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New Student Fellowships

Explore fellowship opportunities available to incoming students:

Cornell and Sage Fellowships

Approximately 20 percent of our doctoral students studying on campus receive Cornell University Fellowships (referred to as Cornell Fellowships or Sage Fellowships depending on the field of study). These fellowships typically include full tuition, a nine-month stipend, and Cornell individual student health insurance. A summer stipend may also be provided to students.

How to apply: Cornell University Fellowships are awarded at the time of admission; continuing students are ineligible to apply. Prospective students apply for fellowships on the admissions application. To be considered for a university fellowship, respond “yes” to the question on the admissions application asking if you wish to be considered for university assistantships and fellowships.

Award process: The graduate field to which you are applying will consider your eligibility for fellowships based on your application; no additional information is required.

Notification: Admitted Ph.D. students will be notified of any fellowship awards as part of the admissions offer.

Cornell Fellowship

The Cornell Fellowships provide one semester or one academic year of funding, including stipend, tuition, and individual health insurance. This award is taken in the first year, unless otherwise noted by your field.

These fellowships may be awarded to U.S. students, permanent residents, or international students.

Sage Fellowship

The Sage Fellowships are two-year fellowships—first year and then dissertation year—with four summers of funding. These include a stipend, tuition, and individual health insurance.  Sage fellowships cannot be stacked with another fellowship in the same academic year. Students are not eligible for fellowship funding after completing the B-exam. Sage Fellowship requirements also apply to Deans Excellence Fellows in Sage fields.

Sage Requirements:

  1. Students in the arts and humanities and certain humanistic social sciences are awarded four summers of funding with the stipulation that they actively pursue their scholarship over the summer and maintain satisfactory academic progress.
  2. Students will be eligible for the first and second summers of funding only if they file with the Graduate School by May 1 of that year an academic plan describing the anticipated summer academic activities and outcomes.
  3. To be eligible for second-summer funding, a student must have assembled the special committee before the end of the third semester of registration, as required in the Code of Legislation (and must file an academic plan by May 1, as above).
  4. Students will be eligible for third-summer funding only if they have passed the A exam or have filed an exam scheduling form by May 1 of that year that indicates they are scheduled to attempt the A exam prior to the start of their seventh semester of enrollment, as required in the Code of Legislation, and if they have filed with the Graduate School by May 1 an academic plan describing anticipated summer academic activities and outcomes. Please note: if you plan to use the Dissertation-Year Sage Fellowship in the seventh semester, the A-exam must be fully passed by August 1 to ensure fellowship funding is processed on schedule.
  5. Students will be eligible for fourth-summer funding only after passing the A exam and only by application. A student must submit an application to the Graduate School for fourth summer of support by May 1 of that year, describing the scholarly work completed with the third summer of support and stating the academic objectives to be undertaken during the fourth summer. Graduate School staff will review the applications.
  6. The dissertation-year fellowship will be available only to students who have passed the A exam. In addition, students seeking the dissertation-year fellowship must have written and submitted an external fellowship or grant proposal before the dissertation-year fellowship is awarded to encourage all students to pursue external funding. (In exceptional cases for which there may be no logical external funding organization to which it would be appropriate to write a proposal, the student may write a proposal for an internal Cornell award such as a Graduate School or Einaudi travel grant or may petition for permission to complete an alternative professionalization activity.)
  7. No portion of the dissertation-year fellowship may be used by the student later than the 12th semester of enrollment, unless the student had secured external funding in an earlier term, in which case one or two semesters of dissertation-year fellowship may be used after the 12th semester corresponding with the length of external funding (one semester if one semester external funding had been secured, or two semesters if at least two semesters of external funding had been secured). All students are expected to complete their degree within the first fourteen semesters of enrollment, funding is not extended past the seventh year of doctoral study.  Exceptions to this requirement will be considered on an individual basis and should be directed to the Graduate School’s associate dean for administration.

Founder’s Excellence Fellowships

The Graduate School Founder’s Excellence and Dissertation Fellowships contribute to our commitment to advancing Cornell’s founding principle of “… any person … any study.”

The concept of “… any person” meant that people from all walks of life, all income levels, races, religions and genders could attend Cornell University. Similarly, “… any study” underscored the freedom to pursue academic interests wherever they lead. For more than 150 years, talented scholars representing the full, diverse spectrum of humanity have come to Cornell for a world-class educational experience unlike any other.

The Founder’s Excellence Fellowships include a portfolio of recruitment fellowships funded by the Graduate School and SUNY System, and others co-funded by colleges within Cornell and the Graduate School. The Founder’s Excellence Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to nominated domestic doctoral applicants from all backgrounds applying for Fall admission. Eligible candidates include U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, Indigenous peoples of Canada who qualify as domestic students under the Jay Treaty, or students with DACA status. Nominees must demonstrate excellence in their academics, leadership, and service. They must also demonstrate the potential to contribute meaningfully to Cornell’s founding principle and core value to provide a community of belonging where scholars representing different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect.

  • Graduate School Founder’s Excellence Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students across all graduate fields
  • Graduate School Founder’s McNair Fellowships — for recruitment of new research degree students who were McNair Scholars at their undergraduate institutions
  • Graduate School Founder’s Mellon Mays Fellowships — for recruitment of new research degree students who were Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows at their undergraduate institutions
  • SUNY Graduate Diversity Fellowship—for recruitment of new research degree students in graduate fields within contract colleges (open only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents)
  • Cornell Colman, Lance R. Collins, and Robert F. Smith Fellowships (College of Engineering) — for recruitment of new research degree students in engineering related fields    
  • Cornell Bowers College of Computing & Information Science (CIS) Deans Excellence and Hopper-Dean Fellowships — for recruitment of new research degree students based in Ithaca in computing related fields 
  • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Stadtman Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students in fields affiliated with academic departments in CALS
  • College of Human Ecology Deans Excellence Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students fields affiliated with academic departments in CHE 
  • Cornell Tech Deans Excellence Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students based at Cornell Tech in computing related fields 
  • College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Deans Excellence Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students in fields affiliated with academic departments in CVM

Applicants who wish to be considered for nomination for these fellowships must indicate their interest within the Graduate School application. Matriculating students awarded any of the fellowships within the Founder’s Excellence Fellowship portfolio are recognized as Graduate School Dean’s Scholars and invited to participate in community and professional activities sponsored by the Graduate School and other campus partners. 

How to apply:

  • Prospective doctoral students apply for Founder’s Excellence Fellowships through the Graduate School admissions application.
  • To be considered for nomination for a Founder’s Excellence Fellowship, eligible applicants must respond “yes” to the question on the admissions application asking whether they would be interested in being considered for a Founder’s Excellence Fellowship. 
  • The director of graduate studies for the graduate field to which the applicant is applying must submit a letter of nomination and a mentoring plan to support the nominee’s transition into and progression through their graduate studies. The mentoring plan may be informed by content provided via the FAIM Resource Center.

Thanks to Scandinavia Fellowship

Students from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, or Bulgaria are eligible to apply for this fellowship established by Thanks to Scandinavia in gratitude for the humanity and bravery of the people throughout Scandinavia and Bulgaria who protected persons of the Jewish faith during and after World War II. The fellowship includes a nine-month stipend, full tuition, and Cornell individual student health insurance. To request consideration for this fellowship, please notify your graduate field of your eligibility and request that they nominate you to the Graduate School prior to the fellowship deadline of February 15.