Other Funding on top of MSTP Stipend

[Simon]

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Are there other sources of funding that we can apply for being MSTP students so as to increase the yearly stipend? I would imagine that for many of us, the backgrounds that got us into MSTP would make us very competitive for these awards....

 

[ptiger]

I wouldn't recommend that you say ask this to your MD only friends 🙂

I believe that once you begin the graduate portion of your MD/PhD, you are eligible for graduate fellowships (NSF, HHMI, etc). You'll have to check this out though. Some of them say no MSTP's.

 

[Neuronix]

As ptiger says, there are fellowships that you can compete for once you are in your graduate phase. There are two types of money, internal (from your institution) and external (from the NIH, private sources, etc.).

You will not actually see this money yourself, but it is applied to you in other ways. Depending on the institution, you may receive a kickback of a couple thousand dollars per year if you successfully apply for funding. This way, the school promotes its students to get that fudning. Ask about the school's policy when you interview there. The rest of the money will go to your lab and your institution. Many intramural sources of funding go towards your education, and will pay for things like conference travel or seminars.

If anyone knows specific places MSTPs can apply for this, I would be interested to know. I am going straight from what MSTP students have told me, but I have never found specific sources of funding myself.

 

[Gradient Echo]

Some schools might give you a little extra money based on competitive grounds. They did this for me at WashU. The regular MSTP stipend (last year) was $20,500 and they "sweetened" the pot by throwing in an additional $2,000 per year.

It wasnt a lot, but it made me think carefully about their offer. $2,000 means extra plane tix for trips back home or maybe a nice vacation.

 

[jpx]

I remember reading somewhere that MSTP students were not allowed to apply for the HHMI fellowships. Does anyone know the specifics on this? 😕

 

[MacGyver]

Originally posted by jpx
I remember reading somewhere that MSTP students were not allowed to apply for the HHMI fellowships. Does anyone know the specifics on this? 😕

Unfortunatley this is true.. MD/PhD students are not eligible for ANY HHMI grants or fellowships.

http://www.hhmi.org/grants/office/faq/grad.html#10

 

[Andrew_Doan]

The rule is that you can't apply for another NIH grant and some other programs like the HHMI. However, there are some private funding sources where you can apply for small amounts of funding. During my PhD years I applied for an AFAR grant (http://www.afar.org) (American Federation for Aging Research). I was able to get $4000 for the summer to work on a project related to my thesis work. The lab also received $1500.

Another source to turn to is the American Heart Association.

 

[Habari]

another source of funding, if one qualifies, is the 'soros fellowship' (pdsoros.org). they have no problem funding md/phd's. progam's usually have some incentive for bringing in outside funding, and will increase ones stipend. last year one mstp student from columbia, and one from ucsf was funded - and this year 2 from the triI were.

 

[fyli260]

another source of funding, if one qualifies, is the 'soros fellowship' (pdsoros.org). they have no problem funding md/phd's. progam's usually have some incentive for bringing in outside funding, and will increase ones stipend. last year one mstp student from columbia, and one from ucsf was funded - and this year 2 from the triI were.

What exactly do you get as a Soros scholar if you already have MSTP funding? When I called them last Fall, I thought they said you would only be an honorary scholar if you already have funding.

 

[Habari]

their rules state that a scholars stipend can be no greater than 30k - and so the TriI, for example, boosts you up to that point if you bring in any funding that is worth 1/2 tuition for med or grad school. since the triI stipend is at about 25k, whoever brought in that money would have an increase to 30k. a small, but non-neglible incentive.