New eligibility criteria for the 2025 call for applications: We invite applications from all Brown graduate students in Brain Science, including those with external funding. External funding includes, but is not limited to, individual fellowships and support through the Brown Graduate Partnership Program. If a student has external funding, they will only be eligible for the $2,000 professional development component of the Carney Graduate Award. Students with external funding should indicate this on the application form and complete the full application requirements. Any questions about what qualifies as external funding should contact the Carney Institute’s Associate Director of Training and Development, Kristin Webster. 

Applicants must have chosen their dissertation advisor and must have passed their qualifying examinations and have advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. We encourage applications from students from underrepresented groups in their fields. International students are eligible to apply. 

We accept applications in any research area of brain science. However, some funding for Carney graduate awards is directed toward specific research areas. For consideration for funding from the Daniel Cooper Graduate Student Fellowship Fund, we encourage applications for research related to brain circuitry, neurotransmitters, and neuromodulation in psychiatric illness and human behavior. For consideration for funding from the Dr. Achilles Frangistas Fund, we encourage applications for research related to neurodegeneration. All applications will be evaluated together; it is NOT necessary to state special consideration for a specific fund.

The deadline for applications is Friday, March 7, 2025, at 5 p.m. EST.

Applications will be accepted through UFunds. Search for “Carney Graduate Awards” – “Academic Year 2025/2026.” Applicants must complete the application form, including:

• Applicant information – The UFunds form will request the applicant’s name, graduate program, mentor’s name and department and whether they have an external source of support, such as a fellowship.
• Project – Upload a 2-page pdf document describing the candidate’s research project (file name should start with applicant's last name). This document should be accessible to a general scientific audience. Please include title, project relevance to brain science, specific goals, approach, progress to date, and anticipated progress during the fellowship year. Any figures or references must be included within the 2-page limit. As a general guideline, applicants should allocate roughly 1 page to the full scope of their research project and allocate 1 page to what they specifically plan to do during the 12 months as a Carney Graduate Awardee.
• CV – Upload a 2-page pdf document including publications, abstracts, educational history, and other professional experience (file name should start with applicant's last name).
• Contributions to Brown’s brain science community – Description of how the candidate and their research will contribute to the collaborative environment at the Carney Institute. Examples include, but are not limited to: the nature of the research project itself (interdisciplinarity of the research, collaboration across fields, etc.), educational and outreach activities, or efforts to create a more inclusive and welcoming brain science community. UFunds form answers are limited to 400 words. 
• Contributions to mentoring  – Description of the candidate’s experience with and approach to mentoring less-experienced/more junior scientists. UFunds form answers are limited to 400 words. 
• Career impact – Description of how the candidate imagines the impact of their research and career. Applicants should describe not simply what they will do (i.e. type of position) but how their work, regardless of sector, will benefit science and society. UFunds form answers are limited to 400 words. 

Applicants must also arrange for at least two letters of support. The letters should address the candidate’s academic record, scientific maturity, independence, and provide field-specific context for the applicant’s scientific productivity. Through UFunds, applicants indicate the email address and name of the recommenders. A request will be sent to each of them with a link to fill out a separate form and upload the letters. 

• Faculty Mentor  – 1-page statement of support, including source of funding for the candidate’s project (mentor funding levels will be considered only to the extent that they allow the candidate to perform their research). The mentor’s statement of support should also assess the student’s productivity relative to other students at the same point in training in the same or similar field. 
• Member of the student’s thesis or advisory committee at Brown University  – 1-page statement of support. 

Please note that following submission, we will contact all applicants’ Directors of Graduate Studies to confirm that they are in good academic standing.

Responsive applications will be evaluated based on the following review criteria:

• Scientific merit (Project)
• Research productivity and independence (CV and letters of support). This could include, for example, number and quality of papers and presentations, generation of shared datasets and research tools, evidence of intellectual contribution to the applicant’s own project as well as other projects in the laboratory.
• Potential contributions to the Carney community
• Potential contributions to mentoring
• Independence and scientific vision (career impact and letters of support)

Reviewers will be asked to review and score each candidate according to the evaluation criteria, as well as provide an overall ranking. Final rankings and funding decisions will be based on a holistic assessment of the student’s scientific accomplishments and future career potential, rather than a sum of scores of the individual criteria. Where appropriate, we will also consider how applications meet the goals and purposes stipulated for specific funds that support Carney graduate awards.

Questions?

Questions about the Graduate Awards in Brain Science should be directed to Kristin Webster, Carney’s Associate Director of Training & Development.