Scholarship
NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP)
National Institutes of Health
Award
tuition and educational expenses plus paid NIH research training (see official UGSP terms)
Deadline
~May 22, 2027
Estimated; confirm on sponsor site
Scholarship and research-training program for disadvantaged-background undergraduates committed to biomedical, behavioral, or social science research careers. Includes paid summer research at NIH and a post-graduation service commitment.
Eligibility
- Grade levels
- College undergraduate
- Citizenship
- U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Minimum GPA
- 3.3
- Fields of study
- Science, Health medicine, Social sciences, Research
- Essay
- Required
Special eligibility to verify
- Disadvantaged-background eligibility: UGSP is limited to students from a disadvantaged background (as NIH defines it) with exceptional financial need — a status the profile does not capture. Confirm you meet NIH's definition before applying. The post-graduation service payback is a condition of accepting the award, tracked in the checklist, not an eligibility gate.
Application requirements
- Create NIH Application Center profile: Complete profile and start the Undergraduate Scholarship Program application in the NIH Application Center.
- Pass the UGSP eligibility screener: Confirm you meet citizenship, enrollment, GPA, and exceptional-financial-need requirements before submitting.
-
Submit personal statement and coursework list: Application requires coursework history and a personal statement describing research interests and goals.
Prompts revealed after registration on the sponsor site.
- Arrange Exceptional Financial Need certification: Financial aid office must complete EFN certification by the published deadline.
- Submit three references: References must be received by the published reference deadline.
Verified Jun 21, 2026 · View official source