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The AHA Predoctoral Fellowship is the American Heart Association’s individual training award for doctoral students. It pays the student a stipend, but it does not pay for the research itself, and that single fact shapes most of the application decisions below. Everything here is as described on the official AHA program page and the AHA program description (RFP) PDF on 2026-10-29; AHA revises its program descriptions every cycle, so confirm dollar amounts and deadlines on the current page before you plan.
What it is and who runs it
The American Heart Association (AHA) runs the fellowship through its research programs office and accepts proposals in its ProposalCentral portal. The program description says the award is meant to “enhance the integrated research and clinical training of promising students” who are matriculated in pre-doctoral or clinical health professional degree programs, with the aim of careers in cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and brain health.
It sits at the start of AHA’s training ladder. The next rung is the Postdoctoral Fellowship, and later comes the AHA Career Development Award. For how AHA fits among other disease-charity funders, see disease charity research funding.
Eligibility (summary, with the official source)
The official source is the AHA Predoctoral Fellowship page at professional.heart.org. In summary:
- Degree status at application: enrolled in a post-baccalaureate doctoral program (PhD, MD, DO, DVM, PharmD, DDS, DrPH, a PhD in nursing or public health, or equivalent) and a full-time student working toward that degree, seeking research training under a sponsor.
- At award activation: you must have completed initial coursework and be able to devote full-time effort to research.
- Institution: awards go to US-based non-profit institutions. US residence is not required before applying, but a qualifying immigration status is needed when the proposal is submitted (the page lists examples such as citizen, permanent resident, F-1, H-1B and J-1). The program description adds that an awardee must maintain an AHA-accepted visa for the whole award.
- Membership: AHA Professional Membership is required at submission. The page advises allowing 3 to 5 days for processing, and mentors are expected to keep their membership too.
- Not eligible: people holding faculty or staff rank.
What it funds or requires
Awards run for 1 or 2 years. In the cycle described on the page, the money is:
| Component | Amount in the cycle described on the page | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Stipend | $28,788 per year | Matches the NIH predoctoral stipend level in effect on July 1, 2025 |
| Health insurance | $4,550 per year | May be used for insurance only |
| Project support | $2,000 per year | No line-item limit |
| Indirect costs | None | AHA does not pay indirect costs on fellowships |
The stipend is pegged to the NIH level at the date AHA starts accepting proposals, so it moves from cycle to cycle. The 2025 program description lists $28,224 (the NIH level as of July 1, 2024), against $28,788 in the later cycle. Budget from the current page, not from last year’s figure.
The fellow “receives only a stipend.” Research costs beyond the small project-support line must come from the mentor’s laboratory, so a sponsor without funding for your project is a real obstacle, not a formality.
Application and compliance steps
- Get your AHA Professional Membership early, because processing takes days and it is required at submission.
- Write the proposal yourself. The limit is 5 pages, and the fellow has primary responsibility for writing it. Do not put hyperlinks to data or figures in the proposal documents. You may present preliminary data generated by the mentor.
- Prepare the training plan. Individual Development Plans are encouraged but not required. AHA states that a standardized training plan “will not be viewed favorably,” so write one specific to you and your sponsor.
- Arrange three reference letters. Referents upload them directly by the deadline, and the proposal cannot be submitted without them.
- Disclose any use of LLM or AI tools at submission, as the page requires.
- Submit in ProposalCentral with the institutional signatures.
Who cannot write your reference letters
The referent cannot be your mentor, co-mentor, department head, or a collaborator or consultant on the proposal. Letters with similar language are penalized in the Evaluation of the Applicant score, so ask each referent to write independently. Because letters are uploaded by the referents, a missing letter blocks submission, which is why asking early matters more than any other step.
How proposals are scored
As described on the page, review uses four criteria, each worth one-third of the score on a 1 to 9 scale: Summary for Non-Scientists, Evaluation of the Applicant, Mentor/Training Plan and Environment, and Evaluation of the Proposal. AHA may triage “a minimum of half of the submissions,” which means a proposal that is vague on any one criterion can be removed before full discussion. Applicants may not contact reviewers.
Typical timeline phases
The program description describes the same sequence each cycle, without fixed calendar dates you should rely on:
- The program description is posted in spring.
- ProposalCentral opens on July 1.
- The proposal deadline falls in early autumn.
- Applicants are notified in December.
- Awards start on January 1.
Check the current page for the actual deadline and time zone for your cycle.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the award pays for the project. It pays a stipend, insurance and a small project line; the lab must fund the rest.
- Duplicating the mentor’s grant. A mentor grant and a fellowship with identical or similar content are prohibited, and both may be removed.
- Ignoring the mentor cap. A mentor may have at most 4 AHA-funded fellows and 2 AHA-supported student fellows.
- Choosing the wrong referent. See the list above; the portal will not accept the proposal without letters.
- Submitting more than one application per deadline, or applying while holding another AHA research award. You may hold only one AHA research award at a time, although the 2025 program description allows an application to the Postdoctoral Fellowship in the last year.
- Overlooking other training support. A start may be deferred up to 6 months for someone holding another training grant, with AHA’s prior approval. Other supplementation is allowed, but not a comparable fellowship. For how institutions handle trainee support, see stipend conflict of interest for trainees.
Related programs (table)
| Program | Stage | Duration | Indirect costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHA Predoctoral Fellowship | Doctoral student | 1 or 2 years | None paid by AHA |
| NIH F31 (predoctoral fellowship) | Doctoral students | See the NIH guide below | See the NIH guide below |
| AHA Career Development Award | Early-career investigators | Multi-year | See the AHA Career Development Award guide |
The NIH side is covered in NIH fellowships F30, F31, F32 and F33. The AHA award is capped at 2 years, so compare its length against the NIH fellowship terms in that guide before you choose. For the broader picture see funding for a doctorate and NIH career development K awards for what comes after training.
FAQ
How much does the AHA Predoctoral Fellowship pay?
In the cycle described on the official page, the stipend is $28,788 per year, plus $4,550 per year for health insurance and $2,000 per year for project support. AHA does not pay indirect costs on fellowships.
How long does the award last?
One or two years.
Do I need to be a US citizen?
No. US residence is not required before applying, but a qualifying immigration status is required at submission, and an AHA-accepted visa must be maintained throughout the award.
Can my mentor write one of my reference letters?
No. Referents cannot be the mentor, co-mentor, department head, or a collaborator or consultant on the proposal.
Does the stipend change every year?
Yes, it follows the NIH predoctoral stipend level at the date AHA starts accepting proposals.
Sources
- American Heart Association, Predoctoral Fellowship program page: https://professional.heart.org/en/research-programs/aha-funding-opportunities/predoctoral-fellowship. Checked 2026-10-29.
- American Heart Association, 2025 Predoctoral Fellowship program description (PDF): https://professional.heart.org/en/-/media/PHD-Files/Research/Research-Policies-and-Awardee-Hub-Media-Folder/Past-Program-Descriptions-for-Inst-Officers/2025/2025-AHA-Predoctoral-Fellowship.pdf. Checked 2026-10-29.
