NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

NSF GRFP Information Session
Led by Professor William Hahn, this information session will provide a comprehensive overview of the GRFP and provide guidance on how to competitively frame the statements to meet the agency’s funding priorities.
Date: Tuesday, September 8 from 12:00-2:00-pm
View the recording below:

Writing Workshop: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts
Led by Professor David Lipscomb, Director of the Writing Center, this workshop will include a merit review evaluation tool students can use when writing their statements. While not required, students will gain more from the workshop if they bring a draft of their personal or research statement that they can share in the session.
Date: Tuesday, September 22 from 12:00-1:30pm
Location: Zoom (link will be shared with students who register)
RSVP by September 21

Round-table Discussion and Critique of Statements (Peer Review)
This will be a peer review session, so students should bring a draft of either statement to share. After a review of writing tips and GRFP formatting requirements, students will break into pairs or small groups to review and provide feedback on each other’s statements.
Date: Monday, October 5 from 12:00-1:30pm
Location: Zoom (link will be shared with students who register)
RSVP by October 5

Special Sessions: Open-Writing with Individual Assistance from Writing Center Tutors
The Writing Center offers appointments with tutors who are grant-writing specialists (designated in the tutor’s bio which pops up when you schedule an appointment); you can also sign up for any other open slot, since all tutors should be prepared to help with both your personal statement and your research statement.  Follow the below link to setup an account and schedule an appointment: http://writingcenter.georgetown.edu/

• Three (3) years of stipend, currently $34,000 per year, disbursed over a five-year period while student is on “active” tenure.
• $12,000 cost-of-education allowance to the home institution per year of “active” tenure.
• Opportunities for international research through GROW and federal internships through GRIP
• Supercomputing resources through XSEDE

• U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents
• 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.
• Individuals pursuing a master’s degree simultaneously with the bachelor’s degree (joint bachelor’s-master’s degree) must have completed three (3) years in the joint program and are limited to one application to GRFP; they will not be eligible to apply again as a doctoral degree student.
• Individuals holding joint bachelor’s-master’s degrees currently enrolled as first-year doctoral students, who have not previously applied as graduate students and enrolled in the doctoral program the semester following award of the joint degree, may apply as first-year doctoral students only.
• 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: 1) they have had a continuous interruption in graduate study of at least two consecutive years immediately prior to the application deadline; and 2) are not enrolled in a degree-granting graduate program at the application deadline. ​​
• 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
• Fellowships cannot be held or combined concurrently with other federal or government-funded fellowships (e.g., Boren, Fulbright, Fulbright-Hays, SMART, etc.)

• Chemistry
• Computer & Information Science & Engineering
• Engineering
• Geosciences
• Life Sciences
• Materials Research
• Mathematical Sciences
• Physics & Astronomy
• Psychology – except clinical or counseling
• Social Sciences
• STEM Education & Learning Research
• Other: see full list of fields in the Appendix of the 2021 program solicitation

• M.D./Ph.D., J.D./Ph.D. and other joint professional degree-science programs
• Medical, dental, law, and public health programs
• M.B.A., M.P.H., M.S.W., J.D., M.D., D.D.S. and other practice-oriented professional degree programs
• Clinical study of any kind, including patient-centered research or research with disease-related goals. Eligible exceptions:
  • bioengineering research with diagnosis or treatment specific goals which apply engineering principles to problems in biology and medicine;
  • bioengineering research to aid persons with disabilities
• Other ineligible fields of study: consult Appendix of the 2021 program solicitation

• Official NSF 2021 program solicitation 
• Research.gov: application and Help Desk
• NSFGRF Operations Center web site for guidance and general inquiries

Application Materials & Evaluation
The Research.gov application consists of the following:

• Personal, Relevant Background, and Future Goals Statement (3-page maximum)*
• Graduate Research Statement (2-page maximum)*
• Undergraduate and Graduate (if applicable) Transcripts
• Three (3) Letters of Reference (uploaded separately to research.gov by selected referees)

*Applications, and specifically the two statements, will be evaluated according to the NSF’s stated “Broader Impacts” and “Intellectual Merit” criteria. Familiarity with these criteria is strongly encouraged. Applicants are advised to read the 2021 program solicitation and to attend the information sessions and the grant-writing workshop series scheduled for July/August and again in September/October 2020. Early consultation with advisors, letter writers, and Katie Li, Coordinating Official, and review of the below Applicant Resources strongly advised.

The 2021 application must be submitted in Research.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time, as determined by applicant’s mailing address, on the following dates:

• October 19, 2020: Geosciences, Life Sciences
• October 20, 2020: Computer & Information Sciences & Engineering, Engineering, Materials Research
• October 22, 2020: Psychology, Social Sciences, STEM Education & Learning
• October 23, 2020: Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences, Physics & Astronomy

Letters of reference are due via Research.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on October 30.

​Questions?

Please contact Katie Li, Georgetown’s NSF GRF Coordinating Official.