Every payment in fellowship counts toward your 120.
Fellowship extends your qualifying payment count — at a low IBR amount before your attending income kicks in. A 2-year fellowship means 24 more payments before your salary jumps. That’s 24 fewer expensive payments later.
1–3yr
Typical fellowship length
Subspecialty dependent
12–36
Additional PSLF payments in fellowship
At resident-level IBR
~$80K
Median fellowship stipend
vs $65K PGY-1 stipend
$0
Tax on PSLF forgiveness
Tax-free under current law
By the numbers
PSLF payments by training path
How many of your 120 qualifying payments are completed by the time you start your attending position.
| Training path | Payments done | As attending |
|---|---|---|
| 3yr IM residency + 3yr cardiology fellowship | 72 of 120 | 48 remaining as attending |
| 5yr general surgery + 1yr fellowship | 72 of 120 | 48 remaining as attending |
| 4yr radiology residency + 1yr interventional fellowship | 60 of 120 | 60 remaining as attending |
| 4yr neurology residency + 2yr epilepsy fellowship | 72 of 120 | 48 remaining as attending |
Assumes nonprofit employer throughout training and active IBR enrollment.
Free tools
Tools for this stage of training
PSLF Employer Checker
Verify your fellowship program's institution qualifies for PSLF. Most academic fellowship programs are at 501(c)(3) nonprofits, but always confirm before relying on it.
Check my fellowship employerDebt Calculator
Model your fellowship timeline: current payment count, fellowship length, expected attending salary, and specialty. See your projected forgiveness date and total savings.
Calculate my forgiveness datePSLF Payment Tracker
Track your running payment count across residency and fellowship. See how many remain and your projected forgiveness month — updated each time you log a payment.
Track my paymentsCommon questions
Fellowship and PSLF
Do fellowship payments count toward PSLF?
Yes — as long as your fellowship program is at a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution, which almost all academic fellowship programs are. Each on-time monthly IBR payment during fellowship counts toward your 120 PSLF payments, just like residency. This is one of the most underappreciated PSLF advantages of subspecialty training: you're making more qualifying payments at a lower payment amount before your attending income raises your IBR payment.
What if I do a fellowship at a for-profit institution?
If your fellowship is at a for-profit employer — say, a private cardiovascular group that sponsors a fellowship — those payments do NOT count toward PSLF. This is a significant concern for certain specialties (some gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and private-sponsored fellowships). Check the employer directly on studentaid.gov's PSLF employer database, or use our PSLF Employer Checker tool.
Should I submit an Employment Certification Form during fellowship?
Absolutely — and do it early. Submit a new ECF within the first 90 days of starting your fellowship. The ECF locks in your qualifying employer and payment count as of your certification date, not retroactively. If you wait until the end of fellowship to certify, you risk losing months of qualifying payments if there's any paperwork delay or administrative issue.
My fellowship is only 1 year. Is PSLF still worth it?
For a 1-year fellowship, the main value isn't the fellowship payments themselves — it's the total payment count you'll have at the end of combined training. Example: 3yr IM + 1yr fellowship = 48 qualifying payments before attending. If you then join an academic medical center as an attending, you only need 72 more payments (6 more years) to hit PSLF forgiveness. That's a forgiveness date of roughly 6 years into your attending career — at an attending salary, not a resident salary.
Can I defer or pause PSLF payments during fellowship?
You can, but you shouldn't — any month you're in deferment or forbearance does not count as a qualifying PSLF payment. The only exception is that administrative forbearances (like processing delays from your servicer) can sometimes be counted retroactively through a PSLF waiver. The best strategy is to stay in active IBR repayment the entire time, even if the payment is small. A $300/month payment counts just as much as a $3,000/month payment toward your 120.
Free · no signup
Know your exact PSLF forgiveness date.
Model your fellowship length, attending salary, and specialty to see your projected forgiveness month and total savings.
Calculate my forgiveness date — free