Fellowships are awarded to students in the second year of advanced degree study based on performance criteria in both the didactic and research aspects of advanced degree training. The Office of Graduate Education of the School of Medicine sets selection criteria.

The C. C. Clayton Award was established in 1978 to reward an outstanding rising second year graduate students in the biomedical sciences. The award is made in honor of Dr. Charles Clayton, who served as Professor of Biochemistry and Assistant Dean of the School of Basic Sciences and Graduate Studies. Dr Clayton came to the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) in 1949. He rose through the academic ranks, making scholarly contributions in the area of lipid biochemistry, while carrying extensively teaching responsibilities in all of the health professions programs at MCV after World War II. The graduate programs had been suspended during the War to devote the entire effort of the faculty to training health profession practitioners in a variety of accelerated programs. Dr. Clayton was also instrumental in developing the first doctoral programs at MCV. Daniel T. Watts tapped Dr. Clayton to serve as Assistant Dean during the period of rapid growth of the graduate programs in biomedical sciences at the newly created Health Sciences Division of Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Clayton served in this capacity, and as Executive Secretary of the A. D. Williams Committee, until his unexpected and untimely death in 1977.