We offer a range of funding opportunities, including:
Internal Fellowships: These are offered by the UCSF School of Nursing and are highly prestigious financial support offers that are awarded to nursing students. Review our list of internal fellowships.
Extramural Fellowships: School of Nursing students are encouraged to apply for extramural fellowships, which are fellowships for which a non-University sponsor selects the student from a national or international competition. Sponsors include government agencies, corporations and foundations. In addition to conferring valuable distinction and prestige on the recipient, many of these external fellowships provide generous stipends, which often exceed the stipends from fellowships provided by the University. Extramural awards come in all forms and amounts, for single or multiple years of enrollment, and typically include tuition and/or components, with restrictions varying from fellowship to fellowship.
Endowed Funds: The School of Nursing, through the generosity of our donors, is very fortunate to have endowed funds that provide financial support for enrolled nursing students. The specificity of the fund criteria varies greatly in terms of academic standing, leadership qualities, diversity and/or financial need. This information, along with other pertinent information, will be used to consider you for a broad range of awards in the School. Some scholarship requirements vary in the interpretation of financial need. By completing the FAFSA, you will give yourself the best opportunity to be reviewed for all scholarships.
Scholarships: These are financial awards that support graduate study. Most are awarded by universities, graduate programs or outside funding agencies, and are based on academic merit. Some awards factor in financial need or other grantee-specified criteria. Students apply for any scholarships for which they are eligible upon completion of the School of Nursing student funding scholarship application and their FAFSA. Some scholarships require additional application processes. See the Scholarships webpage for detailed information and instructions on how to complete the application.
Traineeships: Training grants are derived from agencies outside the University and are intended to support specific student learning experiences in core curricular areas and research methods. Institutional awards, typically under the direction of a faculty principal investigator, afford funding to support selected students with stipends, tuition grants-in-aid, and often include a subsidy for medical insurance.
Teaching Assistant (TA) Positions: Priorities for Teaching Assistant (TA) positions are reserved for PhD students receiving the Graduate Dean’s Health Sciences Fellowship (GDHSF) and PhD students in their fourth and fifth years. Please indicate that you are receiving the GDHSF on your application. Unless otherwise noted, all qualified applicants will be considered for available TA positions. Graduate Student Research (GSR) / Research Assistant (RA) positions remain open to all qualified students. Please check with the contact person for more details and consult our Student Jobs listing.
Academic Appointments: Most academic departments and programs offer a limited number of research or teaching assistantships, which can provide you with income as well as valuable experience to build your CV. An academic appointment is an excellent way for students to earn funding while advancing their own research. Students appointed to student academic title codes must be registered at UCSF and in good academic standing. For more detailed information, visit the Graduate Division webpage on Academic Appointments.
Financial Aid Programs: Education loans are available through the UCSF Student Financial Services Department and eligibility criteria apply. For more details about the student loan options, visit the Student Financial Services website.
NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31): The U.S. Department of Health Services Ruth Kirschstein National Services Award (NRSA) fellowship provides support to PhD students who are performing dissertation research and training in scientific health related fields.
The purpose of the predoctoral fellowship (F31) award is to provide support for promising doctoral students who will be performing dissertation research and training in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes during the tenure of the award. The Kirschstein-NRSA for Individual Predoctoral Fellows will provide up to five years of support for research training which leads to the PhD or equivalent research degree, the combined MD/PhD degree, or another formally combined professional degree and research doctoral degree in the biomedical, behavioral or clinical sciences. At the time of appointment, students must be a U.S. citizen, noncitizen national, or lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent resident. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. Visit the NIH website.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research: The largest funder of biomedical research in the world, the NIH funds research in just about every area that's remotely related to human health and disease. The NIH website includes extensive information about NIH grants, as well as a place to search NIH funding programs. NIH also has an advanced search page, which offers a wide range of search options.
Faculty Loan Program (NFLP): The Nurse Faculty Loan Program is a federal program designed to increase the number of nursing students who pursue careers as full-time faculty teaching in schools of nursing. The program is funded by the Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Health Professions, and allows nursing schools to make loans to their students who are enrolled full-time in advanced degree nursing programs. Recipients can receive financial awards for the academic year to offset a portion of the cost of tuition, books, fees and other reasonable educational expenses. Awards may be renewable for a maximum of up to three years but this is contingent upon ongoing federal funding and therefore subject to change.