NIH / NCI
Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T32)
The T32 is an INSTITUTIONAL training grant — a cancer center or department holds it and appoints trainees to funded 'slots.' A predoctoral student does not apply to NIH for a T32; you compete locally for a slot in an existing program. FY2026 predoctoral stipend is $29,364/yr plus ~$4,750 training-related expenses and ~$800 travel. NRSA support is capped at 6 years predoctoral aggregate. Undergraduates are not T32-eligible.
Who Can Apply
Award Amount
$2,026
Deadline
Parent T32 (2026)
Estimated
Topics
Cancer Center T32 Institutional Training Grant
The T32 is how a cancer center builds a pipeline of funded PhD and postdoctoral trainees. It is institution-held: an NCI-designated center (like Huntsman Cancer Institute) or department receives the grant and appoints individual trainees to slots (NCI T32; Parent T32).
What this means for you
You do not submit a T32 application to NIH. Instead, once you are a PhD student (or postdoc), you apply locally to be appointed to an existing T32 program in your area. The program director selects trainees for the funded slots. So your path is: enroll in a PhD program → identify the relevant T32 → compete internally for a slot.
This is a predoctoral (and postdoctoral) opportunity at the trainee level, and a faculty-held grant at the PI level. Undergraduates are not eligible.
Structure
- T32s may support predoctoral only, postdoctoral only, or combined training.
- A new or renewing T32 may request up to 6 trainee slots per budget year (NCI T32).
What it pays (FY2026)
- Predoctoral stipend: $29,364/yr (~$2,447/mo) — single level for all predoctoral trainees regardless of experience.
- Postdoctoral stipend: experience-based, set by years of relevant postdoctoral experience at appointment.
- Training-related expenses (TRE): ~$4,750/yr per predoc, ~$12,400/yr per postdoc.
- Travel: ~$800 per predoc, ~$1,000 per postdoc.
(Source: .)