Many scientists from all over the world move to the United States to work and advance fundamental scientific understanding. A 2020 analysis conducted by the National Science Foundation showed that 46.2% of matriculating graduate students in science and engineering are international students. Even while at graduate and postdoctoral academic levels, these scientists contribute greatly to research advances. Their involvement has allowed the U.S. to sustain its global leadership in science and engineering, although recruitment efforts from other countries and the U.S.’s onerous immigration policies mean this source of talent is threatened, and with it, the nation’s competitive advantage.

Despite the demonstrated contribution to the research enterprise, past and current, there is limited funding opportunities that exist for international graduate and postdoctoral researchers. For most funding opportunities coming from U.S. federal agencies, they are not eligible.

Current Efforts

The recognition of this funding gap drove some philanthropic organizations to develop strategies to support international researchers. One approach is to have eligibility criteria that include international researchers. At the postdoctoral level, some examples include Schmidt Futures’ Schmidt Science Fellows and the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research.

Another approach is to create programs that directly focus on supporting international researchers. In 2011, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute launched the International Student Research Fellowships. After supporting more than 200 international graduate researchers, the program held its last competition in 2016. In 2021, the Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation established the Curci Scholars program which provides full support for graduate researchers in six partner universities, including University of California San Diego, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Utah, and University of Washington. In 2021, Schmidt Futures launched the Quad Fellowship to support international master’s and doctoral STEM students to study in the U.S. For 2023, the Kavli Foundation is launching a program to support researchers (graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty researchers), sponsored by Kavli Institutes and affiliates, that face displacement due to geopolitical challenges.

International scientists are integral to the research enterprise as demonstrated in this 2021 study from MIT. Supporting international researchers represents an opportunity for funders interested in advancing research to fill in a funding gap. Below are ways funders can support graduate and postdoctoral researchers:

• Broaden eligibility criteria of existing programs to include international graduate and postdoctoral researchers.
• Partner with private entities and research institutions to directly support research activities of international researchers.
• Provide additional support that addresses challenges specific for international researchers such as visa processing and international relocation.

About the Underfunded Areas in the Research Enterprise Series 

The Science Philanthropy Alliance aims to increase philanthropic support for basic scientific research. Drawing on the expertise of its philanthropic advising team, distinguished external science advisors and a membership base of leading science funders, the Alliance provides curated advising services and learning opportunities to help philanthropists expand the world’s knowledge and lay the scientific groundwork for lifesaving, economy-changing breakthroughs. This post is part of a series on underfunded areas where philanthropy has the opportunity to catalyze scientific research.

How We Define Underfunded:

Our definition of underfunded has three aspects and one or more can be used to characterize a field or area of research as such: 

• Funding is insufficient for the need, i.e. the amount of funding is too small for the scope of the problem. 
• Ineligible for other sources of funding, e.g. too risky for public money or other funding sources, or not commercially viable. 
• High potential impact of funding; a breakthrough discovery with highly significant implications for a question or field. 

For more information about this funding opportunity, contact Daren Ginete at dginete@sciphil.org.