Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution

The submission deadline is July 31, 2025, 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern time. Please plan carefully with your institution and references to meet this deadline.

Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon and navigate to the Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution call. Click the Create Application button to begin. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.

Informational videos on submitting applications in SAM can be found here.

Please note that in the event of budgetary or other considerations, The Simons Foundation, Inc. reserves the right to refer an application to The Simons Foundation International, Ltd. (SFI) for consideration and funding, in which case SFI’s grant policies would apply.

FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION – LETTER OF INTENT (LOI) SUBMISSION:

Applicant: The graduate fellow should be listed in the applicant role, which is titled “Fellow” for this award type.

Institution:

Applicants who have been accepted to a Ph.D. program:
The institution that will administer the fellowship and have primary contractual responsibility for the fellowship, if awarded, should be listed here, even if the fellow is not at the institution yet.

Applicants who have not yet been accepted to a Ph.D. program:
These applicants should use the institution name “No Affiliation.”

In SAM, the institution name will default to the institution affiliated with the applicant’s user account. To associate your SAM profile with another institution, please click here for instructions. If you need to change the institution listed on your application, please contact [email protected].

• Proposal Tab:
  • Applicant Details: Enter ORCID iD. The applicant may use the Edit Profile button to update their information as needed.
  • Degrees: Enter all academic degrees. If you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or master’s degree program, enter your anticipated graduation date.
  • Application Details: Enter a title that references the proposed research.
  • Proposal: Upload a two-page Project Proposal to the Letter of Intent Narrative field. Type should be set in 11-point, legible font. All margins should be set at 0.5 inches. The proposal should focus on the research you intend to carry out, and may include:
    • Overall research focus, including discussion of how it fits into the broader research landscape,
    • Specific research questions to be addressed within a three-to-four-year thesis research program, and
    • Potential experimental methods and/or theoretical approaches.
    • Roughly five–10 references to existing literature would be appropriate, and may be added on an additional page.
  • Applicant Biosketch: Upload a SciENcv or fillable PDF NIH- or NSF-style biosketch.
  • Transcript(s): Upload the applicant’s undergraduate transcript. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
    • If the applicant holds a master’s degree or is currently enrolled in a master’s program, upload the master’s transcript as well.
  • Indicate the extent to which, if any, generative AI technology was used and how it was used to develop your proposal.
• Contacts & Personnel Tab: Institution contacts are not required at the LOI stage. However, if you need to add a contact to assist with completion of the LOI, refer to the instructions provided in SAM to add Institution Administrative Contacts.
• Letter of Reference Tab:
  • Two confidential letters of recommendation from individuals who are familiar with your academic achievements and scientific interests are required for submission. If the applicant has done undergraduate or master’s research, the research mentor should write one of the letters.
  • Instructions for navigating this tab are included within SAM. Note that you should enter a date in the Response Date and click Save Draft prior to sending reference invitations, so that the email invitation sent by the system contains the due date you set.
  • You will not be able to submit until two references are uploaded. Please plan accordingly with your references.
  • NOTE: References will not have access to any portion of your application during the upload process. References who are also an approved Institution Official at your institution, or who are added as an Institution Administrative Contact in the Contacts & Personnel section, will be able to see the LOI via their regular system login. If your references do not have either of these roles, they will not have access to your LOI.
• Abstract & Keywords Tab:
  • Abstract: Include a one-paragraph abstract of your project proposal.
  • Keywords:
    • Subfield(s): Select the subfield(s) encompassed by the project proposal.
    • Biological focus(es): Select the biological focus(es) of the project proposal.

Check Application Progress: Click the Check Application Progress button to check for any missing required information or files. All missing required information will be listed at the top of the screen and must be corrected before the application can be submitted.

Submit Application: When the LOI application is complete, please click on the Submit Application button to submit to the foundation. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed.

LOI Approval:
A submitted LOI will appear in the Submitted queue of the Applications in Progress table on your SAM home page. If an LOI is approved, the status changes to In Progress. Click on the record to gain access to the full proposal application.

FULL PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

The deadline for full proposal submission is May 28, 2026, 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern time. Please plan carefully with your institution to meet this deadline.

• Proposal Tab:
  • Start Date: Awards may begin August 1, 2026; September 1, 2026; or October 1, 2026.
  • End Date: Awards will end five years after the start date.
  • Matriculation Date: Enter the date you will start or have started your Ph.D. program.
  • Area of Study Confirmation: The fellow and host institution must confirm that the fellow will develop a thesis project within the fields of ecology and/or evolution.
• Contacts & Personnel Tab:
  • Institution contacts are required at the full application stage. You must add at least one Institution Signing Official and Financial Officer to the Institution Administrative Contacts section before you will be able to submit.
• Budget Tab: Click the Edit/Modify button to add a detailed budget. Please refer to the allowable expenses outlined in the RFA and provide justification as appropriate.
  • Salary/Stipend:
    • The full-time stipend amount is $50,000 per year ($4,166.66 per month), and three years of full-time support is available across all years of the grant ($150,000 total). The stipend should be prorated based on the number of months of support required from the fellowship within each grant year.
  • Cost of Education Allowance:
    • The full-time Cost of Education Allowance amount is $25,000 per year, and three years of full-time support is available ($75,000 total). The Cost of Education Allowance must be prorated in alignment with the stipend.
    • Indirect costs are not permitted on the Cost of Education Allowance. The entire amount budgeted for the Cost of Education Allowance, including health insurance and other benefits required by the institution, must be categorized under the Tuition budget category (not under Personnel fringe). This ensures that SAM will automatically calculate accurate indirect costs.
  • Research Funds: The research funds allowance may be budgeted in any grant year, regardless of the amount of stipend requested.
  • The amount of support requested for year one in this budget submission will be the final amount awarded for year one. If the amounts needed across future years change during the course of the award, a revised budget may be submitted (due by the start date of the future grant year).

Check Application Progress: Click the Check Application Progress button to check for any missing required information or files. All missing required information will be listed at the top of the screen and must be corrected before the application can be submitted.

Send for Sign-off: When the application is complete, please click on the Send for Sign-off button to send to your Signing Official for signature. You will receive a notification when the application is signed.

Submit Application: When the full proposal application is complete and signed, please click on the Submit Application button. A confirmation page will appear once the application is successfully submitted. It will appear in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed.