NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
More information can be found here: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22614/nsf22614.htm?WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Applicant Eligibility:
See the Detailed Eligibility Requirements in Section IV for full information. Eligibility is based on the applicant’s status at the application deadline.
Applicants must self-certify that they are eligible to receive the Fellowship. To be eligible, an applicant must meet all of the following eligibility criteria at the application deadline:
- Be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident
- Intend to enroll or be enrolled full-time in a research-based Master’s or doctoral degree program in an eligible Field of Study in STEM or STEM education (See Appendix and Section IV.3 for eligible Fields of Study)
- Have never previously accepted a Graduate Research Fellowship
- If previously offered a Graduate Research Fellowship, have declined by the acceptance deadline
- Have never previously applied to GRFP while enrolled in a graduate degree program
- Have never earned a doctoral or terminal degree in any field
- Individuals holding joint Bachelor’s-Master’s degrees who did not progress directly to a doctoral program the semester following award of the joint degree must apply as returning graduate students (see below)
- Individuals with prior graduate enrollment who have: (i) completed more than one academic year in any graduate degree-granting program, (ii) earned a previous master’s degree of any kind (including Bachelor’s-Master’s degree), or (iii) earned a professional degree must meet the following requirements:
- not enrolled in a graduate degree program at application deadline
- two or more consecutive years past graduate degree enrollment or completion at the application deadline
- Not be a current NSF employee
Number of Times An Individual May Apply
- Undergraduate seniors and Bachelor’s degree holders who have never enrolled in a graduate degree program have no restrictions on the number of times they can apply before enrolling in a degree-granting graduate program.
- Graduate students enrolled in a degree-granting graduate program are limited to only one application to the GRFP, submitted in the first year or beginning of the second year of their degree program.
- Individuals applying while enrolled in a joint Bachelor’s-Master’s degree program are considered graduate students who: i) must have completed three (3) years in the joint program, and; ii) are limited to one application to GRFP; they will not be eligible to apply again as doctoral students. For GRFP, joint Bachelor’s-Master’s degrees are defined as degrees concurrently pursued and awarded.
- Individuals holding joint Bachelor’s-Master’s degrees, currently enrolled as first-year doctoral students, who (i) have not previously applied as graduate students and (ii) enrolled in the doctoral program the semester following award of the joint degree, may only apply in the first year of the doctoral program.
- Applications withdrawn by November 15 of the application year do not count toward the one-time graduate application limit. Applications withdrawn after November 15 count toward this one-time limit.
- Applications not reviewed by NSF do not count toward the one-time graduate application limit.