RUTH L. KIRSCHSTEIN NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD (NRSA) STIPEND 
INCREASE AND OTHER BUDGETARY CHANGES EFFECTIVE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004

RELEASE DATE:  February 5, 2004

NOTICE:  NOT-OD-04-023 

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
 (http://www.nih.gov/)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
 (http://www.ahrq.gov/)
Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA)
 (http://www.hrsa.gov/)

The budgetary changes described below for Fiscal Year 2004 Kirschstein-
NRSA awards affect the stipend levels for undergraduate, predoctoral 
and postdoctoral trainees and fellows.  In addition, for informational 
purposes only, the Training Related Expenses for trainees and the 
Institutional Allowance for individual fellows are shown.  These budget 
categories are not being increased.  Only undergraduate, predoctoral 
and postdoctoral stipends are increased this fiscal year.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE DESCRIBED BUDGETARY CHANGES ARE EFFECTIVE 
ONLY FOR KIRSCHSTEIN-NRSA AWARDS MADE WITH FY 2004 FUNDS.  Retroactive 
adjustments or supplementation of stipends or other budgetary 
categories with Kirschstein-NRSA funds for an award made prior to 
October 1, 2003 is not permitted.  Budgetary adjustments for training 
grant and fellowship awards, therefore, will be made only at the time 
of the FY 2004 award.  Adjustments of stipends and other benefits for 
trainees will be made only at the time of appointment or reappointment 
to training grants made with FY 2004 funds.

STIPENDS:  Effective with all Kirschstein-NRSA awards made on or after 
October 1, 2003, the following annual stipend levels apply to all 
individuals receiving support through institutional research training 
grants or individual fellowships, including the Minority Access to 
Research Career (MARC) and Career Opportunities in Research (COR) 
programs.  These awards are made under the authority of Section 487 of 
the Public Health Service Act (as amended).

The stipend levels are as follows:

Career Level                                    Stipend for FY 2004

Undergraduates in the MARC and COR Programs
    Freshmen/Sophomores                                 $  7,812
    Juniors/Seniors                                     $ 10,956

Predoctoral                                             $ 20,772

Postdoctoral
    Years of Experience
            0                                           $ 35,568
            1                                           $ 37,476
            2                                           $ 41,796
            3                                           $ 43,428
            4                                           $ 45,048
            5                                           $ 46,992
            6                                           $ 48,852
            7 or more                                   $ 51,036

Competing and non-competing awards issued on or after October 1, 2003, 
which used the FY2003 stipend schedule, will be revised by the NIH 
awarding component to reflect the new stipend levels.  The new stipend 
levels are to be used in the preparation of future competing and non-
competing NRSA institutional training grant and individual fellowship 
applications.  They will be administratively applied to all 
applications now in the review process.

The NIH remains committed to gradual stipend increases for predocs and 
postdocs as articulated in the NIH Statement in Response to the 
National Academy of Sciences Report: Addressing the Nation's Changing 
Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists, which is available at 
http://grants.nih.gov/training/nas_report/NIHResponse.htm.   In keeping 
with that statement, the NIH encourages institutions to limit the 
duration of graduate and postdoctoral training to the extent possible.  
In most cases, graduate and postdoctoral research training from any 
source should not exceed 6 years and 5 years, respectively.  The NIH 
retains eight levels of postdoctoral stipends to accommodate 
individuals who complete other forms of health-related training prior 
to accepting a Kirschstein-NRSA supported position.  The presence of 
eight discrete levels of experience should not be construed as an 
endorsement of extended periods of postdoctoral research training.  

It should be noted that the increase in the zero level postdoctoral 
stipend will increase the maximum amount that NIH will award to support 
the compensation package for a graduate student research assistant as 
described at 
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-017.html. 

INSTITUTIONAL ALLOWANCE AND TRAINING RELATED EXPENSES FOR KIRSCHSTEIN-
NRSA RECIPIENTS:

The Training Related Expenses for each predoctoral and postdoctoral 
trainee as well as the Institutional Allowance for all predoctoral and 
postdoctoral fellows remains at the amounts shown below for all awards 
made with FY 2004 funds:

Training Related Expenses on Institutional Training Grants

Predoctoral Trainees:           $2,200
Postdoctoral Trainees:          $3,850

Institutional Allowance on Individual Fellows Sponsored by non-Federal 
Public & Private Institutions (Domestic & Foreign)

Predoctoral Fellows:            $2,750
Postdoctoral Fellows:           $5,500

Institutional Allowance for Individual Fellows Sponsored by Federal and 
For-Profit Institutions

Predoctoral Fellows:            $1,650
Postdoctoral Fellows:           $4,400

Expenses allowed within these cost categories are described in the 
appropriate program announcements, which can be found at 
http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm.  These amounts will be applied 
to all competing and non-competing NRSA awards made with FY 2004 funds.  
These levels are to be used in the preparation of future competing and 
non-competing Kirschstein-NRSA institutional training grant and 
individual fellowship applications.  They will be administratively 
applied to all applications now in the review process.

INQUIRIES

Questions concerning this notice or other policies relating to training 
grants or fellowships should be directed to the grants management 
office in the appropriate NIH Institute or Center.

Walter L. Goldschmidts, Ph.D.
Acting Research Training Officer
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 3516
Bethesda, Maryland  20892-7963
Phone:  (301) 451-4225
FAX:  (301) 480-0146
Email:  [email protected]

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