External Fellowships and Grants

Cornell students have been highly successful in competing for external fellowships, which are competitive awards of funding from outside agencies such as the NSF, Javits, or the Social Science Research Council. Students are encouraged to work with their director of graduate studies (DGS) and/or special committee chair to develop effective application materials for these opportunities. Read more tips about fellowships.

A certain number of research grant opportunities are available to graduate students.

Find fellowship opportunities

To learn about awards that will be appropriate for you, talk with your DGS and other students in your field, as they will be most familiar with the fellowships that are commonly awarded in your field. Other sources of information include:

GRAPES, an extensive database maintained by the Graduate School at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Unigo, a database and application portal that provides access to scholarship and grant opportunities.
Pathways to Science, a directory of scholarships, fellowships, internships, and postdoc positions in STEM.
Cornell’s Office of Research Services maintains a list of sources of External Funding for Graduate Students.

Find grant opportunities

Grant Forward [THIS ITEM NEEDS A SUMMARY]
Unigo, a database and application portal that provides access to scholarship and grant opportunities.
Cornell’s Office of Research Services: External Funding for Graduate Students

Why apply for an external fellowship?

Even if you have a funding guarantee from Cornell, there are compelling reasons to apply for a competitive external fellowship. A competitive external fellowship is an honor that will stay with you throughout your career. A fellowship can:

Distinguish your CV when you enter the job market,
Clarify your thinking about your research and expose you to valuable feedback,
Increase your flexibility in selecting advisors, choosing research projects, and conducting field work, and
Help faculty support more students by bringing your own funding to a field.

Who is eligible for fellowships?

Most fellowship competitions are open to first-year students or dissertation-year students.

When should I start the process?

Right away.

If you’re a first-year student, don’t hold off on applying because you haven’t finalized your plans. You were accepted into a Cornell graduate program because you have excellent credentials and scholarly promise. Reviewers won’t expect first-semester students to have all the project details worked out.

Are there steps I can take that will aid my research?

Agencies want the best possible proposals, so don’t be afraid to ask appropriate, substantive questions during the application process. All things being equal, the agency will fund applications that address their unspoken needs and norms as well as the overt rules; speaking with the funding agency and faculty who have interacted with the organization will give you special insights.

Look for more support on fellowship writing through workshops.

What are the most common fellowships that students at Cornell win?

The top federal fellowships won by graduate students at Cornell—2023-2024: