Awards + funding

Find support for your studies and research

IU Biology offers you departmental awards and fellowships to aid your academic pursuits.

Awards and fellowships

IUB Biology awards and fellowships to aid your academic pursuits

Travel awards

Available to IUB Biology graduate students attending scientific conferences to present a talk or poster on their research or attending external workshops or classes related to their research

Graduate program funding

Funding for IUB Biology graduate student groups or organizations.

Develop a financial plan

IU MoneySmarts staff members provide free consultations to graduate students to develop financial plans (e.g., money management, minimizing debt). They provide a good starting point to learn about options for financial stress. They can also help students reconcile what it truly costs to live in Bloomington (given their needs, lifestyle, etc.) with sources of support.

MoneySmarts

Emergency funding and loans

IU Department of Biology emergency funding
Graduate students with a declared major from IUB Biology and who are in critical “financial emergency” situations are eligible for emergency funding from the department.

IU College of Arts and Sciences emergency funding
Small amount of funding available for graduate students. Contact IU Biology Director of Graduate Studies or department chair who, in turn, will contact the College with a description of your circumstances and the amount of financial need. These requests will be reviewed and funds will be disbursed based on urgency of need.

IU Office of International Services hardship assistance
International students can apply for hardship assistance (scroll down to “Hardship Assistance”), which is disbursed through student Bursar accounts. Typical award: $500–$2,000.

IU Student Advocates Office emergency support fund
Get help through the IU Student Advocates Office with unexpected expenses. Usually limited to $500.

Federal student loans
Visit the IU Student Central “All about loans” web page to learn more about federal student loans. As a rule of thumb, SAAs may qualify for student loans, but those paid (through SIS) as fellowships or scholarships (e.g., NSF GRPF) may not qualify.

FAFSA
The IU Office of Student Financial Assistance recommends that students fill out FAFSAs each year if their cost of attendance has not been met with fee remissions and fellowships/scholarships (i.e., SAAs can, most fellowship winners cannot in Biology). When an emergency arises, students who have completed the FAFSA can more quickly access emergency and student loans.

Emergency loan via Indiana University
Contact IU Student Central to learn how to apply for an emergency loan via the IU Office of Student Financial Assistance. The short-term (90 days) loans are for urgent needs (e.g., advance funding for overseas travel, rent, groceries, utilities, and car repairs). Eligibility requires: degree seeking at IU Bloomington, enrollment at least half-time at IU Bloomington campus, U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, meeting satisfactory academic progress, a guaranteed source of repayment (i.e., offer letter providing stipend).