NSF Fellowships

Eligibility

• Applicants may be graduating seniors or graduate students who have completed no more than 20 semester or 30 quarter hours of graduate study in fields supported by grants
• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals or those who are permanent residents of the United States at the time of application.
• Graduate study may be pursued in the US or abroad
• Students must submit GRE scores. Note: students must adhere to the deadline listed in the application (usually around December 20) or scores will not be available to the review panel in time for serious consideration for an award.
• All applicants must take the General Test and applicants should take the Subject
• The latest test date acceptable for the NSF is the December date. Scores may be submitted from earlier test dates within five years of October of the year in which you are applying for the NSF.

Selection

Applicants MUST have an excellent academic record and have demonstrated their ability to do original research or other creative work related to their field of study.  The NSF essays require that students be able to articulate very specific plans for graduate study.  Generally, more awards are given in the physical sciences than the social sciences and the philosophy or history of science. Applicants must articulate clear and definite plans for their Ph.D. research and graduate study. Although there are no GPA requirements, NSF recipients will have a 3.6 or better GPA. Evidence of academic achievement and well developed and supported research and study plans supported by strong reference letters are essential.

Awards

The NSF is highly competitive. Approximately 5,000 applications are reviewed each year with about 900 awards made. Approximately 90 awards will be in the Women in Engineering (WENG) and Women in Computer and Information Science (WICS) components.

Awards carry a stipend for each fellow of $30,000 for a 12-month tenure (prorated monthly at $2,500 for lesser periods) and an annual cost-of-education allowance of $10,500, paid to the Fellow's institution in lieu of tuition and fees.

Deadlines

Deadlines vary by discipline in early November.

Visit the NSF Website for more information.

Apply online