Compensation and Benefits
As a Research Scholar, you receive annual compensation of $27,000 (beginning in the 2008-2009 program year) for rent, food, and other living expenses. HHMI withholds taxes from your compensation as required by law. You are also provided, at no cost, with medical, life, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance.

Compensation FAQ

Round-Trip Moving Expenses
You are reimbursed for round-trip moving expenses for personal belongings (not furniture) for yourself and your dependents from medical, dental, or veterinary school or your last residence and back to medical, dental, or veterinary school or your next residence.

Furnished On-Campus Housing
HHMI believes that an integral component of the program is a shared living environment for the Scholars. For this reason, HHMI provides you with furnished, on-campus housing at the Mary Woodard Lasker Center for Health Research and Education, commonly known as the Cloister. Formerly a cloistered convent, the Cloister was renovated by HHMI in 1987 to give Research Scholars their own special community for learning and living. The Cloister provides you with a comfortable, attractive home during your stay at the NIH and enables you to be within walking distance of your laboratory.

The majority of Scholars live in the Hughes House wing in efficiency or one-bedroom apartments. Each apartment has a private bathroom and kitchen, is comfortably furnished, and is equipped with household items. If you are interested in spending less on housing, single, dorm-style rooms are available in the Convent wing of the Cloister, which has shared bathrooms and a community kitchen. You are charged a modest monthly rent that is below the cost of comparable housing in the Bethesda area. The rent includes all utilities, one parking space per Scholar, cable television, a computer with internet access, and many other amenities. Currently, monthly rental rates are as follows: $325 for dormitory rooms, $525-650 for studio efficiencies and $850 for one-bedroom apartments. Room assignments are determined by lottery, except that married Scholars have preference for one-bedroom apartments. All Scholars are required to live at the Cloister.

Each residence in the Cloister is equipped with a networked computer with sophisticated graphics, publishing and office software, as well as a printer. You are provided with full access to the Internet, the NIH networks, and the electronic resources of the NIH Library, including full-text online journals and biomedical databases such as PubMed and Web of Science. A computer resource center at the Cloister is equipped with computer workstations, scanners and a color laser printer. On-site technical assistance is available for your computing needs.

The Cloister also serves as a base for student-organized social activities, such as potluck dinners, barbecues, and sports. Amenities available to you at the Cloister include a lounge for impromptu socializing and movie or television viewing, a laundry room, a fully equipped fitness center, tennis court, grills and picnic tables for barbecues, and a patio and rathskeller for special get-togethers.

Housing FAQ

Science Courses
During your time at the NIH, you may select from a wide range of science courses offered by the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES). Your preceptor may recommend courses that are relevant to your laboratory work. Semester courses are offered during the day and in the evening. HHMI will pay for one course per semester, based on your preceptor's recommendation and the approval of the Research Scholars Program Director.

Books and Travel
In addition to receiving funding for FAES courses, you are allotted up to $250 for the purchase of textbooks and scientific journals related to your area of research. HHMI will pay all of the expenses for you to attend one science meeting per year. Book and travel expenditures are based on the recommendation of the preceptor and are subject to prior approval by the Research Scholars Program Director.

Staying a Second Year
Some Scholars find themselves engrossed in a research project they want to continue and are interested in remaining in the program for a second year as an Advanced Scholar. They are funded by the NIH under the Predoctoral Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Program. Those approved for the second year become employed by the NIH and are responsible for paying their own housing and other personal expenses from their NIH salary. Due to space limitations, housing at the Cloister is unavailable to Advanced Scholars.

Loan Deferment FAQ

Photo: Kay Chernush