The deadline has passed for the 2020 award cycle. The application requires parts 1-5, described below, uploaded as one pdf:

• Part 1: Background and Personal Statement

Please use Arial font that is not smaller than 11 point with at least ½ inch margins on all sides.

Please include:

• Graduate or professional schools attended/attending (Institution, dates, major, degree, GPA)

• Undergraduate schools attended (Institution, dates, major, degree, GPA)

• Honors and awards in undergraduate - graduate schools

• Extracurricular, community, and avocational activities

• Courses or other experiences in Geriatrics, Gerontology

• Current salary, stipend, scholarship support (Indicate source, amount, and dates funded)

• Publications

• Name of person who will submit a letter of support (Cannot be the mentor. Include name, title, and institution.)

• Personal statement including career goals, relation of this work to other projects in which you are now engaged (if applicable) and how this scholarship may advance your career in aging research. Limit 500 words.

• Part 2: Proposed Research

TITLE AND SUMMARY OF PROPOSED RESEARCH to be written by student (not to exceed 5 pages, references in addition to the proposal not to exceed 2 pages). Insert page number and applicant’s name at the top of each page, and use Arial font that is not smaller than 11 point with at least 1/2 inch margins on all sides. Any figures must be included in the 5 pages.

Address each of the following (identify each section by the corresponding letter):

a. A detailed explanation of your research project including background, aims, and hypotheses;

b. Relevance and significance of this research to the field of aging;

c. How the research will be conducted, methodologies and timeline;

d. How the research will be analyzed;

e. If the project is part of a larger study, specify the aims that will be achieved in the three- to six-month period.

f. If this is a resubmission, indicate in one or two paragraphs how this year’s application differs from your previous submission.

g. If all experiments are successful, what would you do next?

• Part 3: Mentor Plan

To be written by the mentor, describing plans for the proposed research and professional development, and addressing the following:

a. Plans for coursework

b. Participation in seminars and other opportunities for in-depth training in aging research

c. Plans for communication and support during the research period (frequency of meetings with the applicant, etc.)

d. Plans to encourage and expand the applicant’s career in aging research

e. Description of the available facilities for the student’s use

f. Description of the available financial resources (in addition to the scholarship support) to execute the project

g. Explanation of previous interactions with the applicant

h. Mentor’s history of training others over the past 5 years – list the trainees’ positions while in the mentor’s lab and the title and institution where they are today

• Part 4: Mentor’s NIH-style biographical sketch (not to exceed five pages)

• Part 5: Academic transcripts from all institutions attended (may be student copies – ok if printed from website but name of applicant MUST be visible).

This application also requires a Letter of Support. The letter should be written by an undergraduate advisor, faculty member or senior professional (not the mentor) who is well-acquainted with the candidate’s capabilities, activities, and accomplishments. Letters should focus on research, emphasize accomplishments, not effort, and should avoid references to personal life. The letter is NOT to be included in the application, but must be submitted directly to AFAR by the letter writer (NOT the applicant), to scholarship@afar.org as a Word or PDF file. Letters submitted via regular mail are also accepted.

Incomplete applications cannot be considered. Applicants will be notified on funding decisions on or around July 31, 2020. If funded, the project start date must be before December 31, 2020.

Please review this link which includes suggestions for submitting an LOI or application to AFAR.



Click here for our Frequently Asked Questions page.



If you are using human subjects or animals in your research, please review Guidelines for Human Populations and Animal Use.

