Why Apply?

As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers.  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, Google founder, Sergey Brin and Freakonomics co-author, Steven Levitt.  New fellows share in the prestige and opportunities that become available when they are selected.  Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, a one-time $1,000 travel allowance and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S., or foreign institution of graduate education they choose. 

Despite the time and energy the application process requires, the opportunities and honor that the fellowship offers make it well worth the effort.  The fellowship is  competitive, and those planning to apply should devote serious time and energy to their application.  See the Tips for Applying section, for more information.   

More Reasons to Apply

Your Research Funding

The GRFP believes in innovative research and that the best way to continue to produce pioneering scientific solutions is by funding creative, diverse and passionate researchers.   That is why the GRFP is not awarded to an institution, but rather to the individual for their graduate study.

Your Independence

Recipients receive the award to do the research they want to do when beginning their graduate career at the institution of their choice.  The GRFP is “globally portable”.  You can use the award at a number of different domestic or overseas institutions, and you are not limited to the school you listed on your application.  

One GRFP Fellow says, “The GRF has provided me with a tremendous amount of independence not only in terms of the college or university I attend, but the advisor I work with, and my dissertation topic. [...] I don’t have to rely on anyone else’s funding but my own. ”

Your Prestige

“Prestige is a key advantage of the GRF, particularly with respect to future job prospects.”  -Fellow

NSF fellows are our nation's cutting-edge researchers, exceptional leaders and brilliant creative individuals who care about the broader impact their work has on society.  They contribute significantly to major discoveries that enhance the scientific community and catch the eye of major associations and institutions.  Take a look at some GRFP Funded Innovations.

Your Prospects

Fellows gain entry to broader resources within the scientific community early on, including the ability to readily work with other cutting edge researchers in their field.   Fellows and Honorable Mentions also have supercomputing access to the TeraGrid.  This cyber infrastructure provides researchers and scientists across the country with supercomputing resources that enable them to carry on simulations and predictions of all kinds.  Besides GRFP Fellows and Honorable Mentions, only PhD-level researchers have access to NSF's TeraGrid.

Your Intellectual Growth

Fellows grow as a result of receiving the award.  Having the opportunity to begin conducting one's own research at an early stage is as much a resource as having the funding to do so.  Through the opportunity to work both independently and as a team member, fellows conduct research at some of the top institutions in the world.  Fellows develop their research and communication skills, allowing them to become the best and brightest in their fields.

Fellow Carol Reiley (front) from the Johns Hopkins University explores a method to automatically assess surgical skill through developing a “language of surgery” based on raw motions recorded by a da Vinci surgical system.  Photo credits: Michael Ciesielski and Michael Anft.

Useful links

GRFP Statistics

Publications about the GRFP