I received my Ph.D. in 1997, but I had a hiatus in my research career to take care of family members. Can I get an exception to the time from degree requirement?
Any request for an exception to the eligibility requirement of time from last doctoral degree or internship/residency must be based upon additional medical training or unusual circumstances, and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. A hiatus in research due to time off for care of family members is an acceptable justification for an exception to the time requirement for eligibility. However, the overall length of the hiatus should be commensurate with the deviation from the date required for this eligibility criterion. Any requests for an exception to this eligibility requirement of time must be made in the actual pre-application; the format for this request is described in the FOA (see PAR-09-013, Section IV.2, Biographical Sketch.
