Psychology, Social Sciences, STEM Education and Learning Research
To be eligible for the NSF GRFP, you must:
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Application level selection.
The GRFP Application requires you to select the academic level that best describes the stage of your academic career. Use the GRFP Academic Level Questionnaire to help you select the appropriate academic level in your application. Levels are determined as follows:
Level 1. You have not previously enrolled in a graduate degree-granting program, but plan to start graduate study next fall. Includes undergraduates in the final year of a bachelor’s degree program and individuals who previously earned a bachelor’s degree.
Level 2. First year graduate student currently enrolled in a graduate degree-granting program, who has never applied to GRFP before as a graduate student or returning graduate student, or a student currently enrolled in a joint bachelor’s-master’s degree program (must have completed three academic years in program).
Level 3. Second year graduate student who has completed no more than one academic year of graduate study while enrolled in any graduate degree-granting program, does not have a graduate degree, and has never applied to GRFP before as a graduate student or returning graduate student.
Level 4. Returning graduate student who is not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program, and may have more than one academic year in a graduate-degree granting program and/or a master’s or professional degree, followed by an interruption of at least two years just prior to the GRFP application deadline. Note: address the reasons for the interruption and why you should be considered to be in the early stages of your graduate education in the Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement.
GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high achieving scientists and engineers, early in their careers. Applicants must be pursuing full-time research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education at accredited US institutions.
NSF welcomes scientists and engineers to serve as reviewers of GRFP applications. Serving as a GRFP Reviewer is an excellent opportunity to apply your research and career expertise to help identify future science and engineering leaders.
Reference letters are a key component of a strong GRFP application package. The most effective reference letters provide detailed and specific information about how an applicant meets the NSF Merit Review Criteria of Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts.
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Is graduate school in your future? Pursuing a PhD or master’s degree in science or engineering is an intellectual journey, opening doors to many career paths in academia, industry and beyond. The U.S. National Science Foundation can help fund your graduate education and kick-start your career. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program, or GRFP, is one of NSF’s oldest programs. Fellowships were first awarded in 1952 and predate NSF’s first awards for research grants.
GRFP is a prestigious program that supports outstanding graduate students pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in over 100 NSF-supported STEM fields. Every year, nearly 14,000 applications are received for about 2,000 fellowships. Fellowships comprise three years of financial support that can be used over a five-year period at accredited U.S. institutions, including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost-of-education allowance of $12,000 that graduate institutions agree to accept in lieu of charging tuition and fees.
Thousands of former GRFP fellows have gone on to become leaders in their chosen field, with several being honored as Nobel Laureates and members of the National Academies.
Here are five tips from a program officer to help you with your NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program application :
1. Do your homework
One of the keys to your success is to read the entire program solicitation . It is a comprehensive list of instructions that will lay out exactly what you need to do to have a successful application. Make sure to read it twice!
If you have a research or academic mentor, have a conversation with them about your goals for your graduate training and subsequent career. This will help you organize ideas and formulate a strong narrative about your credentials and career goals in your application. Your mentor might also be willing to review drafts of your application or be able to connect you with a former Fellow for more advice.
2. Know your timelines
Each year the GRFP application portal opens between late July and early August. Application deadlines vary by discipline but generally fall in mid to late October of each year. GRFP regularly updates specific deadlines on its website . Writing a GRFP application is not a small task, but planning ahead can give you time and space to craft a competitive application and your references time to write their letters.
Y ou can apply during your undergraduate study or up to your second year in a graduate program. If you have already earned a master’s degree -- excluding one that you earned in a joint BS/MS program -- you may not be eligible to apply unless there has been a longer than two-year break in your graduate studies. If you are still unsure whether you are eligible, use the GRFP questionnaire .
3. Help references help you
In your GRFP application, you can submit names of up to five references. A minimum of three references are required, and two letters of recommendation must be received. Anyone can serve as a reference for your GRFP application, as long as they are not a family member. The best reference writers will be those who can provide detailed and specific information about your potential for success in graduate education and beyond.
Help your reference letter writers by giving them details about GRFP and why you are applying. Provide them with drafts of your personal statement and graduate research plan statements, along with your CV and other relevant materials. Remind them of big accomplishments that can provide some direction for crafting your letter.
4. Know your reviewers
Your GRFP application requires two statements: a Personal Statement that encompasses relevant background and future goals, and a Graduate Research Plan Statement; both should be written to reflect both intellectual merit and broader impact criteria.
Your Personal Statement is for reviewers to get to know you. How is your personal story different from other applicants? Describe any research experiences you may have that highlight your personal qualities. You can also detail challenges you overcame or significant contributions to science or society your work has made.
In your Graduate Research Plan statement, avoid being too focused on specifics or overly technical. Instead, focus on the rationale for your studies and how they fill a gap in the literature. GRFP reviewers are generally experts in your general field, but it is unlikely they will have deep knowledge of your specific proposed research topic.
5. It's all in the details
The program solicitation provides detailed instructions about the technical aspects of the application, like page limits and font sizes. Despite this, over 800 applications are returned to applicants each year due to formatting errors or missing documents. For example, the page length for the Personal Statement is three pages, and the Graduate Research Plan is two pages, including all references, citations, figures and other materials. Double check these details before starting, and again before submitting, to make sure your application is submitted without error.
Try to avoid submitting the application at the last second, especially if you are unfamiliar with the interface or might have unexpected internet connectivity issues. Certain formatting errors will be automatically rejected by the system, so submitting early will leave you extra time to make any required changes. The GRFP has created a video to help you navigate the technical processes of submitting your application.
