Student Fellowships & Research

Description.
The National Science Foundation aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1.654 graduate fellowships, pending availability of funds. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are in the early stages of their graduate study. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.

Applicants may pursue graduate study at an institution in the United States or affiliate with a foreign institution. Prospective Fellows are responsible for all logistical arrangements required for affiliation with the foreign institution, including handling living arrangements and securing any necessary passports or visas.

Benefits.
The NSF expects to award 1654 Graduate Research Fellowships under this program solicitation. For each matriculated Fellow, the affiliated institution receives a $40,500 award per Fellow tenure year to cover the costs described below. Fellows Abroad receive direct NSF grant awards up to the same amount per year on tenure. The Graduate Research Fellowship stipend currently is $30,000 for a 12-month tenure period, prorated monthly at $2,500 for shorter periods as approved by NSF. The cost of education allowance currently is $10,500 per tenure year and is to be used by the affiliated institution to cover the costs of educating the Fellow. The affiliated institution is responsible for tuition and required fees in excess of the cost of education allowance. For Fellows Abroad, all tuition and assessed fees will be reimbursed to the Fellow up to a maximum of $10,500 per tenure year. In these cases, the Fellow is responsible for educational expenses beyond the GRFP cost of education allowance. Refer to the Information for Graduate Fellows document for restrictions on the use of the cost-of-education allowance. Fellows are allowed an additional one-time $1,000 International Research Travel Allowance upon submission of an approved travel request. The planned travel must involve a structured research or research dissemination activity approved by NSF. All awards will be for a maximum of three years usable over a five-year period. The anticipated award date is late March 2010.

Eligibility.

• Applicants must be United States citizens or nationals, or permanent resident aliens of the United States.
• Applicants are expected to have adequate preparation to begin graduate study and research by summer or fall of the year following their application.
• Individuals are typically eligible to apply during the senior year of college, after graduating from college and prior to entering graduate school, during the first year of graduate school, or prior to completing the first term of the second year of graduate school.
• Applicants must have completed no more than twelve months of full-time graduate study or its equivalent by the August 1st prior to the program submission deadline.
• All post-baccalaureate, graduate-level study in any NSF-supported field counts toward the allowed twelve months of completed graduate study. This includes all Master’s and Ph.D. programs in these disciplines.
• Applicants who have completed part-time graduate study must have completed no more than twenty-four (24) semester hours or its equivalent by August 31st prior to the program submission deadline.
• Research-based work experience in an academic or similar environment that is closely related to the current or proposed program of graduate study may be considered as equivalent to graduate coursework for eligibility purposes. A combination of relevant work experience and coursework may render an applicant ineligible.

Materials for Final Consideration. There is no internal selection process through Bowdoin for NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program; however, applicants are encouraged to draw upon the resources of Bowdoin’s Office of Student Fellowships and Research. A complete application is submitted directly to the National Science Foundation and includes the following items:

Please note that applicants are responsible for all photocopying needed for the internal selection process and as required by the foundation.

Evan Fricke '11
A biology major and Spanish minor, Evan developed his interests in ecology and evolution during research experiences on Kent Island, in Colorado's alpine tundra, and in Kenya's rangelands. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship will provide Evan with approximately $40,000 per year for three years as he pursues a Ph.D. in biology at the University of Washington. His graduate work will focus on the ecology and evolution of plant-animal interactions. (Read more)


For a comprehensive list of Bowdoin fellowship winners, click here.