IU Biology is proud to offer our graduate students a variety of departmental award and fellowship opportunities. Scroll down to find information on merit-based awards and fellowships that support costs of living.
Opportunities covered here include funds from:
Applying for most IU Biology awards and fellowships is done annually in the One.IU “IU Scholarships” portal.
This single portal for finding funding optimizes your opportunities by matching you to recommended awards of which you might not otherwise be aware. Please follow the instructions below to ensure that the IU Biology awards selection committee has all information necessary for reviewing your application.
Step-by-step guidance:
Initiate a general application by answering the asterisked questions and electronically signing before submitting. For the general essay question, enter “not applicable.” We will not use your general essay as a basis for the departmental awards.
Note that one of the required questions asks whether you have or will file a FAFSA for the coming year. Because some funding opportunities are given to students who demonstrate financial need, please consider filing the FAFSA to provide the greatest access to funding.
The rest of the general application contains many questions that are designed for IU applicants as opposed to current IU graduate students who are eligible for departmental awards. Enter “not applicable” for these questions.
After completing the general application, you will be invited to complete the Biology conditional application which will request items applicable to all Biology awards (e.g., CV, research statement). For the Biology conditional application upload:
Your resumé or CV. Take care to highlight accomplishments stemming from your current IU graduate work (e.g., accepted publications, conference presentations).
A statement (approximately 500 words) summarizing your IU research, including its broader significance and significant results to date. If you are applying for one or more specific awards, make it clear how your research fits the criteria of each award. Take care to present your science in a manner accessible to those outside of your subdiscipline.
Refer to the individual awards listed below for additional required application materials or additional information to be included in your research statement. The capability to submit the additional materials was added to individual funding applications.
Submit the names of one or more science faculty members or postdocs who have agreed to write you a letter of recommendation.
The “IU Scholarships” portal will contact your recommenders to request a letter, but we recommend that you contact potential letter writers before you submit their names to the portal to make sure that they are willing and able to write a letter for you.
Most awards require a single letter, but a few require two letters. See the individual departmental award descriptions below for details.
Start your general application today! Search in One.IU for the “IU Scholarships” tile.
Note: Availability of the opportunities listed below changes from year to year; the IU Scholarships system will be updated each fellowship cycle to reflect availability. If you are interested in a particular award but are unsure whether it is offered, check with the Graduate Services Office by emailing gradbio@iu.edu.
Ralph Alston Genetics Fellowship Fund
Open to: Any IUB Department of Biology doctoral candidates studying Genetics.
Blatchley Nature Study Club Graduate Fellowship
Open to: IUB Department of Biology graduate students in plant biology or Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior who are in good academic standing and have financial need.
Award info + recent recipients
George W. Brackenridge Fellowship
Open to: Any graduate student earning a degree from the IUB Department of Biology and who is engaged in field work.
Award info + recent recipients
Robert W. Briggs Graduate Fellowship in Developmental Biology
Open to: Any G901 eligible graduate student in an IUB Department of Biology graduate program whose research focuses on developmental biology.
Award info + recent recipients
Sears Crowell Scholarship
Open to: Any graduate student earning a degree from the IUB Department of Biology who is enrolling in an internship program or course at a marine lab or field station.
Award info + recent recipients
Carl H. Eigenmann Biology Graduate Scholarship
Open to: Any graduate student earning a degree from the IUB Department of Biology.
Award info + recent recipients
Colonel Bayard Franklin Floyd Memorial Fund in Microbiology
Open to: Any Ph.D. student performing research in microbiology, who is in good standing, and in years 2-5 of graduate studies.
Colonel Bayard Franklin Floyd Memorial Fund in Plant Sciences
Open to: Any students conducting thesis research related to plant or fungal biology in IUB Department of Biology faculty labs. Doctoral students may be from any IUB graduate program; master’s students must be from an IUB Department of Biology graduate program.
Floyd Award for Outstanding Publication in Microbiology
Open to: Any graduate student performing research in microbiology. Publication must have been accepted for publication within the last year and must be in a peer-reviewed journal. (Student does not need to remain enrolled to receive this award.)
Not open for applications; nominations will be sought from faculty advisors.
Award info + recent recipients
Dean Fraser Fellowship
Open to: any graduate student from the IUB Department of Biology who is in good academic standing. Preference is given to students in the Microbiology Graduate Program.
Award info + recent recipients
Sarah Elizabeth Frey Indiana Daffodil, Inc. Scholarship
Open to: A graduate student obtaining a degree from the IUB Department of Biology, with an emphasis of study in botany—preferably ornamental crops. The group is opposed to supporting genetic modification of plants that bypass natural selection.
