National Institutes of Health Extramural Loan Repayment Program

To attract and retain health professionals to research careers by offering educational loan repayment for participants who agree by written contract to engage in qualified research in a qualifying nonprofit institution for a minimum of two years.

The NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of programs designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. The escalating costs of advanced education and training in medicine and clinical specialties are forcing some scientists to abandon their research careers for higher-paying private industry or private practice careers. The LRPs counteract that financial pressure by repaying up to $50,000 annually of a researcher's qualified educational debt in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research. There are two LRPs, one for researchers not employed by NIH (Extramural) and another for researchers employed by NIH (Intramural).

(1) A U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or permanent resident of the United States; (2) Have a Ph.D., M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., D.P.M., Pharm.D., D.C., N.D., O.D. or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited institution; (3) Have total qualifying educational loan debt equal to or in excess of 20 percent of their institutional base salary on the date of program eligibility (the effective date that a loan repayment contract has been executed by the NIH Director or designee); (4) Conduct qualifying research supported by a domestic nonprofit foundation, nonprofit professional association, or other nonprofit institution, or a U.S. or other government agency (State or local); (5) Engage in qualified research for at least 50 percent of their time, i.e., not less than 20 hours per week based on a 40 hour week. (6) Agree to conduct research for which funding is not prohibited by Federal law, regulation, or HHS/NIH policy, and in accordance with applicable Federal, State and local law (e.g., applicable human subject protection regulations); and (8) Sign and submit to the NIH Director, at the time of application submission, a contract agreeing to engage in qualified research in a qualifying institution for a minimum of 2 years. Full-time employees of Federal Government agencies are ineligible to apply for Extramural LRP benefits. Part-time Federal employees who engage in qualifying research as part of their nonfederal duties for at least 20 hours per week based on a 40 hour week, and who are not compensated as a Federal employee for their research, are eligible to apply for loan repayment if they meet all other eligibility requirements.

To provide repayment of extant educational loans incurred by health professionals engaged in qualified research. Research must be supported by a domestic nonprofit foundation, university, professional association, or other nonprofit institution, or a U.S. government agency (federal, state, or local). A domestic foundation, professional association, or institution is considered to be nonprofit if exempt from federal tax under the provisions of Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501). NIH grants and university salaries are considered eligible funding. Primary employment must be with a nonprofit institution. Any employment or income outside of the nonprofit institution must be separate from the research and cannot represent a significant amount of an awardee's total income. Recipients must agree by written contract to engage in such research, initially, for a minimum of 2 years; individuals who have conflicting service obligations may not participate in this program until those obligations are satisfied or have been deferred during the period of program service. Participants may apply for and the NIH Director may grant extension contracts for one-year or two-year periods, as determined by the Director, if the individual continues to engage in qualifying research. Renewal applications are competitively reviewed and the submission of a renewal application does not assure the award of benefits. The maximum program benefit is $50,000 per year in loan repayments and $19,500 per year in Federal tax reimbursements. Recipients must have qualified educational debt in excess of 20 percent of their annual salary, which is referred to as their "debt threshold."

The NIH Institutes and Centers approve or disapprove applications for participation in the Extramural LRP. Applications that are on time, complete and eligible are referred to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center by the NIH Center for Scientific Review. The NIH Institutes and Centers convene panels comprised of non-NIH scientists to review, score and rank applications. In evaluating the application, reviewers are directed to consider the following components as they relate to the likelihood that the applicant will continue in a research career: (1) potential of the applicant to pursue a career in research, and (2) quality of the overall environment to prepare the applicant for a research career.

The NIH Institutes and Centers approve or disapprove applications for participation in the Extramural LRP. When an Institute or Center approves an application, the NIH Division of Loan Repayment notifies individuals of their award amount, provides a repayment schedule that covers the period of participation, and a LRP Contract is executed by an authorized representative of the NIH Director. If the approved research assignment or the employing research institution changes, the participant must have their continued eligibility re-certified by the Institute or Center that approved their application. Contact the NIH via e-mail at LRP@NIH.GOV for further guidance.

Sep 01, 2025 to Dec 04, 2025 Extramural LRP applications are accepted annually from September 1 through the 3rd Thursday of November, 8:00 p.m. EST. All LRP applications must be submitted electronically using the Application Submission System & Interface for Submission Tracking (ASSIST), https://public.era.nih.gov/assist/. Assistance listing administering agency organizational unit establishes deadlines

The approximate time for approval/disapproval is 6 months from the closing date of the annual application period.

At the conclusion of the initial 2-year contract, participants may apply and be considered for subsequent 1 or 2-year continuation contracts under the application and approval procedures specified above. Eligible renewal applications that score within the funding range receive continuation contracts.