NSF’s GRFP can be a transformative opportunity for young scientists and engineers to kick off their graduate training. If you have additional questions about the program, visit the GRFP website or email [email protected] . Good luck with your application!
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Region: Global
For eligible students at universities globally pursuing research aligned to Microsoft Research areas of focus.
Update : Microsoft Research has paused our call for proposals/nominations for the 2023 calendar year. We are exploring new avenues to invest in our academic partnerships and bring together students and researchers to collaborate, share knowledge, and pursue new research directions.
To learn more about the recently announced Microsoft Research AI & Society Fellows program , uniting eminent scholars and experts to collaborate on research at the intersection of AI and society, visit our program page .
The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a global program that identifies and empowers the next generation of exceptional computing research talent. Microsoft recognizes the value of diversity in computing and aims to increase the pipeline of talent receiving advanced degrees in computing-related fields to build a stronger and inclusive computing-related research community. We currently offer PhD fellowships in Asia-Pacific, Canada and the United States, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), Latin America, Australia and New Zealand.
Over the last two decades, the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship program has supported over 700 fellows around the world, many of whom have gone on to work at Microsoft. Others have gone on to perform pioneering research elsewhere within the technology industry or accept faculty appointments at leading universities.
See your region for details, instructions, and answers to common questions.
We are always looking for the best and brightest talent and celebrate individuality. We invite and encourage candidates to come as they are and do what they love.
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Sloan research fellowships support fundamental research conducted by early-career scientists..
The two-year $75,000 fellowships are awarded annually to early-career researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of leaders.
The Sloan Research Fellowship Program recognizes and rewards outstanding early-career faculty who have the potential to revolutionize their fields of study.
Questions about how these eligibility requirements apply to you? See our FAQ page or email us at [email protected]
Nomination Letters and Letters of Support are important elements of the selection process and are read carefully by Selection Committees. The letters allow nominators and support writers to give Committee members insight about nominees that is not present in their other application materials (CV, publication list, etc.). Selection Committees recommend that letters of support be submitted by someone who can speak objectively and knowledgeably about the quality and significance of a nominee’s work. Letters submitted by co-authors, personal associates, or professional mentors are, in this sense, less useful to Selection Committees than letters submitted by those with more professional distance from a nominee’s work.
Who Should Be Nominated?
The Sloan Research Fellowship Program recognizes and rewards outstanding early-career faculty who have the potential to revolutionize their fields of study. Successful candidates for a Fellowship generally have a strong record of significant independent research accomplishments that demonstrate creativity and the potential to become future leaders in the scientific community. Nominated candidates are normally several years past the completion of their Ph.D. in order to accumulate a competitive record of independent, significant research.
In keeping with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's longstanding support of underrepresented scholars in the sciences, the Foundation strongly encourages the nomination of qualified Black, Latinx, Native American, Alaska Native and women candidates.
How to Submit Nomination Materials
All materials must be uploaded and submitted through the Foundation’s online application portal. See the Apply page for more information.
Nominations are reviewed and candidates selected by an independent selection committee of distinguished scientists in each eligible field.
Fellows are selected on the basis of their independent research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in the scientific community through their contributions to their field.
The nomination period for the 2025 Sloan Research Fellowships opens on July 15 and closes on September 15, 2024.
CHEMISTRY Héctor D. Abruña, Cornell University Cathleen M. Crudden, Queen's University Todd Martinez, Stanford University Wilfred A. van der Donk, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign COMPUTER SCIENCE Moses Charikar, Stanford University Sylvia Ratnasamy, University of California, Berkeley Kilian Weinberger, Cornell University EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE E. Virginia Armbrust, University of Washington Inez Fung, University of California, Berkeley David Halpern, University of California, San Diego
ECONOMICS Veronica Guerrieri, The University of Chicago Leah Platt Boustan, Princeton University Parag Pathak, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MATHEMATICS Larry Guth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Amit Singer, Princeton University Karen E. Smith, University of Michigan NEUROSCIENCE Rui Costa, Columbia University Yishi Jin, University of California, San Diego Bernardo Sabatini, Harvard University PHYSICS Lars Bildsten, University of California, Santa Barbara Sally Dawson, Stony Brook University Subir Sachdev, Harvard University Jun Ye, University of Colorado, Boulder
See a list of all past members of the Selection Committees.
The above terms and conditions are spelled out in more detail in the formal fellowship agreement. Please see the For Current Fellows tab for more information.
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The 25 Best Places to Find PhD Fellowships. Each year, PhD students apply for and earn thousands of fellowships to fund research projects, dissertations, and other doctoral-level studies in their chosen fields.
The Google PhD Fellowship Program was created to recognize outstanding graduate students doing exceptional and innovative research in areas relevant to computer science and related fields. Fellowships support promising PhD candidates of all backgrounds who seek to influence the future of technology.
The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. A goal of the program is to broaden participation of the full spectrum of diverse talents in STEM.
GRFP is a prestigious program that supports outstanding graduate students pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in over 100 NSF-supported STEM fields. Every year, nearly 14,000 applications are received for about 2,000 fellowships.
The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a global program that identifies and empowers the next generation of exceptional computing research talent.
Sloan Research Fellowships support fundamental research conducted by early-career scientists. The two-year $75,000 fellowships are awarded annually to early-career researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of leaders.