Direct comparison
F31 vs. F32 — NIH Fellowships Compared
F31 (predoctoral) vs F32 (postdoctoral): how NIH's individual NRSA fellowships differ on eligibility, duration limits, stipend, and application mechanics.
Ask about F31 vs. F32 — NIH Fellowships Compared
Answers are drawn from this comparison and the rest of the CASRAI corpus, with a link to every source.
Answers are AI-generated from CASRAI’s own published pages and can be wrong, so check the linked sources before relying on one; your question is logged without personal data — never sold, never used to train a third-party model — to show us what CASRAI is missing, so please do not type personal or confidential details. How we use this
How do F31 (Predoctoral), F32 (Postdoctoral) compare side by side?
The table below compares F31 (Predoctoral), F32 (Postdoctoral) across 13 procurement-relevant dimensions, from full name through position in training pipeline.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | F31 (Predoctoral) | F32 (Postdoctoral) |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual NRSA Fellowship | Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual NRSA Fellowship |
| Who is eligible | Student enrolled in a research doctoral program, at the dissertation-research stage | Researcher who already holds, or is about to complete, a qualifying doctoral degree |
| Who holds the award | The student, as PD/PI, with a named faculty sponsor co-signing | The postdoctoral researcher, as PD/PI, with a named faculty sponsor supervising the training plan |
| Typical sponsor institution | Usually the student's own doctoral institution | Typically an institution other than the one that granted the applicant's doctorate |
| What it funds | Dissertation research training only (not clinical training) | A defined mentored postdoctoral training plan; no independent research budget |
| Aggregate NRSA support limit | Up to 5 years at the predoctoral level (6 for dual-degree F30), combining T32 + F31 time | Up to 3 years at the postdoctoral level, combining T32 + F32 time |
| FY2026 stipend | Flat $29,364/year ($2,447/month), no step-up by experience | Stepped by years of postdoctoral experience: $63,480/year at 0 years up to $77,076/year at 7+ years |
| Tuition/fees component | 60% of actual tuition/fees, up to $16,000/year | Institution-specific allowance set by the same annual NIH stipend notice |
| Institutional allowance | Fixed per-fellow amount for supplies, travel, training costs | Paid to host institution; covers the fellow's health insurance, supplies/equipment, books, travel |
| Parent funding opportunity | PA-25-422 | PA-25-423 |
| Standard application deadlines | April 8, August 8, December 8 (F-series standard cycle) | April 8, August 8, December 8 (F-series standard cycle) |
| Diversity-specific track | F31-Diversity, for candidates from underrepresented groups per NIH criteria | No parallel diversity-specific F32 track; standard F32 eligibility applies |
| Position in training pipeline | Doctoral stage — precedes the F32 | Postdoctoral stage — typically follows an F31 or T32, precedes K99/R00 |
Common questions
Common questions about F31 (Predoctoral) vs F32 (Postdoctoral)
Can a researcher hold both an F31 and an F32?
+
Yes, but not concurrently and not for overlapping career stages -- the F31 funds predoctoral dissertation research and the F32 funds postdoctoral training after the doctorate is conferred. A researcher who held an F31 as a student can separately apply for an F32 once the doctorate is complete; the two are sequential, not simultaneous.
Does time on a T32 institutional training grant count against F31 or F32 support limits?
+
Yes. NIH tracks aggregate Kirschstein-NRSA support separately at the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels, and each ceiling (5 years predoctoral, 3 years postdoctoral) combines any mix of institutional T32 time and individual F31/F32 time already received, not just time on the individual fellowship itself.
Does the F32 sponsor have to be at a different institution from the one that granted the applicant's PhD?
+
It isn't an absolute rule, but NIH's stated intent is for the fellow to train in a genuinely new research environment. An F32 application with a sponsor at the applicant's own doctoral institution typically needs to make a stronger case for why the proposed training is still substantively new.
Do the F31 and F32 use the same application deadlines?
+
Yes -- both fall under NIH's standard F-series fellowship deadlines of April 8, August 8, and December 8.
