Sloan Research Fellowships for early-career scientists in USA and Canada ($75,000 awarded)

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Sloan Research Fellowships for early-career scientists - in USA and Canada for $75,000

Closing Date: 15 September 2026

Sloan Research Fellowships support fundamental research conducted by early-career scientists.

The two-year $75,000 fellowships are awarded annually to early-career researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of leaders.

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, or a related field.
Candidates must be members of the faculty of a college, university, or other degree-granting institution in the U.S. or Canada.
Candidates must be tenure-track, though untenured, as of September 15 of the nomination year.
Candidate’s faculty position must carry a regular teaching obligation.

Nomination

In order to be considered for a Sloan Research Fellowship, a candidate must have a letter of nomination from a department head or other senior researcher. Submissions unaccompanied by a nomination letter from a senior researcher are not accepted.
More than one candidate from a department may be nominated per fellowship field, but no more than three.

Nomination Letters and Letters of Support are important elements of the selection process and are read carefully by Selection Committees. The letters allow nominators and support writers to give Committee members insight about nominees that is not present in their other application materials (CV, publication list, etc.). Selection Committees recommend that letters of support be submitted by someone who can speak objectively and knowledgeably about the quality and significance of a nominee’s work. Letters submitted by co-authors, personal associates, or professional mentors are, in this sense, less useful to Selection Committees than letters submitted by those with more professional distance from a nominee’s work.

Materials Required

A letter from a department head or other senior researcher officially nominating the candidate and describing his or her qualifications, initiative, and research;
The candidate’s curriculum vitae (including a list of the candidates scientific publications);
Two representative articles by the candidate that highlight his or her independent research;
A brief (one-page) statement by the candidate describing his or her significant scientific work and immediate research plans;
Three letters from other researchers (preferably not all from the same institution) written in support of the candidate’s nomination.

Selection

Nominations are reviewed and candidates selected by an independent selection committee of distinguished scientists in each eligible field.

Fellows are selected on the basis of their independent research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in the scientific community through their contributions to their field.

Deadlines

The nomination period for the 2027 Sloan Research Fellowships opened on July 15, 2026 and closes on September 15, 2026.
The online nomination portal can be accessed at https://apsloan.smapply.io/prog/2027_sloan_research_fellowships/

Terms of Awards

Fellowships are for a two-year term, beginning on September 15^th of the award year.
Fellowships are paid in a single lump sum.
The Fellowship amount is $75,000.
Fellowship funds may be used by the fellow for any expense judged supportive of the fellow’s research including staffing, professional travel, lab expenses, equipment, or summer salary support.
Fellowship funds may not be used for indirect costs or overhead charges.
Fellows are obligated to notify the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation if they are changing institutions.
Once per year, Fellows (or their institution) are obligated to submit both a substantive report (detailing what is being done) and a financial report (detailing how much money has been spent and on what).

The above terms and conditions are spelled out in more detail in the formal fellowship agreement. Please see the For Current Fellows tab for more information.

The Sloan Research Fellowship Program recognizes and rewards outstanding early-career faculty who have the potential to revolutionize their fields of study.

Questions about how these eligibility requirements apply to you? See FAQ page or email at [email protected]