Overview

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. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.

Eligibility

NSF Graduate Fellowships are open only to individuals who are, at the time of application, citizens or nationals or permanent resident aliens of the United States. The fields of science, mathematics, and engineering supported by the National Science Foundation are extensive, and are listed on the NSF Website. There are several other opportunities listed here.  The Women in Engineering and Computer and Information Science awards are limited to women who intend to pursue graduate degrees in one of the fields listed under the headings "Engineering" or "Computer and Information Science and Engineering." Support is not provided for study in clinical, counseling, business, or management fields; for work in medical, dental, law, public health, or practice-oriented professional degree programs; or in joint science-professional degree programs such as an MD/PhD.

NSF Graduate Fellowships are intended for students at or near the beginning of their graduate study in science, mathematics, or engineering. Eligibility is limited to those individuals who, at the time of application, have completed no more than 20 semester hours or equivalent of graduate study in the fields supported by this program. In most cases, an individual has two opportunities to apply: during the senior year of college and in the first year of graduate school. No individual will be eligible who, as of the time of application, has within the past ten years, earned an advanced degree in science, mathematics, or engineering.

Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by disciplinary panels of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. In considering applications, reviewers address the following criteria:   (1) What is the intellectual merit of the applicant? and (2) What are the broader impacts of supporting the individual's graduate study?

The intellectual merit criterion includes intellectual ability and other requisites for scholarly scientific study, such as the ability to work as a member of a team as well as independently, the ability to communicate, and the ability to plan and conduct research. Panelists will consider the strength of the academic record, the proposed plan of research, previous research experience, the appropriateness of choice of references and the extent to which they indicate merit, Graduate Record Examinations ("GRE") General and Subject Tests scores, and the appropriateness of the choice of institution for fellowship tenure relative to the proposed plan of research.

The broader impacts criterion may include contributions to community, both social and scholarly, as well as unique characteristics of each applicant's background, including personal, professional, and educational experiences. As in all NSF programs, valuing diversity and the integration of research and education are important elements of the review process. Applicants should address these issues in their written statement(s) to provide reviewers with the information necessary to respond fully to both NSF merit review criteria.

Other criteria such as geographical region or discipline will be used to select among applications of substantially equal merit.

Application Process

For further details on application deadlines, refer to NSF Website.   Applications are available at the Fastlane website.

Award Value and Conditions

Fellows may choose any appropriate, accredited, non-profit United States institution or appropriate international institution of higher education offering advanced degrees in science, mathematics, or engineering. Fellows are required to engage in full-time programs leading to graduate degrees in disciplines supported by NSF.