office (IRIS Awards Office)**: Coordinates international research and study‑abroad funding. - **Fulbright U.S. Student Program**: Campus coordinator assists in matching opportunities. - **Pivot, Fastweb, Fastweb, Modern Language Association (MLA) Fellowships & Grants List**: External platforms that list additional opportunities; contact the UW‑Madison Associate Director of Graduate Funding for interpretation. # Eligibility & Funding Summary - **Citizenship**: Most external fellowships require U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. Some (e.g., NSF GRFP, Hertz, Spencer) explicitly state this. - **Degree Stage**: Fellowships vary from undergraduate seniors to first‑year graduate students to post‑doctoral researchers. For example, Hertz targets college seniors and first‑year grad students; HHMI Gilliam targets second/third‑year PhD students. - **Discipline**: Some fellowships are discipline‑specific (e.g., Mellon/ACLS for humanities/social sciences, Spencer for education research, DOE SCGSR for STEM). Others are broad (NSF GRFP, Fulbright‑Hays). - **Stipend / Tuition**: Only a few fellowships list explicit amounts (NSF GRFP, Hertz, Spencer, Mellon/ACLS, DOE SCGSR). Many external fellowships do not provide stipend information in the source. # Deadlines & Unknowns - **Deadlines**: The source does not provide specific application windows or deadlines for most fellowships. The hoodie incentive refers to the 2025‑26 academic year but does not specify exact dates. - **Application Windows**: For many external fellowships, the application period may vary by year and by awarding organization. - **Eligibility Nuances**: Some fellowships encourage applications from historically underrepresented groups (e.g., Mellon/ACLS, Spencer). The exact criteria for underrepresentation are not detailed. - **Funding Amounts**: Stipend and tuition amounts are only specified for a subset of fellowships. Others may have variable or unspecified support. # Source Limitations - The information is extracted from a single university webpage and may be incomplete or outdated. - No explicit deadlines or application windows are listed for most fellowships. - Stipend and tuition amounts are provided only where explicitly stated; other fellowships may have different or variable support. - The hoodie incentive list is current for the 2025‑26 academic year but may change in future years. - The article does not claim verification or guarantee of accuracy; it is a synthesis of publicly available data. # Conclusion Graduate students at UW‑Madison have access to a wide array of fellowships, both university‑funded and external. While some programs provide clear stipend and tuition support, many details—especially deadlines and nuanced eligibility—remain unspecified. Students are encouraged to consult the university’s Funding Forward program, the Grants & Funding micro‑course, the Grants Information Collection, and the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub for up‑to‑date application information. Contact your graduate program or the Associate Director of Graduate Funding for specific questions about eligibility and application procedures. Source: https://grad.wisc.edu/funding/fellowships/ Checked: 2026-10-17T07:19:02.866626+00:00 Confirm details with the official institution before applying.