Award info + recent recipients
Dona G. Graam Fellowship
Charles B. Heiser Graduate Fellowship in Plant Evolution
Open to: Any IUB Department of Biology graduate student in plant evolution.
Award info + recent recipients
Elvin H. and Evelyn Hewins Scholarship
Open to: Graduate students earning a degree from the IUB Department of Biology who is involved in avian and wildlife research and/or related endeavors such as habitat protection and development.
Award info + recent recipients
James Holland Graduate Fellowship in Biology
Louise Constable Hoover Graduate Research Fellowship
Open to: Senior graduate students in at least their third year of graduate school.
Award info + recent recipients
George Hudock Biology Fellowship Fund
Open to: Any IUB Department of Biology graduate student in good academic standing with preference given to qualified master’s candidates and students seeking financial assistance for special seminars or training.
Award info + recent recipients
Walter A. Konetzka Fellowship Fund
Open to: Any graduate student in IUB Microbiology, GCDB, Genetics, or Biochemistry Graduate Program who has superb teaching abilities and strong research skills. First preference given to Microbiology students. Second preference given to GCDB or Genetics graduate students if their research is in microbiology.
Award info + recent recipients
Gerald J. Kurlander and Shirley Prince Kurlander Graduate Fellowship
Open to: To be used for first-year fellowships to recruit outstanding students to any IUB Department of Biology graduate programs.
Carlos O. Miller Fellowship
Open to: Graduate students and/or postdoctoral students whose research focuses on the biochemical aspects of growth and development in plants.
Award info + recent recipients
Alfred Parson Mower Fellowship
Open to: Any graduate student with a declared major from the IUB Department of Biology and who is in good academic standing.
Award info + recent recipients
William R. Ogg Fellowship
Open to: Botany (Plant Sciences) doctoral students in G901 status.
Award info + recent recipients
Frank W. Putnam Research Fellowship
Open to: Any advanced-level graduate students pursuing a Ph.D. in cell biology or biochemistry in the IUB Department of Biology or Biochemistry whose research emphasizes immunology, protein chemistry, or human oncology. Must have successfully passed qualifying examinations as required for the Ph.D. degree.
Award info + recent recipients
William G. Roessler Microbiology Fellowship
Open to: A graduate student earning a degree in microbiology from the IUB Department of Biology.
Award info + recent recipients
Albert Ruesink Outstanding Associate Instructor Teaching Award in Biology
Open to: Any graduate students earning degrees from the IUB Department of Biology nominated because of their excellent teaching within the department.
Not open to applications; nominations will be sought from faculty who are teaching courses for the IUB Department of Biology
Award info + recent recipients
Drew Schwartz Fellowship in Genetics
Open to: Any IUB Department of Biology graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology. To be considered, the nominee's dissertation research interests or current research MUST be on fundamental genetic phenomena.
Not open to student applications; the GCDB admissions committee will be asked to identify a qualified student from the applicant pool when funds are available.
Award info + recent recipients
Fred Seward Award
Open to: Any graduate student in good academic standing who is earning a degree from the IUB Department of Biology and who works in ecology, environmental biology, or in sustainable forestry or gardening through curricula, research, or outreach.
Award info + recent recipients
James N. and Mary Dunn Siedow Fellowship in Biology
Open to: Doctoral students earning a degree in the IUB Department of Biology.
Theodore J.B. Stier Graduate Fellowship in Biology
Open to: Any doctoral student earning a degree from the IUB Department of Biology whose research is in either cellular biology, biochemistry, or the mechanistic studies of physiological processes.
Award info + recent recipients
Milton Taylor Fellowship in Virology
Open to: Any IUB graduate student in biology or biochemistry who is engaged in virology research.
Award info + recent recipients
Charles F. and Karen M. Thompson Summer Research Fellowship
Open to: Any IUB Department of Biology graduate student is eligible for this summer research fellowship. First preference to students conducting research in the fields of behavior, ecology, or evolution. Second preference to students conducting field and experimental studies.
Don C. Warren Biology Fellowship Fund
Open to: Any IUB Department of Biology graduate students, with preference given to students working in the field of genetics.
Not open to applications; awarded by invitation only.
Award info + recent recipients
J. William and Joan Whitaker Fellowship in Biology
Open to: Any Ph.D. students earning a degree from the IUB Department of Biology.
Other predoctoral fellowship opportunities of particular interest to Biology graduate students include:
Graduate students with a declared major from the IUB Department of Biology or Department of Biology graduate student groups or organizations may apply for graduate program funds.
Available to graduate students presenting research posters or talks at a conference or for travel to research-related workshops or classes.
Visit Awards + Funding in the student portal. You will need to scroll down for information about emergency funding and loans.
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