The Graduate College is pleased to offer a stipend incentive for currently enrolled UI graduate students to apply for approved nationally competitive grants and fellowships after receiving feedback from faculty and/or fellowships advisors. The 2025-2026 Fellowship Incentive Program (FIP) cycle offers a $250 incentive and is open from July 2025 through early June 2026. Once you've submitted your grant or fellowship application, submit this workflow form with proof of your submission.

For questions, please contact grad-success@uiowa.edu.

 

Eligibility and Instructions

  1. Get feedback on a written draft and meet with a primary faculty advisor before submitting your nationally competitive fellowship application.
  2. Get feedback on a written draft and meet with a fellowships advisor or secondary faculty/staff reader before submitting your nationally competitive fellowship or grant application. Individuals who may support your application include, but are not limited to:
    1. specialized fellowships advisors (see list).
    2. faculty from the same or other programs who provide feedback on the content of your proposal.
    3. staff from the same or other programs who provide feedback on the content of your proposal (not only routing and budget creation).
  3. Fill out the online FIP application form. (Note: If you are in a graduate program that spans multiple departments (e.g., Neuroscience, Molecular Medicine) and your program isn't listed, please select your home department.)
  4. After you submit your form, a workflow notification will be sent to your primary and secondary readers for verification. Readers must confirm in Workflow that they provided you with feedback on your written draft.

  5. The workflow will then be sent to the Graduate College for final confirmation with fellowships advisors. You will receive an email with instructions if there are any complications. 6. You will receive a confirmation email from UI Grad Success (grad-success@uiowa.edu) when all required steps are completed ("Fellowship Incentive Program Award Confirmation and Payment Information.")

     

Payment Timeline and Information

  • If you are enrolled and receiving federal financial aid through the Office of Student Financial Aid, please contact that office (financial-aid@uiowa.edu, 319-335-1450, 208 Calvin Hall) to discuss any possible impacts of this award on your financial aid.
  • For the 2025-2026 cycle, FIP applications submitted during Summer 2025 or Fall 2025 will have payment disbursed in December 2025 (end of fall semester); FIP submissions submitted during Spring 2026 will have payment disbursed in May 2026 (end of spring semester). We will send follow-up emails with the specific dates to notify you when disbursement happens.
    • If you have a financial emergency and need to receive your FIP payment sooner than the listed disbursement times, please contact grad-success@uiowa.edu.
  • The incentive stipend will be paid by UI Billing direct deposit.  If you do not have a direct deposit refund account set up, please add a refund account on myUI under FINANCES & BILLING > Bank Information - Refund Account.
    • Please note that if you have an unpaid charge on your UBill at the time of payment, the FIP funds will initially be automatically applied toward that balance.

Frequently asked questions

How many times can I apply for the Fellowship Incentive Program (FIP) in a year?

Graduate students are limited to 1 FIP award per fiscal year (e.g., June 2025 - May 2026). The fellowship/grant application must be submitted to the funding agency during the same fiscal year the FIP award is made.

If I received a Fellowship Incentive Program (FIP) award in a previous fiscal year (e.g., 2024-2025 or earlier), can I apply again?

Yes, you can apply again in other years as long as you are applying for another eligible nationally competitive fellowship. You will also need to obtain both faculty advisor and fellowships advisor feedback for the new proposal(s) before submitting them to the funding agency.

Are postdocs (or fellowships that would take effect as a postdoc) eligible for the Fellowship Incentive Program (FIP)?

No; at this time, FIP awards are available only for graduate students applying for large, nationally competitive grants or fellowships that would be in effect during your graduate program.

Are NIH resubmissions eligible for FIP?

For your first FIP application, either an NIH new submission or an NIH resubmission can be eligible as long as you meet all feedback eligibility requirements.

If you received a FIP award from your NIH original submission in a previous fiscal year (e.g., 2024-2025 or earlier), an NIH resubmission in a new fiscal year (e.g., 2025-2026 or later) also can be eligible for a new FIP if (A) all feedback requirements are met for each FIP submission (i.e., feedback for an original submission's FIP does not carry over for the resubmission's FIP) and (B) the resubmission must have made substantive changes from the original submission. Students cannot receive more than 1 FIP award within the same fiscal year, and the fellowship must be submitted within the same fiscal year as the FIP application (e.g., an April 2025 submission/resubmission during FY2024-2025 is not eligible for a FY2025-2026 FIP.)

I already submitted my fellowship, but I didn’t get feedback on my proposal from the Grad Success office before I submitted it to DSP/the funding agency. Am I eligible for the Fellowship Incentive Program (FIP)?

Only if you worked with a comparable fellowships advisor (such as those listed in eligibility step 2) to get feedback from an outside perspective in addition to faculty mentor advising. If you have a comparable fellowships advisor/specialist in your department who fills a similar role, please have them contact us at grad-success@uiowa.edu to coordinate with the Fellowship Incentive Program.

I submitted an application for a large, nationally competitive fellowship in a previous academic year (2024-2025 or earlier), but I didn’t work with a fellowships advisor at the time. Can I still be eligible for the Fellowship Incentive Program (FIP) for

Unfortunately, no. The fellowship/grant application must be submitted to the funding agency during the same fiscal year that the FIP application is submitted (example: an April 2025 submission during FY2024-2025 is not eligible for a FY2025-2026 FIP.)

Do I need to win the national fellowship to receive a FIP award?

No; while applicants are expected to make their national fellowship proposal competitive to the best of their abilities, FIP awards are independent of whether you win the national fellowship.

I have another question not answered here.

Please email grad-success@uiowa.edu.