Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

Fellowship funding will be for a maximum of three years of financial support (in 12-month allocations, starting in summer or fall) usable over a five-year fellowship period. The anticipated announcement date for the Fellowship awards is early April each year.

• NSF-GRFP is a $46,000 award per Fellow who uses the fellowship support in a fellowship year.
• The Graduate Research Fellowship stipend is currently $34,000 for a 12-month tenure period, prorated in whole month increments of $2,833.
• The cost-of-education allowance to the institution is currently $12,000 per year of fellowship support.

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 by the application deadline:

• Be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident
• Intend to enroll or be enrolled full-time in a research-based graduate 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 GRFP award
• If previously offered a GRFP award, have declined by the deadline
• Have never previously applied to GRFP while enrolled in a graduate degree program
• Have never earned a doctoral degree
• Have never earned a master’s, professional, or bachelor’s-master’s degree in any field, unless returning to graduate study after an interruption of at least two (2) years
• Not be a current NSF employee

Number of Times Individuals May Apply

• Undergraduate seniors and bachelor’s degree holders may 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 at the beginning of the second year of their degree program.
• Effective with the 2020 competition (Fall 2019 deadline), individuals pursuing a master’s degree simultaneously with the bachelor’s degree (joint bachelor’s-master’s degree) will be limited to one application to GRFP; they will not be eligible to apply again as a doctoral degree student. Individuals in this category applying in the 2019 competition (Fall 2018 deadline) will have one more opportunity to apply as first-year doctoral students in the 2020 competition (Fall 2019 deadline).
• Individuals holding joint bachelor’s-master’s degrees who have not previously applied as graduate students may apply as first-year doctoral students in the 2019 competition.
• 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 (returned without review) do not count toward the one-time graduate application limit.
• There is a limited opportunity for returning graduate students to apply for a graduate research fellowship. Individuals who have (i) completed more than one academic year in a 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 (e.g., law, medicine) are eligible only if:
  • they have had a continuous interruption in graduate study of at least two consecutive years immediately prior to the application deadline; and
  • are not enrolled in a degree-granting graduate program at the application deadline.