Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Hiring Mechanism for Postdoctoral, Pre-Doctoral, Post-Baccalaureate, Technical, and Student IPDs

Please note that the primary policy source for the NIH IRTA Fellowship program is located within NIH Policy Manual 2300-320-7.

This authority is exclusively for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

The Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Fellowship Program is designed to provide advanced training and practical research experiences to investigators early in their professional research careers. IRTA Fellowships are established for the principal benefit of the participant and to provide opportunities for developmental training and practical research experience in a variety of disciplines related to biomedical research, medical library research, and related fields. Fellowships are designed to provide research training “for which fellowship support is not provided under Section 487 of the Public Health Services (PHS) Act, and which is not residency training of physicians or other health professionals.”

Training must be carried out at a facility of the NIH but may be supplemented by additional training acquired at another institution, if it is found by the Director to be directly related to the purpose of the traineeship and necessary to its successful completion. Training outside of NIH must not comprise a majority of the training. Under the traineeship, the sponsor/supervisor of record for all trainees must be an IRP PI (Senior Investigator, Investigator, Senior Clinician, Senior Scientist, or Assistant Clinical Investigator, or OIR-approved Independent Research Scholar).Service is a by-product of the IRTA Program, unlike Research and Clinical Fellowships which include service as a dominant part of the training objective. Please note that IRTA Trainees may not independently engage in patient care activities (any clinically-related activity must explicitly be under the direct supervision and control of an NIH employee), be assigned official supervisory responsibilities, or sign documents (e.g., requisitions) on behalf of the Government.

An IRTA Fellowship is a non-Full-Time Equivalent Employment (FTE) position.

IRTA opportunities are available through the following programs:

• Postdoctoral
  • Provides advanced practical research experience to doctoral researchers and physicians who have less than 5 years of postdoctoral research experience since the receipt of their most recent doctoral degree.
• Pre-Doctoral (Graduate Partnerships Program [GPP] and Medical Research Scholars Program [MRSP])
  • Provides practical research training and experience to students, by supplementing academic course work and/or encouraging pursuit of professional careers in biomedical research to 1) students enrolled in doctoral degree programs in biomedical sciences when the research experience, which frequently involves dissertation research, is undertaken as an integral part of the student’s academic preparation and will involve close cooperation and planning between NIH and the academic institution (GPP) or 2) students who are enrolled in medical or dental school and who have written permission from their school to interrupt their academic experience and to return within one year to their degree granting program (MRSP).
• Post-Baccalaureate
  • Provides an introduction to and encourages the pursuit of professional careers in biomedical research. The following groups are eligible to apply: (1) college graduates who received their bachelor’s degrees less than three years prior to the date they begin the program, (2) individuals who are more than three years past the receipt of their bachelor’s degree but received a master’s degree less than six months before they begin the program, and (3) students who have been accepted into graduate, other doctoral, or medical school programs and who have written permission from their school to delay entrance for up to one year to pursue a biomedical research project at the NIH.
• Student (Summer Internship Program [SIP] in Biomedical Research)
  • Provides a developmental training experience to promising undergraduate, professional school, and graduate students who have expressed a strong interest in or are studying disciplines related to biomedical sciences, generally during the summer. Students who find internships during other parts of the year are appointed as Student IRTAs via the Academic Internship Program (AIP). Additional information may be found by visiting the Student Opportunities section of this Sourcebook.

Approvals (Process)

For IRTA Fellows that require clinical credentialing, an additional approval must be received from the Chief Executive Officer, CC (or delegate) after recommendation by the Clinical Center (CC) Credentials Committee and the Medical Executive Committee (MEC). For further information, please contact the Office of Credentialing Services, Clinical Center (OCS/CC) at cc_ocs@mail.nih.gov or 301-496-5937.

Ethics

Intramural scientists at the NIH, as is true for all scientists, should be committed to the responsible use of scientific tools and methods to seek new knowledge. While the general principles of scientific methodologies are universal, their detailed application may differ in various scientific disciplines and circumstances. All research staff in the Intramural Research Program should maintain exemplary standards of intellectual honesty in formulating, conducting, presenting, and reviewing research, as befits the leadership role of the NIH.

Within the NIH IRP, the ethical conduct of researchers is governed by the following three disciplines:

• Research Ethics
• Government Ethics
• Bioethics

Ethics information may also be available through your specific IC. Please reach out to OITE-Private@nih.gov for additional guidance.

Stipend

Please refer to the NIH Policy Manual 2300-320-7 for stipend information. Current NIH Intramural Research Program stipend tables can be found at https://www.training.nih.gov/stipends/.

Note that the Office of Intramural Research (OIR) requires stipend parity for all NIH intramural fellows. All postdoctoral, predoctoral, postbaccalaureate, and student IRTA fellows must receive a stipend that is equivalent to or exceeds the NIH Intramural Research Program stipend tables. For fellows who have funding from an approved outside source, that funding must meet or exceed stipends listed in the table, or the stipend must be supplemented up to current NIH stipend levels. NIH intramural fellows cannot receive foreign funds. Personal funds do not count toward a trainee’s stipend.

Recruitment Process / Appointment Mechanisms

Please refer to the NIH Policy Manual 2300-320-7 for recruitment and appointment criteria. Additional information on recruiting IRTA fellows can be found at https://www.training.nih.gov/find-trainees/.

Find instructions and templates for initial awards, including the IRTA initial award letter and fellowship agreement [NIH Only], available on the OITE intranet. Fellows may refer to the initial award letter and fellowship agreement provided to them during onboarding.

Renewals

IRTA appointments are for one year, renewable up to a standard maximum depending on appointment type (see below). Renewal is not guaranteed and depends upon factors including, but not limited to, research progress, funding availability, and appropriate agency approvals.

Postdoctoral IRTA appointments have a standard maximum of five years renewed in one-year increments. Postdoc IRTA fellows may be extended for an exceptional sixth, seventh, or eighth year if they would benefit from additional training to achieve their research and career goals. Exceptional extension requests must be submitted to the Office of Intramural Training & Education (OITE) no later than six months prior to the current appointment end date. A maximum of one year may be granted per request.

Pre-Doctoral IRTA appointments have a standard maximum of five years renewed in one-year increments. Beyond five years, renewal requires a written student justification requesting additional time, followed by a rigorous review that includes Institute approval and an interview with the Director of the Graduate Partnerships Program (GPP) to establish a timeline for completion. 

For additional renewal information, please refer to the NIH Policy Manual 2300-320-7. Additional information on exceptional extensions, including submission requirements and timeline, can be found on the Non-FTE Trainees Exceptional Extension Policy page of this Sourcebook.

Resources

An IRTA Fellow is not granted independent resources by their Institute.

Termination

Please refer to the NIH Policy Manual 2300-320-7 for termination information. Reach out to OITE for guidance, as necessary.