NIH institutional training grant programs (T32, and the related T90/TL1 mechanisms) run on Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) rules, and one of those rules changes almost every fiscal year: the stipend and budgetary-levels notice. For FY2026, NIH released an updated notice that changes what T32 programs must pay their trainees — the first substantive numbers movement research administration offices need to account for in non-competing and competing T32 awards issued this fiscal year.
The FY2026 stipend notice: NOT-OD-26-044
NIH’s NOT-OD-26-044, "Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2026," was released in March 2026 and applies to Kirschstein-NRSA awards issued on or after October 1, 2025 — meaning it governs every T32 non-competing continuation and new/competing award NIH has issued so far this fiscal year, whether or not the awarding institute has already processed the paperwork.
The headline change is the stipend table. Tuition/fees and the institutional-allowance/trainee-related-expense figures were held unchanged from the prior fiscal year — only the stipend levels themselves moved.
Predoctoral trainees
All predoctoral trainees and fellows under the Kirschstein-NRSA umbrella — T32, T90, TL1 institutional appointees and F30/F31 individual fellows alike — move to a flat $29,364/year ($2,447/month) stipend for FY2026, with no step-up by year in the program. That flat-rate structure (one predoctoral rate regardless of how many years a trainee has been in the program) has been NIH’s model in recent cycles; FY2026 changes the dollar figure, not the structure.
Postdoctoral trainees
Postdoctoral stipends under T32 (and T90/F32) remain tiered by full years of relevant postdoctoral experience at the time of award, fixed for that award year:
| Years of postdoctoral experience | Annual stipend | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | $63,480 | $5,290 |
| 1 | $63,900 | $5,325 |
| 2 | $64,380 | $5,365 |
| 3 | $66,948 | $5,579 |
| 4 | $69,180 | $5,765 |
| 5 | $71,748 | $5,979 |
| 6 | $74,424 | $6,202 |
| 7+ | $77,076 | $6,423 |
A postdoctoral trainee’s tier is set once, at the start of their NRSA appointment, based on total prior relevant postdoctoral experience — not adjusted annually as they accrue another year on the same T32 slot within a single appointment period.
What this means for T32 program administration
For grants-management staff running an institutional T32, the FY2026 notice has a few concrete, practical implications beyond just updating a spreadsheet:
- Non-competing continuation (Type 5) budgets need the current-year table. Every trainee appointed or reappointed under a T32 award issued on or after October 1, 2025 is paid at the FY2026 rate, regardless of what the original competing application’s out-year budget projected. RTDs (Research Training Data tables) and PHS 2271 Statements of Appointment submitted through xTrain should reflect the current notice, not a prior year’s figures.
- Tuition/fee and institutional-allowance planning does not change. Because those categories were held flat this cycle, programs that built FY2026 budget projections off the FY2025 tuition/allowance figures don’t need to revise that portion — only the stipend line moves.
- Indirect costs on T32 awards stay outside this notice. NRSA training grants are reimbursed indirect costs at a flat 8% of modified total direct costs (MTDC), excluding tuition/fees, subaward costs above $25,000, and equipment — not the institution’s negotiated F&A rate. That structure is unrelated to the stipend notice and hasn’t changed.
- Aggregate NRSA support limits and postdoctoral payback obligations are unaffected. The FY2026 notice resets dollar amounts, not eligibility or service-obligation rules: predoctoral NRSA support (T32, F30, F31) carries no payback obligation; postdoctoral NRSA support (T32, F32) still triggers a payback obligation for the first 12 months of support, discharged by the 13th and subsequent months of postdoctoral NRSA support or through qualifying health-related research, training, or teaching service.
What hasn’t changed
It’s worth being precise about scope here, since it’s easy to conflate a stipend update with a broader policy overhaul. As of this writing, the underlying T32 mechanism itself — parent funding opportunity announcement PA-25-168, "Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grant" — is unchanged: the program director remains the PD/PI of record (not the trainee), trainee selection into funded slots is an internal program process (application, interview, committee review within the institution, not run by NIH), and the combined aggregate support-year limits for institutional plus individual NRSA support at each career stage are unaffected. NOT-OD-26-044 is a budgetary-levels notice, not a competing-application-requirements notice.
Frequently asked questions
When does the FY2026 stipend level apply to a T32 award?
To Kirschstein-NRSA awards issued on or after October 1, 2025 — this covers new/competing T32 awards and non-competing continuations processed during FY2026, regardless of when the original competing application projected out-year stipend costs.
Did tuition and fee allowances change for FY2026?
No. NOT-OD-26-044 held tuition/fees and the institutional-allowance/trainee-related-expense figures unchanged from the prior fiscal year; only the stipend table moved.
Does the postdoctoral stipend tier reset every year a trainee is on the grant?
No. A postdoctoral trainee’s tier is fixed at the start of their NRSA appointment based on total years of relevant prior postdoctoral experience, not re-assessed annually within the same appointment period.
Where can RA offices verify the current, authoritative figures?
Directly against the live NIH Guide notice (NOT-OD-26-044) and NIH’s Kirschstein-NRSA stipends summary page — this figure set is reissued roughly annually, tied to the federal fiscal year, so any secondary summary (including this one) should be checked against the current notice before being used in a live budget.
