National Postdoctoral Association

April 27, 2011

The National Institutes of Health has increased the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends by 2 percent for 2011. The Tuition and Fees, Training Related Expenses for trainees, and the Institutional Allowance for individual fellows remain unchanged.

"Given that the NIH's Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 funding was cut by $260 million below FY 2010 spending levels, we are very pleased to see this increase in the stipends," said Cathee Johnson Phillips, NPA's executive director, speaking on behalf of the NPA Board of Directors. "We will continue to advocate for a greater increase in 2012 and the following years. This advocacy is important, because the NRSA stipend schedule sets the standard for postdoc compensation across the country."

The NPA Advocacy Committee led the efforts to advocate for an increase in the FY 2011 stipends and continues its efforts for FY 2012. The President's Budget requests a 4-percent increase in NRSA stipends for FY 2012.

The National Postdoctoral Association supports an NRSA entry-level postdoctoral stipend of $45,000, as recommended by the National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) Personnel Needs Committee in its report Addressing the Nation’s Changing Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists (2000).

Read more about the NPA's actions...

Read more about federal funding for FY 2011...