NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

Application Deadline(s) (submitted by 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time):

November 16, 2011

The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce in the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in fields within NSF's mission. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research. The ranks of NSF Fellows include numerous individuals who have made transformative breakthroughs in science and engineering research, many who have become leaders in their chosen careers, and some who have been honored as Nobel laureates.

Award Information

Estimated Number of Awards: 2,000 new Fellowships will be offered pending availability of funds.

Applicants are urged to visit the NSF web page at http://www.nsf.gov/ for more information and guidance about current and emerging themes for NSF.

III. AWARD INFORMATION

The NSF expects to award 2,000 Graduate Research Fellowships under this program solicitation pending availability of funds.

For each matriculated Fellow, the institution receives up to a $40,500 award per Fellow tenure year (12-month increments) to cover the costs described below. For 2012, it is anticipated that the cost-of-education allowance will increase to $12,000, as indicated in the FY2012 Budget Request.

The Graduate Research Fellowship stipend is currently $30,000 for a 12-month tenure period, prorated in whole month increments of $2,500.

Categories of applicants that are always ineligible:

Those who do not hold US citizenship, national, or permanent resident status by the application deadline.
Those who were previously awarded a fellowship from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program and accepted it.
Those who have declined the offer of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and who did not notify NSF by the published deadline for accepting the Fellowship.
Those who have earned any graduate or professional degree, except applicants who have completed a joint BS/MS program and have not completed any further graduate study outside the joint program
Current NSF employees.

1. Citizenship

Applicants must be United States citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of the United States by the application deadline.

The term "national" designates a native resident of a commonwealth or territory of the United States, such as American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands. It does not refer to a citizen of another country who has applied for US citizenship.

2. Degree Requirements

Fellowships are awarded to individuals in the early stages of their graduate study. Below are general guidelines for determining eligibility according to the degree requirements criterion:

Applicants are expected to have adequate preparation to begin graduate study and research by Summer or Fall 2012. This is nearly always demonstrated by receipt of a bachelor's degree in a science or engineering field earned prior to Fall 2012.
Individuals are typically eligible to apply:
During the senior year of college
After graduating from college and prior to entering graduate school
During the first year of graduate school
Prior to completing the Fall term of the second year of graduate school.
Applicants must have completed no more than 12 months of full-time graduate study or its equivalent as of August 1, 2011. Full-time graduate study is as defined by the universities attended.
Applicants who have completed part-time graduate study must have completed no more than 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours or their equivalent as of August 1, 2011. This credit hour limit applies only to part-time graduate students; there is no credit hour limit for full-time students.
All post-baccalaureate, graduate-level study is counted toward the allowed 12 months of completed graduate study. This includes all Master's and doctoral programs.

Applicants in joint BS/MS programs are typically eligible to apply prior to completion of any further graduate study.

In four-year joint programs, applicants may apply in the fourth year and after completion of the program. Completion of any graduate study outside of the joint program will disqualify an applicant.
In five-year joint programs, applicants may apply in the fourth and fifth years of the program and after completion of the program. Completion of any further graduate study outside of the joint program will disqualify an applicant.

Definition of Completed Graduate Study and Extenuating Circumstance

Applicants may have completed no more than 12 months of full-time graduate study or its equivalent by August 1, 2011. Pre-graduate participation in summer activities (e.g., bridge programs, field studies, lab rotations) offered by a graduate program prior to the start of the Fall graduate program are not included in this total.

All post-baccalaureate, graduate study is counted towards the allowed 12 months of graduate study. This includes the following:

All Master's programs (including research-based or coursework-based programs, and "terminal" programs as well as those that are contiguous with a Ph.D. program)
All Doctoral programs
Post-baccalaureate, graduate-level coursework completed outside a degree program
Both full-time and part-time graduate programs.

Extenuating Circumstance

Applicants who have completed more than twelve months of graduate study and who have not earned a graduate degree may be considered eligible if they have had an interruption in graduate study of at least two consecutive years prior to November 2011. An eligibility essay is required in the application.