National Science Foundation

THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (Sciences, Math, Engineering, Behavioral or Social Sciences)

Am I Eligible?

Applicants must be United States citizens or nationals, or permanent resident aliens of the United States.

  • Applicants are expected to have adequate preparation to begin graduate study and research by summer or fall of the subsequent year. In most cases, this will be demonstrated by receipt of a bachelor's degree earned prior to the recipient of the award.
  • Individuals are typically eligible to apply during the senior year of college or prior to or during the first year of graduate school.
  • Applicants must be planning work in the approved fields of study: Life Sciences, Psychology, Mathematical Sciences, Social Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Engineering, Computer and Information Science Engineering, Geosciences
  • Categories of applicants that are always ineligible:
    • Those who earned a Ph.D. in science, mathematics, or engineering or any medical degree, such as an M.D., D.D.S. or D.V.M. after October 1, 2000.
    • Those who have already received and held tenure as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow.
  • Categories of study that are always ineligible:
    • Clinical, counseling, business, or management fields, social work, education (except in science education Ph.D.), or history (except in history of science).
    • Practice-oriented professional degree programs, joint science-professional degree programs (MD/PhD and JD/PhD), and medical, dental, law, or public health programs.
    • Medical sciences or research with disease-related goals.

What Will I Receive?

  1. The affiliated institution receives $46,000 for costs below:
  • The Graduate Research Fellowship stipend currently is $34,000 for a 12-month tenure period
  • The cost of education allowance currently is $12,000 per tenure year. For Fellows Abroad, all tuition and assessed fees will be reimbursed to the Fellow up to a maximum of $10,500 per tenure year.
  • Fellows are allowed an International Research Travel Allowance.
  • All awards will be for a maximum of three years usable over a five-year period.
  • (Fellows abroad receive direct NSF grant awards up to the same amount.)

Website:

www.nsf.gov/grfp

How do I apply?

Students will apply online using a service call “Fastlane” in order to submit all materials.  The application includes the following:  a personal profile, GRE scores, education and work experience, the student’s proposed program of study and university choice, references, a personal statement, any research experience, a plan of research, and transcripts.

Deadlines:

See NSF website for specific deadlines by area.

 

Additional Information:

The National Science Foundation aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1,000 graduate fellowships in this competition.

Faculty Representative:

Dr. Elizabeth Elliot-Meisel