NRSA Stipends, Tuition, and Budgetary Levels for FY 2026

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2026 Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-044

Key Dates

Release Date: March 18, 2026

Related Announcements

• May 16, 2025 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2024. See Notice NOT-OD-25-105

Issued by

Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)

Purpose

This Notice supersedes NOT-OD-25-105 and establishes stipend levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026 Kirschstein-NRSA awards for undergraduate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral trainees and fellows, as shown in the tables below, which reflect the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (Public Law 119-75), signed into law on February 3, 2026. The Training Related Expenses and Institutional Allowances for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees and fellows remain unchanged from the prior budget year. The Tuition and Fees for all educational levels remain unchanged from the prior budget year. Guidance on Fiscal Operations for FY 2026 will be posted on the NIH Funding Strategies webpage.

The budgetary categories described in this Notice apply only to Kirschstein-NRSA awards made with FY 2026 funds. All FY 2026 awards previously issued using NOT-OD-25-105 will be revised to adjust funding to the FY 2026 levels. Appointments to institutional training grants that have already been awarded in FY 2026 must be amended to reflect the FY 2026 stipend levels once the training grant award has been adjusted by the NIH. Amended appointments must be submitted through xTrain in the eRA Commons. Retroactive adjustments or supplementation of stipends or other budgetary categories with Kirschstein-NRSA funds for an award made prior to October 1, 2025, are not permitted.

Stipends
Effective with all Kirschstein-NRSA awards made on or after October 1, 2025, the following annual stipend levels apply to all individuals receiving support through institutional research training grants or individual fellowships.

Undergraduates: For institutional training grants supporting undergraduate trainees (T34, TL4), appointments for undergraduate candidates will continue to be made by distinct categories (i.e., Freshmen/Sophomores and Juniors/Seniors), but the stipend levels for the categories will be the same:

| Career Level | Stipend for FY 2026 | Monthly Stipend |
| Freshmen/Sophomores/Juniors/Seniors | $14,916 | $1,243 |

Predoctoral Trainees and Fellows: For institutional training grants (T32, T35, T90, TL1) and individual fellowships (F30, F31), one stipend level is used for all predoctoral candidates, regardless of the level of experience.

| Career Level | Years of Experience | Stipend for FY 2026 | Monthly Stipend |
| Predoctoral | All | $29,364 | $2,447 |

Postdoctoral Trainees and Fellows: For institutional training grants (T32, T90, TL1) and individual fellowships (F32), the stipend level for the entire first year of support is determined by the number of full years of relevant postdoctoral experience when the award is issued. Relevant experience may include research experience (including industrial), teaching assistantship, internship, residency, clinical duties, or other time spent in a health-related field beyond that of the qualifying doctoral degree. Once the appropriate stipend level has been determined, the trainee or fellow must be paid at that level for the entire grant year. The stipend for each additional year of Kirschstein-NRSA support is the next level in the stipend structure and does not change mid-year.

| Career Level | Years of Experience | Stipend for FY 2026 | Monthly Stipend |
| Postdoctoral | 0 | $63,480 | $5,290 |
| Postdoctoral | 1 | $63,900 | $5,325 |
| Postdoctoral | 2 | $64,380 | $5,365 |
| Postdoctoral | 3 | $66,948 | $5,579 |
| Postdoctoral | 4 | $69,180 | $5,765 |
| Postdoctoral | 5 | $71,748 | $5,979 |
| Postdoctoral | 6 | $74,424 | $6,202 |
| Postdoctoral | 7 or More | $77,076 | $6,423 |

Senior Fellows (F33 only): The stipend level must be commensurate with the base salary or remuneration that would have been paid by the institution with which the individual is permanently affiliated when the award is issued, but cannot exceed the current Kirschstein-NRSA stipend limit set by the NIH for those with 7 or more years of experience. The level of Kirschstein-NRSA support will take into account concurrent salary support provided by the institution and the policy of the sponsoring institution. NIH support does not provide fringe benefits for senior fellows.

Relevant Policies
Current stipend levels are to be used in the preparation of future competing and non-competing NRSA institutional training grant and individual fellowship applications. They will be administratively applied to all applications currently in the review process.

NRSA support is limited to 5 years for predoctoral trainees (6 years for dual-degree training), and 3 years for postdoctoral fellows. The NIH provides eight levels of postdoctoral stipends to accommodate individuals who complete other forms of health-related training prior to accepting a Kirschstein-NRSA-supported position. (The presence of eight discrete levels of experience, however, does not constitute an endorsement of extended periods of postdoctoral research training).

It should be noted that the maximum amount that NIH will award to support the compensation package for a graduate student research assistant remains at the zero-level postdoctoral stipend, as described in section 2.3.7.9 of the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Tuition and Fees, Training Related Expenses, and Institutional Allowance for Kirschstein-NRSA Recipients

The NIH will provide funds for Tuition and Fees, Training Related Expenses, and Institutional Allowance as detailed below.

A. Tuition and Fees

Undergraduate and Predoctoral Trainees and Fellows: For institutional training grants (T32, T34, T35, T90, TL1, TL4) and individual fellowships (F30, F31), an amount per predoctoral trainee or fellow equal to 60% of the actual tuition level at the applicant institution, up to $16,000 per year, will be provided. If the trainee or fellow is enrolled in a program that supports formally combined, dual-degree training (e.g., MD/PhD, DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, AuD/PhD, DVM/PhD), the amount provided per trainee or fellow will be 60% of the actual tuition level, up to $21,000 per year.

Postdoctoral Trainees and Fellows: For institutional training grants (T32, T90, TL1) and individual fellowships (F32, F33), an amount per postdoctoral trainee or fellow equal to 60% of the actual tuition level at the applicant institution, up to $4,500 per year, will be provided. If the trainee or fellow is enrolled in a program that supports postdoctoral individuals in formal degree-granting training, an amount per postdoctoral trainee or fellow equal to 60% of the actual tuition level at the applicant institution, up to $16,000 per year, will be provided.

B. Training Related Expenses on Institutional Training Grants

For institutional training grants (T32, T35, T90, TL1), these expenses (including health insurance costs) for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees will be paid at the amounts shown below for all competing and non-competing awards made with FY 2026 funds.

• Predoctoral Trainees: $4,750
• Postdoctoral Trainees: $12,400 C. Institutional Allowance for Individual Fellows

This allowance for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows will be paid at the amounts shown below for all competing and non-competing awards made with FY 2026 funds.

Institutional Allowance for individual fellows (F30, F31, F32, F33) sponsored by non-Federal Public, Private, and Non-Profit Institutions (Domestic & Foreign, including health insurance):

• Predoctoral Fellows: $4,750

• Postdoctoral Fellows: $12,400
  Institutional Allowance for individual fellows (F30, F31, F32, F33) sponsored by Federal and For-Profit Institutions (including health insurance):

• Predoctoral Fellows: $3,650

• Postdoctoral Fellows: $11,300

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Specific questions concerning this notice or other policies relating to training grants or fellowships should be directed to the grants management office in the appropriate NIH Institute or Center, AHRQ, or HRSA.

General inquiries concerning NRSA stipend and tuition policies should be directed to:

NIH

Division of Biomedical Research Workforce
Office of Extramural Research
Office of the Director
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Website: https://researchtraining.nih.gov
Email: [email protected]

AHRQ

Division of Research Education
Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Email: [email protected]

HRSA
Division of Medicine and Dentistry
Bureau of Health Workforce
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Email: [email protected]

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