Graduate Student Fellowships Grant

Graduate Student Fellowships Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Amount: US $10,000
Last Updated: February 04, 2026

Summary

The Graduate Student Fellowships at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute support emerging scholars in tropical research, offering financial aid exceeding $3 million annually. These fellowships, lasting between three months to three years, enable graduate students to conduct independent research in diverse fields including ecology, anthropology, and molecular biology. Candidates must be enrolled in a graduate program and have completed at least one semester before applying. This program fosters interdisciplinary studies and encourages applicants to engage with Indigenous communities where applicable.

Overview

Overview Much of STRI’s success is due to its ability to attract some of the brightest scholars from diverse fields of tropical research. We invest more than $3 million every year to support creative young researchers at critical stages in their careers. Fellowships range from three months to three years and allow young scholars to explore their own research questions across Panama’s rich tropical ecosystems while based at our state-of-the-art facilities. Graduate student fellowships Graduate student fellowships are for students formally enrolled in a graduate program. Before appointment, students must have completed at least one full-time semester or equivalent of their graduate program. These fellowships are intended for students who have not advanced to candidacy if enrolled in a doctoral program. Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers opportunities for independent research or study related to Smithsonian collections, facilities, and/or research interests of the Institution and its staff. Fellowships are offered to graduate students, predoctoral students, and postdoctoral and senior researchers to conduct independent research and to utilize the resources of the Institution with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff serving as advisors and hosts. These fellowships are offered through the Smithsonian’s Office of Academic Appointments and Internships, and are administered under the charter of the Institution, 20 U.S. Code section 41 et seq. Applicants who wish to conduct research at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) should go here as SAO application requirements and deadlines may be different. The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers fellowships for research and study in the following fields and encourages applications of an interdisciplinary nature: Animal behavior, ecology, and environmental science, including an emphasis on the tropics; Anthropology, including archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and physical anthropology; Astrophysics and astronomy; Earth sciences and paleobiology; Evolutionary & systematic biology; Folklife;History of science and technology; History of art, especially American, contemporary, African, and Asian art, twentieth-century American crafts, and decorative arts; Materials research; Molecular biology; Social and cultural history of the United States

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Fellows must begin within one year from the date of their award letter.Applicants are encouraged to propose to conduct research in-residence at the Smithsonian in one of its areas of research as outlined in the publication, Smithsonian Opportunities for Research and Study, for a period of three to twelve months, or ten weeks for the Graduate Student Fellowship. Past or current fellowship recipients are eligible to apply for another award.Applicants whose native language is not English are expected to have the ability to write and converse fluently in English.When they apply, students must be formally enrolled in a graduate program of study at a degree-granting institution. Before the appointment begins fellows must still be enrolled and must have completed at least one full-time semester or its equivalent. Graduate Student Fellowships are intended for students who have not yet been advanced to candidacy if in a doctoral program.All graduate student fellowships are ten weeks long. In accepting an appointment, the fellow will be expected to devote full-time effort to the research proposed and to be in residence at the Smithsonian except for approved absences.Financial support, in addition to a Smithsonian fellowship, for such purposes as research travel and equipment may be received from other sources provided that no special demands are made upon the fellow’s time. Permission to receive additional stipend support must be requested in writing from the Office of Fellowships & Internships.Applicants conducting research with Indigenous communities should provide information on the current state of consultation, appropriate contacts, and plans for sharing research findings with these communities. A tribal letter of approval or tribal community endorsement will strengthen a proposal and may be submitted as an additional reference letter.

Ineligibility

No employee or contractor of the Smithsonian Institution may hold a Smithsonian fellowship during the time of his/her employment or contract, nor may an award be offered to any person who has been employed by or under contract to the Institution in the previous year, without the prior approval of the Office Academic Appointments and Internships (OAAI).Research allowances are not offered for graduate student fellowships. The Office of Academic Appointments and Internships cannot provide funds for the travel or living expenses of dependents.