NIH-NRSA Institutional Training Grants
T32, T34, and T35

Overview: The following general conditions apply to the National Institutes of Health/NRSA (NIH) Institutional Training Grants (T32, T34, and T35). The NRSA programs supports predoctoral, postdoctoral, and short-term research training for persons who are training for careers in specified areas of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research. It must be used to support a program of research training, and may not support studies leading to the M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., or other clinical health training except when those studies are a part of a formal combined research degree program, such as the M.D./Ph.D. The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for selection and appointment of trainees and must ensure that all requirements are met.

Application:

• Support for Pre-doctoral, Post-doctoral, or a combination of trainees may be requested.  Specific program announcements should be consulted for IC guidelines.

Trainee Appointments:

• Trainees are appointed for full-time 12-month continuous periods; an appointment continuing more than 12-months or a reappointment must have NIH prior approval.  An appointment less than 9 months requires prior approval.
• The individual to be trained must be a citizen or a noncitizen national of the U.S. or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment.
• Appointments of less than a year will be based on a monthly prorated amount.
• An NRSA may not be held concurrently with another federally sponsored fellowship or similar Federal award that provides a stipend or otherwise duplicates provisions of the NRSA.
• No individual trainee may receive more than 5 years of aggregate Kirschstein-NRSA support at the pre-doctoral level and 3 years of aggregate Kirschstein-NRSA support at the post-doctoral level.
• Trainees are required to pursue their research training on a full time basis, devoting at least 40 hours per week to the program.  Within the 40 hours per week training period, research trainees in clinical areas must devote their time to the proposed research training and must confine clinical duties to those that are an integral part of the research training experience.
• Trainees may be appointed at any time during a budget period, but the stipends for this appointment must be charged to the budget period in which the appointment occurred.  If an appointment extends beyond the end date of the budget period, commitments for stipends, tuition, fees and insurance for this appointment period not yet expensed must be reflected on the Financial Status Report as unliquidated obligations. The PI must send a memo to SPA indicating the amount to be reported as unliquidated obligations.
• Predoctoral Training
• Predoctoral research training is for individuals who have a baccalaureate degree and are enrolled in a doctoral program leading to either a Ph.D., a comparable research doctoral degree, or a combined clinical degree and PH.D., such as M.D./Ph.D.
• Predoctoral trainees are not required to sign the Payback Agreement and do not incur a service payback obligation.
• Postdoctoral Training
• Postdoctoral research training is for individuals who have received a Ph.D., D.V.M., D.D.S., M.D., or a comparable doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution.
• A completed Payback Agreement (Form PHS 6031) must be submitted for each postdoctoral trainee in their first 12 months of support. The second and subsequent years of post-doc NRSA training will serve to pay back a post-doc service payback obligation.
• Short-Term Research Training for Health Professional Students
• Short-term appointments are intended to provide health-professional students with opportunities to participate in biomedical and/or behavioral research in an effort to attract these individuals into research careers.  (During the summer or other “off-quarter” periods). 
• Short-term research training positions should last eight to twelve weeks and must be full time.

Initiation of Support

• The PI must submit a completed Statement of Appointment (PHS Form 2271) for each trainee appointed or re-appointed to the training grant at the beginning of the appointment period. Failure to submit the required forms in a timely manner may result in an expenditure disallowance or a delay in any continuation funding for the award.
• For each post-doctoral trainee who is in his/her first 12-month of support, a signed Payback Agreement (Form PHS 6031) must be submitted.

Termination:

• Within 30 days of the end of the total support period for each trainee, the institution must submit a Termination Notice (PHS Form 416-7).  This form must be generated by the PI’s department and requires signature of Trainee, PI, and SPA.

Allowable Expenditures:

• Stipends: A stipend is provided as a subsistence allowance to trainees for living expenses during the research training experience.  Federal funds may not be used for stipend supplementation unless specifically authorized under the terms of the program from which funds are derived.
• Stipends must be paid in accordance with stipend levels set by NIH (FY07):
• Pre-doc: $20,772
• Post-doc: $36,996 - $51,036
• Tuition and Fees: Tuition is an allowable trainee costs budgeted in the tuition line item. Tuition at the post-doc level is limited to that required for specific courses in support of the approved training program.
• Tuition/Fees set by NIH (FY07):
• Pre-doc: 60% up to $16,000, (or 60% up to $21,00 for dual degree)
• Post-doc: 60% up to $4,500, (or 60% up to $16,000 for additional degree)
• Travel:  Includes attendance at scientific meetings.  U.S. Flag carriers are required.
• Training related expenses:  Used to defray the costs of research training related expenses, such as staff salaries, consultant costs, equipment, research supplies, staff travel, and health insurance. General‑purpose equipment is not allowable unless the equipment is primarily used in the actual conduct of the research.
• Institutional allowance set by NIH (FY07):
• Pre-doc: $4,200 (includes health insurance)
• Post-doc : $7,850 (includes health insurance)
• Indirect Costs:  8% of direct costs, excludes tuition/fees and equipment.  This is a change for FY07 as in the past health insurance was excluded, effective for new awards beginning in FY07 and non-competing continuations years that received competing awards in FY06.
• Rebudgeting:
• Trainee Related Expenses: Now includes Health Insurance as an allowable expense. Rebudgeting of funds awarded in a lump sum for trainee-related expenses is allowable without NIH awarding office prior approval.
• Trainee Costs: includes funds awarded in the stipends and tuition/fees budget categories. These costs may not be used for other purposes except under unusual circumstances and then only with the prior approval of the NIH awarding office. Unless restricted by the award notice, rebudgeting into or within the stipends, tuition, and fees category is allowable without prior approval of the NIH awarding office.
• Trainee Travel: may be rebudgeted into any other category without prior approval.  

Other Provisions:

• NIH approval is required for a change in program objectives, change in number of trainees, or change or absence of the Principal Investigator for more than three months.

REPORTS:
Technical: Annual (With PHS 416-9 application kit); Final (PHS 416-7)
Invention: Final
Financial:  Standard Form 269

This is a brief summary of the sponsor’s guidelines; for full NIH Grants Policy Statement regarding National Research Service awards, click here. In addition, the award may include terms and conditions that will take precedence over the above guidelines.  If you have any questions, please call OSPA at 257-9420.

Revised 1/10/08