PhD Students

Degree Logistics

Step-By-Step Overview of Timing/Actions Required to Complete Fulfillment of PhD Degree Requirements 

Forms and where to send them:

Forms page: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/students/registrar/forms

Please send the following forms to PhDforms@tufts.edu

A Guide to Fellowships

The following table of fellowship opportunities has been compiled by the Friedman School's Training Grant, Fellowship, and Finance Coordinator.

Fellowship NIFA/AFRI F31 GRFP
Mechanism USDA NIH NSF
Application Dates July 19, 2018 April 6, August 8, December 8, 2018 October 22-26
(based on field of study)
What does it pay for?

Predoctoral Fellowship: up to 2 years

$35,000 stipend per year

$22,00 tuition, fees, benefits, travel, workshops, supplies, and publications per year.

$3,000 Institutional allowance (in lieu of indirect costs) 

Predoctoral Fellowship: up to 5 years (typically 2-3 years)

$24,324 stipend per year

60% of tuition up to $16,000 per year

$9,850 institutional allowance (including health insurance costs)

Predoctoral Fellowship: up to 3 years of support

$34,000 stipend per year

$12,000 cost-of-education allowance per year
Topic Areas

AFRI Farm Bill Priority Areas:

1. Agriculture economics and rural communities.

2. Agriculture systems and technology

3. Animal health, production, and products

4. Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment.

5. Food safety, nutrition, and health

6. Plant health, production, and products.

 NIH Participating Organizations
There are over 20 NIH participating organizations, please visit the link above to view the complete list.

NSF Fields of Study:

1. Life Science, Geosciences

2. Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Engineering, Materials Research

3.Psychology, Social Sciences, STEM Education and Learning

4. Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences, Physics and Anatomy
Stage of Research The intent of the Predoctoral Fellowship Program is to support current doctoral students who are at the stage of conducting dissertation research, ultimately leading to completion of the dissertation and respective terminal degree. Predoctoral students, inclusive of those with baccalaureate and/or master’s degrees, who meet the criteria, may apply. *The predoctoral project director (PD) must be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States. The purpose of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (Parent F31) is to enable promising predoctoral students to obtain individualized, mentored research training from outstanding faculty sponsors while conducting dissertation research. Applicants for the F31 must be candidates for the PhD degree and have identified a dissertation research project and sponsor(s). * By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. Effective as of the 2017, graduate students are limited to only one application to the GRFP, submitted either in the first year or in the second year of graduate school.

*The applicant must be a US citizen or permanent resident by the application deadline.

Other Funding Opportunities

Job Opportunities

How to find them:

Friedman Career Services, including a section on developing a CV and applying for academic positions: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/students/career-services

Local, on-going opportunities to do a postdoc:

Tufts IRACDA Program - The Tufts IRACDA program is a four-year program. A typical course of training includes research, career development and teaching activities.

Tufts CTSI TL1 Fellowship Program – For those with an interest in clinical and translational research, you are encouraged to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship. These are prestigious, NIH-funded programs that provide a stipend and full tuition for the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) Graduate Program.

Professional Development

Current workshops and opportunities

On-going programs

Hirsh Health Sciences Library workshops - Sackler 510 (145 Harrison Avenue)

The library offers workshops on various topics, including EndNote, PubMed and literature searching, and developing presentations.  See their calendar for details.

Resources for Scientific Manuscript Writing

Self-learning online resources:

Non-Degree Coursework offered by Tufts Clinical Translational Science Graduate Program:

  • Popular among students, Fall course taught by Jessica Paulus, Scientific Manuscript Writing, focuses on principles of scientific manuscript writing in greater detail for early stage researchers. This course is listed in SIS under CTS-0537 Sci Manuscript Writing. 
  • Students may also consider taking two courses in a year-long series, Fall with Jessica  and Spring with Rob Goldberg, PhD. Meeting all criteria and approval from the faculty instructor, non-matriculated students can enroll. Each course costs $1667 (Tufts or Northeastern students may be eligible for free or reduced tuition). Applications are due two weeks prior to the start of each semester. Follows the link here if you are interested:  https://sackler.tufts.edu/admissions/nonDegreePrograms/coursework

How to review a journal article:

The following links provide step-by-step guides on how to conduct a peer review of a journal article.  We recommend that you conduct your first reviews under the mentorship of your advisor, if possible.

Reading

Surviving the Doctorate and Beyond: Recommended Reading

University-Wide Resources

Dining

Local Restaurants (recommended by other Friedman doctoral students)