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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
With one successful application, you could expand your career options, earn $159,000 towards your graduate education and realize your dreams of becoming an accomplished social scientist, psychologist, scientist, STEM educator or engineer.
What is the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program?
The (NSF GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $37,000 and a cost of education allowance of $16,000 to the institution.
What are the benefits of a GRFP Fellowship?
Five-year fellowship period with three years of financial support
Annual stipend of $37,000
Cost-of-education allowance of $16,000 to the institution
No post-graduate study service requirement
Access to supplemental funding to sustain research while on medical deferral (e.g. family leave)
Who is eligible?
GRFP welcomes applications from individuals who are pursuing full-time research-based Master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM Education and who meet the eligibility requirements. You are eligible if one of the following applies to you at the time of application:
You are an undergraduate in your final (senior) year of a Bachelor’s degree program
You are a Bachelor’s degree-holder with NO enrollment in a graduate degree program
You are enrolled in an accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s degree program with at least three undergraduate years completed
You are a first-year graduate student in your first graduate degree program with less than one academic year completed in the degree program
We want to help you prepare a competitive application.
The Graduate School is hosting a workshop on the NSF GRFP application process.
This in-person workshop will be held on Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 - 1:30 p.m. in PSAC 114. Pizza will be served!
The deadline to RSVP is 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 22.
Workshop overview
The workshop will provide an overview of the GRFP application process, as well as a panel discussion by faculty who have served as GRFP panel reviewers and University students who have recently received NSF GRFP awards. A synopsis of the program is provided at the end of this email. To be eligible to receive one of these awards, you must be a US citizen or permanent resident by the application deadline.
By attending the workshop, you will also receive access to supporting materials, such as examples of successful applications and tips on strengthening both the intellectual merit and broader impacts components of your application. In addition, if you are able to provide a complete draft of your application, the Office of Research and Innovation will provide expert reviews of your application in time for you to make revisions prior to the application deadline.
Please give serious consideration to attending the workshop and submitting a NSF GRFP application. The reputation of the GRFP follows recipients and often helps them become life-long leaders that contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching. Past fellows include numerous Nobel Prize winners, former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, Google founder, Sergey Brin and Freakonomics co-author, Steven Levitt.
More information about the GRFP and application process
is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based masters and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education. NSF especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, persons with disabilities, veterans, and undergraduate seniors to apply.
Application deadlines are listed on the NSF website.
Major fields of study
Note: Applications are reviewed based on the selection of a Major Field of Study. As an example, Chemistry is a Major Field of Study, and Chemical Catalysis is a subfield under Chemistry.
Artificial Intelligence
Chemical Catalysis
Chemical Measurement and Imaging
Chemical Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanism
Chemical Synthesis
Chemical Theory, Models and Computational Methods
Chemistry of Life Processes
Computationally Intensive Research
Environmental Chemical Systems
Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry
Quantum Information Science
Sustainable Chemistry
Other (specify)
Algorithms and Theoretical Foundations
Artificial Intelligence
Bioinformatics and other Informatics
Communication and Information Theory
Computational Science and Engineering
Computationally Intensive Research
Computer and Information Sciences & Engineering category
Computer Architecture
Computer Networks
Computer Security and Privacy
Computer Systems and Embedded Systems
Data Mining and Information Retrieval
Data Science
Databases
Formal Methods, Verification, and Programming Languages
Graphics and Visualization
Human-Computer Interaction
Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Quantum Computing and Communication
Quantum Information Science
Robotics and Computer Vision
Software Engineering
Other (specify)
Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering
Artificial Intelligence
Bioengineering
Biomedical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computationally Intensive Research
Computer Engineering
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Energy Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
Manufacturing Engineering
Materials Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Ocean Engineering
Optical Engineering
Quantum Engineering
Quantum Information Science
Systems Engineering
Wireless Engineering
Other (specify)
Aeronomy
Artificial Intelligence
Atmospheric Chemistry
Biogeochemistry
Biological Oceanography
Chemical Oceanography
Climate and Large-Scale Atmospheric Dynamics
Computationally Intensive Research
Geobiology
Geochemistry
Geodynamics
Geomorphology
Geophysics
Glaciology
Hydrology
Magnetospheric Physics
Marine Biology
Marine Geology and Geophysics
Paleoclimate
Paleontology and Paleobiology
Petrology
Physical and Dynamic Meteorology
Physical Oceanography
Quantum Information Science
Sedimentary Geology
Solar Physics
Tectonics
Other (specify)
Artificial Intelligence
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Biophysics
Cell Biology
Computationally Intensive Research
Developmental Biology
Ecology
Environmental Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics
Genomics
Microbial Biology
Neurosciences
Organismal Biology
Physiology
Proteomics
Quantum Information Science
Structural Biology
Systematics and Biodiversity
Systems and Molecular Biology
Other (specify)
Artificial Intelligence
Biomaterials
Ceramics
Chemistry of Materials
Computationally Intensive Research
Electronic Materials
Materials Theory
Metallic Materials
Photonic Materials
Physics of Materials
Polymers
Quantum Information Science
Other (specify)
Algebra, Number Theory, and Combinatorics
Analysis
Applied Mathematics
Artificial Intelligence
Biostatistics
Computational and Data-Enabled Science
Computational Mathematics
Computational Statistics
Computationally Intensive Research
Geometric Analysis
Logic or Foundations of Mathematics
Mathematical Biology
Probability
Quantum Information Science
Statistics
Topology
Other (specify)
Artificial Intelligence
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Computationally Intensive Research
Condensed Matter Physics
Nuclear Physics
Particle Physics
Physics of Living Systems
Plasma Physics
Quantum Information Science
Solid State Physics
Theoretical Physics
Other (specify)
Artificial Intelligence
Cognitive Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Comparative Psychology
Computational Psychology
Computationally Intensive Research
Developmental Psychology
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Neuropsychology
Perception and Psychophysics
Personality and Individual Differences
Physiological Psychology
Psycholinguistics
Quantitative Psychology
Quantum Information Science
Social/Affective Neuroscience
Social Psychology
Other (specify)
Anthropology, other (specify)
Archaeology
Artificial Intelligence
Biological Anthropology
Communications
Computationally Intensive Research
Cultural Anthropology
Decision Making and Risk Analysis
Economics
Geography
History and Philosophy of Science
International Relations
Law and Social Science
Linguistic Anthropology
Linguistics
Medical Anthropology
Political Science
Public Policy
Quantum Information Science
Science Policy
Sociology
Urban and Regional Planning
Other (specify)
Artificial Intelligence
Computationally Intensive Research
Engineering Education
Mathematics Education
Quantum Information Science
Science Education
Technology Education
Other (specify)
See the University's 2025 Fellows
Jessica Buelow
Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology doctoral student
Otis Clyne
Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology doctoral student
Materials Science and Engineering doctoral student
Rachel Kozloski
Hydrology doctoral student
Wendy Torrens
Neuroscience doctoral student
Casey Lee, Varabkanich-Payne
Anthropology master’s student
Sure, our GRFP fellows are contributing in big ways to their respective fields through their research, but they are also helping to educate and inspire the next generation of scholars. They teach labs and classes, present posters and papers, and mentor up-and-coming undergraduate and master's students.
