Along with your mentor/advisor, Nursing Research and Sponsored Programs (NRSP) is here to help you grow your research, scholarship, and outreach programs. We support technical aspects of proposal submission and budget development. After the project is funded, NRSP will support you with project management, regulatory needs, and reporting lifecycle.
Talk with us early! Successful proposals often benefit from several month of learning and preparation.
Nursing Research Funding Opportunities
Nursing students are well-suited for diverse funding sources. Please work with your mentor on your ideas. NRSP can assist with funding search needs and connect you with relevant databases and email lists for your submission.
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What should I know before I apply for a federal grant?
There are many things to know. The top 4:
- Talk with your mentor about your proposal ideas. Your mentor can help you identify appropriate funding opportunities.
- Read and understand the funding priorities of different institutes: NIA example.
- Consider which submission deadline is a good fit for you. Typical F31 proposals are due Apr 8, Aug 8, or Dec 8. This generally means having reviewed aims and collaborator/mentor team established by Jan 14, May 16, or Sept 15.
- Consider the financial implications of a grant (e.g., salary, outside work restrictions), see NIA example link above.
Is there peer support on campus for grant proposals? What are other campus resources?
Yes, peer support is an excellent part of the proposal preparation experience. Find more peers through Graduate School events and expertise:
Can I read a sample of funded grants from School of Nursing students?
Yes, we have great examples of F31 proposals that were funded that the students gave permission for us to share with you. Reading example proposals is a great step in your proposal preparation. NIH also shares examples. Check your institute’s page for more examples.
What funding announcements are available now?
NRSP monitors and posts funding announcements that the community is eligible for. For a complete list of all announcements related to funding, please click the funding tag at the bottom of the announcement. Please check submission deadlines and opportunity expiration dates.
Links below bring you to a larger repository of funding announcements with our most common sponsors.
Federal Funding
Highly relevant to our community:
NIH Guide including NIH and DHHS funding opportunities
How NIH can help you become a research scientist
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Student Funding
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (Parent F31), deadlines: April 8; August 8; December 8
Non-Federal Funding
- Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS)
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing Financial Aid and Scholarships (aacnnursing.org)
- ONS (Oncology Nursing Society) Find Grants and Scholarships
- American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship
- Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar Award, due annually in January
- PIVOT – platform to identify new funding opportunities
- Create an account and use institutional login credentials
- Career stage: select “graduate student” or “predoc”
- International students: use citizenship search criteria
- Create an account and use institutional login credentials
Campus Opportunities
- Wisconsin Idea Fellowships, Priority deadline: annually in early January; Final deadline: annually in early February.
- Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowships, due annually in February.
- Holstrom Environmental Research Fellowships, due annually in February.
- Sophomore Research Fellowship, due annually in February.
- School of Nursing Research and Scholarship Awards, due annually in October.
Frequently Asked Questions: Grant applications and award management
Contact us to share your project ideas or ask questions, research@son.wisc.edu, or reach out to your mentor.
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What types of grants does NRSP help students with?
NRSP assists with a wide range of research project proposals and scientific training grants (e.g., federal, foundation, intramural) that include budgets and regulatory matters. Most proposals are approved by a faculty mentor, School of Nursing, and the UW-Madison’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP). Certain kinds of financial aid and scholarship grants do not require NRSP involvement. Please contact NRSP to confirm for your specific grant.
I’ve never submitted a research grant before. Where do I start?
Congratulations! Research grants are an important part of intellectual life. Start with conversations with your mentor and NRSP: research@son.wisc.edu. Read and understand the funding announcement requirements, review criteria and examples of recently awarded grants that are similar. Research grants have a lot of moving parts. Coordinating each step with your mentor and NRSP will help ensure a competitive application that is submitted on time.
What’s the process for submitting a letter of intent (LOI)?
It depends on the LOI requirements. If an authorized organizational signature is required, if budget information is included, or if there are terms and conditions listed in the LOI instructions, UW-Madison’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP), must review the LOI before it is submitted. NRSP will work with you and RSP to ensure the LOI contains all the necessary information.
NRSP requests records of all LOI even if it does not require campus-level review so we can start preparing for the full application.
I don’t have an eRA Commons account. The website says to contact my organization's accounts administrator. Who is that?
NRSP is your contact for setting up an eRA Commons account. The first step is to choose a unique profile name. Many people use their NetID. NRSP can ensure your profile name is not already in use. After you confirm a profile name, it takes about 15 minutes to complete the registration and activate your Commons profile. Your Commons profile will stay with you for your entire career and be updated as you acquire new degrees or affiliations.
I received my notice of award. Now what?
Congratulations! Receiving an award is very exciting. Share the news with NRSP, your team members, and collaborators. NRSP will work with campus on project set-up so you can begin spending your award. A number of things are typically needed before campus will activate the account. See the Award Status Checklist for additional guidance.
What is NRSP’s role in the loan repayment program?
NRSP plays a minimal role in the loan repayment program, but it’s good to know who is applying since UW-Madison’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP) may contact us to verify certain employment data. We can also help with biosketch or related documents if you wish.
Below is information about the institutional certification process:
The post-doc will create an Loan Repayment Program (LRP) account and then complete the application. RSP will receive an email containing instructions on how to access the institutional support forms and confirm the information below.
- Assures the applicant will be provided the necessary time and resources to engage in the research project for the period of the Loan Repayment Program award (two years for a new award and one or two years for a renewal award)
- Assures the applicant is or will be engaged in research for an average of 20 hours per week (a total of 240 hours during a 12-week quarter or a total of 260 hours during a 13-week quarter)
- Certifies the sponsoring entity is a domestic nonprofit institution (exempt from tax under 26USC 501)
- Confirms the applicant’s institutional annual base salary
- Confirms the applicant is a U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, or Permanent Resident of the U.S.
RSP works with the departments/dean’s offices to confirm the information. RSP can view the assurances and whether the application has been submitted or not. RSP can not see the entire application.
Institutional information:
- Campus legal name: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
- Address: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research & Sponsored Programs
21. N. Park Street, Suite 6401
Madison, WI 53715-1218 - Institutional Contact: Brenda Egan, preaward@rsp.wisc.edu
See campus guidance: frequently used information.
Why is so much time required for proposal development?
Proposals are an investment in time for you, mentors, NRSP, and campus. Each proposal requires different kinds of information. Most applicants are learning about proposal development as they develop their proposals. Like other skills, learning involves set-backs, refinements. This skill involves many quickly evolving ideas, perspectives, research, and reading. Proposals involve a very a different kind of writing, so there is often a fair amount of rewriting. Most successful proposals benefit from a careful mock review. Additional time is needed to fully respond to the review before submission.
UW-Madison’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP) requires submission to their unit 5 business days prior to the sponsor’s due date to accommodate the volume of applications they review for campus and the wide range of special considerations, corrections, and resubmission needs that arise during submission.
What is RAMP?
RAMP is a campus tool used to route, approve, and track extramural grant and contract activity. All proposal related communication between NRSP, RSP, and collaborating UW departments is generally handled through RAMP, not email. You will receive email notifications with links to act on your pending RAMP records. The information in RAMP is for campus use only and serves as a permanent record for PI proposal activity RAMP is also used to submit proposals via Grants.Gov. RAMP ensures no box is left unchecked and all components are fulfilled. We generate a PDF of the complete application in RAMP for your review prior to submission. NRSP will use RAMP to assemble your federal application.