NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents may apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program while pursuing or preparing to enter a research-based master's or doctoral degree in an eligible STEM or STEM education field at a U.S. institution. Eligible applicants include college seniors, first-year graduate students with less than one academic year completed, joint bachelor's-master's students with at least three undergraduate years done, and bachelor's degree holders not yet enrolled in graduate school.

Fellows receive a five-year fellowship period with three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000 and a $16,000 per-year cost-of-education allowance paid to the institution. The fellowship carries no post-graduate study service requirement and includes access to supplemental funding during qualifying medical leave.

Applications are submitted through the GRFP portal and require reference letters, transcripts, and a personal statement evaluated on NSF intellectual merit and broader impacts criteria. Field-specific submission deadlines fall on different days in November each cycle.

NSF established GRFP in 1952 to strengthen the U.S. scientific and engineering workforce by recognizing graduate students with potential for significant STEM contributions.