National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)

NSF GRFP fellowship provides financial support towards the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education.  

The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support that can be used at accredited U.S. institutions. This support includes an annual stipend and a cost-of-education allowance covering tuition and fees.

Award Information:

• Duration: 36 months of funding. Fellows may elect an on reserve (non-funded) status for two of the five years. 
• Tenure: Each fellowship year is 12 months and is defined by NSF as beginning either summer or fall. Summer tenure is effective June 1 to May 31, and fall tenure is effective September 1 to August 31.
• Amount awarded: Each 12-month fellowship year provides a $37,000 stipend for the student and a $16,000 Cost of Education (COE) allowance awarded to the institution. These funds are remitted to and administered by UC Davis. The Graduate Studies Office provides full tuition for GRFP awardees while on funding from the NSF Fellowship.

Solicitation Announcements:

2024: Program Solicitation 23-605

Apply Here: 

Application Portal

Pre-Award Instructions

Applying for NSF GRFP involves multiple steps and adherence to various strict deadlines. Getting started as early as possible and completing application materials well before deadlines will help us to ensure that your application is submitted successfully.

General writing resources are available to UC Davis graduate students via the GradPathways Institute and the University Writing Program. The University Writing Program’s Writing Partner Program, Graduate Writer's Retreats and one-on-one consultations with Graduate Writing Fellows, can all serve as valuable resources during the grant writing process.

Grad Pathways Institute (GPI)

University Writing Program (UWP)

Important NSF GRFP Application Deadlines

Application Deadline(s) (received by 5 p.m. local time of applicant’s mailing address):

October 16, 2023 Life Sciences

October 17, 2023 Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Materials Research, Psychology, Social Sciences, STEM Education and Learning

October 19, 2023 Engineering

October 20, 2023 Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physics and Astronomy

Reference letters are due October 27 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).

Early April: Awards announced and offer letters sent

GRFP Coordination with University Funding

• For all disciplines
• During each year of NSF funding, GRFP awardees receive coverage for full tuition and fees, including UC SHIP. U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are not legal residents of California are only eligible for a nonresident supplemental tuition fellowship in their first year. They can, and are expected to, establish residency. See information on establishing California residence for tuition purposes. 

NSF Reporting Requirements

• New Fellows
• 1. Accept or decline award: New awardees are required to accept or decline awards in the NSF Research.gov portal by the deadline (varies each year, typically end of April)
  2. Status declaration: Submit status declarations (on tenure or on reserve) for the coming 12-month fellowship year by May 1st each year. Incoming students awarded the GRFP are able to elect on reserve status in order to fully utilize the university fellowship offered in the first-year of study.
  3. Tenure Status: If electing "tenure" status, new fellows must elect a fall start (9/1 - 8/31)
  4. Share plans for summer and spring reenrollment: Awardees are asked to share their anticipated NSF GRFP plans for the summer and the coming academic year during the University reenrollment process in the spring.
• Continuing Fellows
• 1. Declare status and submit reports: Awardees must declare their status (on tenure or on reserve) for the coming year in the NSF Research.gov portal by the deadline. Regardless of status, all continuing fellows must also submit two reports. Additional details are available in the NSF Administrative Guide.
              - The Annual Activities Report (AAR) 
              - The signed Academic/Research Adviser Confirmation Form
  2. Status declaration: Submit status declarations (on tenure or on reserve) for the coming 12-month fellowship year by May 1st each year. You may wish to consider anticipated timing for degree completion and any plans for full-time summer internships when evaluating these options. 

GRFP Planning Considerations

• Internships & External Activities
• Students planning a full-time internship (GRFP INTERN/other internships) or an external opportunity which will provide salary for work exceeding an average of 10 hours per week over the course of a term should consider declaring on reserve status. If accepting a full-time paid internship while on tenure, awardees are required to forfeit the NSF GRFP Fellowship stipend during the period of internship per the updated NSF GRFP Administrative Guide effective March 28, 2023. 
• Travel
• The NSF GRFP does not offer funding for scientific travel at this time. The GRFP GROW program for international travel is no longer active.
  A range of resources for scholarly travel can be found here: Graduate Student Travel Awards
• Concurrent Funding
• Each Fellow is expected to devote full time (100% effort) to advanced scientific study or work during the Fellowship Period. GRFP Fellowships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with support from another individual federal graduate fellowship irrespective of the Fellow’s status.
  Fellows are permitted to solicit and accept, from NSF or other federal and private sources, support for research expenses, such as laboratory supplies, instrumentation usage fees, field-station usage fees, travel expenses, conference/registration fees, workshop expenses, or subscription fees

Resources

• NSF GRFP Eligibility Questionnaire
• NSF GRFP FAQ's
• NSF Administrative Guide for Fellows
• External Fellowship Policy (GS501)