The fellowship is presented to a first-year Ph.D. student from a group that is under-represented in the life-sciences. Holland was a champion for minority students in science and believed that advanced degrees were crucial to their success. The fellowship provides the tuition, stipend, and health insurance for the selected student. The total package amounts to a minimum of $44,500 per year. An endowment of $750,000 is needed to generate the interest required to sustain this award.

The James P. Holland Graduate Fellowship in Biology was established in honor of one of Indiana University’s most beloved professors. The late James Holland was a mentor and role model for all students throughout his more than 30 years of service to IU.

Holland earned over two dozen teaching and service awards during his career. Among his many awards, he received the Student Choice Award for Outstanding Faculty, the Herman B Wells Lifetime Achievement Award, Indiana University Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching Award, the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the Chancellor’s Medallion for his “transcendent service to the Bloomington campus.” Between 1979 and 1998, he was also a seven-time recipient of the Senior Class Award for Teaching Excellence in Biology and Dedication to Undergraduates, an award voted on by senior biology majors.

Prior to his death in 1998, a one-time-only minority fellowship was created in Holland’s name. This award was used as the model for the endowed fellowship that exists today.