NIH F32 Success Rate FY2025: 26.4%, by Institute

Every institute's F30, F31 and F32 rates sit together in the NIH and NSF funding odds tracker.

The F32 has quietly become a smaller program. NIH reviewed 1,775 F32 applications in FY2019 and 1,210 in FY2025. Fewer postdocs apply, NIH funds fewer of them, and in FY2026 the award count dropped again.

NIH F32 Success Rate, FY2019 to FY2025

From FY2019 to FY2023 the F32 rate stayed between 27.3% and 29.4%. It jumped to 32.9% in FY2024 and fell to 26.4% in FY2025. These are the activity totals in NIH's success-rate tables (opens in a new tab), table 203.

The long view matters more than one year. Grantsights analysis of table 203 shows F32 awards fell from 511 in FY2019 to 319 in FY2025, a drop of 192, or about 38%. Applications fell by about 32% over the same span. Through FY2023, the rate barely moved while the program shrank around it.

FY2025 broke that balance. Applications rose by 129 while awards fell by 37, and the rate lost 6.5 points. FY2024's 32.9% looks like the outlier in this series, not the new normal.

F32 Success Rate by Degree

NIH Data Book table 201 splits F32 applicants by degree, and the differences are large and steady. MD-PhD applicants led in FY2024 and FY2025, and "other" degrees trailed in every year:

PhDs make up most of the pool: 924 of 1,210 FY2025 applications, about three in four. Their rate drove the NIH-wide number, falling from 36.2% to 26.9% in a year.

The "other" line is the clearest pattern in the table. From FY2019 to FY2025 it never rose above 20.6%, while PhD and MD rates stayed above 24% every year. Table 201 doesn't list what those other degrees are or why they do worse, so Grantsights doesn't guess. If your doctorate isn't a PhD, MD or MD-PhD, it's worth asking the institute's training officer how your training background reads to reviewers.

MD-PhD rates swing because the pool is small: 45 applications in FY2025 and 29 in FY2024. The 46.7% figure is encouraging but rests on 21 awards.

F32 Success Rate by Institute, FY2024 and FY2025

FY2025 F32 rates ran from 10.9% to 45.0% among institutes that reviewed at least 20 applications. Institutes are sorted by FY2025 application count; all figures are table 203.

NIGMS reviewed the most F32 applications in FY2025 (173) and was one of only three institutes whose rate rose, along with NICHD and NIDDK. The biggest falls among pools of 50 or more came at NIA (26.4% to 10.9%), NINDS (40.0% to 24.7%), NIMH (24.6% to 14.3%) and NIAID (44.2% to 34.3%).

For example, NIA received 92 F32 applications in FY2025, up from 72, and funded 10, down from 19. That's the lowest rate in the table, and a red flag for aging researchers counting on an NIA postdoc fellowship. The NIA payline page covers that institute's wider policy.

NCI is the other one to watch. Its F32 rate sat below 20% in both years, and it reviewed 140 applications in FY2025.

F32 Versus F31 and F30

The F32 rate was 26.4% in FY2025, between the F31 (23.5%) and the F30 (32.1%), according to NIH Data Book table 203.

The F31 pool is three times the size of the F32 pool, and the two moved together in FY2025, each losing 4 to 7 points. Institute-level F31 rates, with three-year pooled comparisons, are on the F31 success rate by institute page. Application rules for both are in the F31 and F32 fellowship guide.

If you're near the end of a PhD and deciding whether to apply for an F31 now or an F32 later, the rates alone don't settle it. The FY2026 F32 award count below is the bigger signal.

FY2026 F32 Awards: 242 Records, 0 at NCI

RePORTER lists 242 new F32 award records in FY2026, down from 312 in FY2025 and 352 in FY2024. Grantsights analysis of the NIH RePORTER API, pulled November 8, 2026, grouped them by administering institute:

Two rows stand out. NCI shows 0 new F32 records for FY2026, after 24 in FY2025. NHLBI shows 15, after 47. Grantsights reports both counts as RePORTER shows them and doesn't assign a cause. Before requesting either institute, check whether it's listed as a participating organization in the current F32 notice of funding opportunity, and confirm with its training office.

NIGMS went the other way, reaching 61 records and a quarter of the FY2026 total on its own.

F32s are rarely paid several years at once: 1 of 242 FY2026 records had a budget period longer than about 13 months. The median single-year award was $76,780 in FY2026, up from $74,284 in FY2024. Stipend detail and lists of recipient institutions are on the F32 award history page; NIH's FY2026 fiscal policy notice (opens in a new tab) sets current stipend levels.

These are award records, not rates. NIH hasn't published FY2026 fellowship success rates, and an institute with fewer awards may also have received fewer applications. Grantsights doesn't estimate the FY2026 rate.

When F32 Awards Go Out

In FY2026, 47 of 242 new F32 notices went out in August and 40 in July. May and June had 31 each, and February 30. Notices came out in most months, not just at the end of the fiscal year. If your council round has passed and you've heard nothing, ask the institute's training office when to expect a decision rather than reading the silence as a no.

What NIH's F32 Data Doesn't Tell You

Tables 201 and 203 answer 2 of these 5 questions:

The common mistake is choosing an institute from its FY2025 rate alone. NIH assigns fellowships by mission fit, and the FY2026 record shows an institute's F32 activity can change sharply in one year. A 35.0% rate at NHLBI in FY2025 says nothing about whether NHLBI's F32 activity in FY2026 looks like FY2025.

Applicants also underestimate the sponsor's role. An F32 application can fail because of a thin training plan or a poor sponsor fit even when the science is strong, and no table measures that. The NIH success rate definition (opens in a new tab) counts every reviewed application in the denominator, including ones that weren't discussed.

Should You Still Apply for an F32?

About one F32 application in four was funded in FY2025, and that's still better than the odds on most NIH research grants that year. For a postdoc early in training, the F32 is worth it: it pays the stipend, signals to future employers that NIH reviewers backed your training plan, and gives you a scored application to learn from even if it isn't funded.

Three conditions make it a weaker bet in 2026:

• Your institute's FY2026 record collapsed. NCI's 0 records and NHLBI's drop to 15 don't prove either has stopped, but they're reason to confirm participation before you write.
• Your institute's FY2025 rate was far below average. NIA's 10.9% and NIMH's 14.3% were well under the 26.4% NIH figure. If your project fits a second institute too, ask both program officers which one should hold it.
• You're late in your postdoc. An F32 resubmission adds months. If a K99 or a faculty search is closer, the K award success rates by institute are the better comparison.

The best bet for most applicants is still a well-matched institute with a steady rate, a sponsor with a clear training record, and an A1 planned from the start.

Apply, Redirect, or Wait: Decision Table

For how a fellowship score turns into a decision, see the NIH grant score explainer. Postdoctoral fellowships from foundations and societies are searchable in Grantsights grant search.

Sources

• NIH Data Book tables 201 (postdoctoral fellowships by degree) and 203 (fellowships by institute): report.nih.gov success-rate page (opens in a new tab)
• NIH success rate definition (opens in a new tab)
• NOT-OD-26-059, Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2026 (opens in a new tab)
• NIH RePORTER (opens in a new tab) and the RePORTER API (opens in a new tab)

Related Guides

• NIH F32 award history
• NIH F31 success rate by institute
• NIH F31 and F32 fellowships
• NIH K award success rates by institute
• NIH paylines explained