GRFP Eligibility

 In this section:

• GRFP Eligibility at a glance
• When should I apply for the GRFP?
• What if I have completed more than twelve months of graduate study?
• What fields of study are eligible for the GRFP?
• People who are always ineligible for the GRFP
• Questions about eligibility

GRFP Eligibility at a Glance

To be eligible for the NSF GRFP, you must:

• be a US citizen, US national, or permanent resident alien
• be in a research-focused Master's or Ph.D. program in an NSF-supported field
• have completed no more than twelve months of full-time graduate study (or the equivalent)

The "no more than twelve months" limit applies to your entire post-baccalaureate career, not just your current program. If you have completed less than twelve months of your Ph.D. but have previously completed a Master's degree, you would be considered to have more than twelve months of graduate study.

The complete set of GRFP eligibility guidelines is published in the program solicitation. We encourage all applicants to read the eligibility guidelines before applying.

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When Should I Apply for the GRFP?

If you...

• are currently in your final year of your undergraduate program
• finished your baccalaureate degree and are planning to attend graduate school in Fall 2009
• are a first year graduate student (started in Fall 2008), or
• are in the first semester of your second year in graduate school (started Fall 2007)

...you are within the eligible amount of completed graduate study. As long as you are pursuing a research-focused Master's or PhD in an NSF-supported field and meet the citizenship requirements, you are eligible for the GRFP.

If you are in a joint BS/MS program:

• If it is a four-year program, you can apply during the fourth year of the program, or immediately following completion of the program.
• If it is a five year program, you can apply during the fourth or fifth year of the program, or immediately following completion of the program.

If you are in a part-time graduate program:

24 semester credit hours or 36 quarter credit hours are considered equivalent to one year of full-time graduate study. If you are enrolled in a part-time graduate program and have completed less than 24 semester credits or 36 quarter credits, you would be considered to have completed "less than twelve months of graduate study".

There is no limit of times an applicant can re-apply for the GRFP, as long as they meet the eligibility guidelines. We encourage applicants to apply to the GRFP as early in their graduate career as possible. If you are a senior undergraduate who is planning to attend graduate school next fall, it might be worth your while to apply this year, since you will probably have at least two other opportunities to apply if you do not receive the fellowship on your first try.

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What If I Have Completed More Than 12 Months of Graduate Study?

The twelve-month limit applies to the entire graduate career. All post-baccalaureate, graduate level study can count towards this limit, including all Master's and Ph.D. programs, graduate-level coursework completed outside a degree program, and both full-time and part-time study.

If you have completed more than twelve months of graduate study, you might still be eligible if you have certain extenuating circumstances. These include:

• An Interruption in your graduate career of more than two years as of November 2009 due to medical or personal reasons, or
• A significant change in field.

To qualify as an extenuating circumstance, an interruption in study should not have involved work experience that is in the same field as your graduate study. The interruption must involve a total break from the proposed graduate field. For example, taking several years off due to a medical emergency might be an extenuating circumstance. Taking two years off following your Master's to work as a researcher, building up your skills and knowledge in your field, would not be an extenuating circumstance.

A significant change of field involves changing gross fields. The prior graduate study should be completely unrelated to the proposed graduate study. Examples of significant changes of field might include:

• going from an M.B.A. program to a Ph.D. in computer science
• changing fields from electrical engineering to sociology

Changing focus within the same general field is not considered a "significant change of field". If your previous graduate study and proposed research are both in the gross field of life sciences, for example, it probably would not be an extenuating circumstance.

The following are other examples of things that are not extenuating circumstances:

• starting a new research project in the same gross field as your previous grad study
• changing schools or advisors but remaining in the same gross field
• going from a "terminal Master's" to a research-focused Ph.D.
• going from a non-NSF-supported field to an NSF-supported field, but staying in the same gross field or having significant continuity between your previous and proposed study. (For example, earning a Master's in clinical psychology -- a non-NSF-supported field -- and going for a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology -- an NSF-supported field)
• changing gross fields, but with significant continuity between your research interests. Looking at the same question from a different angle may not a be "significant change of field".

If you think you might have an extenuating circumstance, you will need to write a 1-page essay describing your circumstances and why you think you should be considered eligible. All extenuating circumstances are determined on a case-by-case basis upon review of a complete, submitted application.

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What Fields of Study Are Eligible for the GRFP?

NSF supports a broad range of fields. A complete list of eligible fields of study can be found in the appendix of the 2009 program solicitation.

The following fields are not eligible:

• practice-oriented, professional degree programs
• education (except for research-focused science education Ph.D. programs)
• business or management fields
• social work
• clinical psychology
• medical sciences or research with disease-related goals

If your proposed graduate research has implications for the medical sciences, you may be eligible for the GRFP if you are proposing to do basic research.

If you are planning to carry out medical or clinical research, you might want to consider applying for pre-doctoral award support from the National Institutes of Health (www.nih.gov)

If you aren't sure if your field of study is supported by NSF, you may want to go to www.nsf.gov and look at areas that have recently been awarded funding.

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People Who Are Always Ineligible for the GRFP

Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or permanent resident alien is ineligible. Foreign nationals who are in the U.S. on a student visa are not eligible.

If you received a GRFP award and held tenure as an NSF Graduate Fellow in the past, you cannot apply for a second GRFP award.

If you received a Ph.D. in any STEM field, or a medical degree (such as an M.D., D.V.M., or D.D.S.) after October 1, 2003, you are not eligible, even if your proposed graduate program is in a significantly different field.

If you are in a joint science-professional degree program (such as an MD/Ph.D. or JD/Ph.D.), you are ineligible for the GRFP, even if you are proposing to use the GRFP only for the Ph.D. part of your program.

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Questions About Eligibility

The official GRFP eligibility guidelines are published in the program solicitation. Applicants are strongly encouraged to read them carefully.

Please call the GRF Operations Center at (866) 673-4737 or e-mail help@nsfgrfp.org if you have questions about the eligibility guidelines.

The GRF Operations Center Helpdesk will provide as much information as possible to answer all your eligibility questions. Please note that eligibility is officially determined only by a review of your complete, submitted application. If you fall into a "gray area" due to possible extenuating circumstances, your eligibility cannot be officially confirmed prior to submitting an application.

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GRF Operation Center Helpdesk:

(866) 673-4737

info@nsfgradfellows.org

Fastlane Technical Support:

(800) 673-6188

fastlane@nsf.gov

Information for current NSF Fellows:

(703) 292-8694