$37,000-a-Year NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Organization: U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)

Type: Fellowship

Location: United States

Deadline: October 19, 2026

Funding: Fully Funded

The U.S. National Science Foundation has run its Graduate Research Fellowship Program since 1952, backing students at the very start of a research master's or PhD in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. This is the competition for the 2027 fellowship year. Fellows get three years of funding, usable over five years, with no service or payback requirement, and can take the fellowship to any eligible U.S. university. **What you get:** - A $37,000 stipend for each of three funded years, paid through your university - A $16,000 cost of education allowance each funded year, paid to your university in place of all tuition and mandatory fees, at no cost to you - $53,000 a year for three years, used over a five-year fellowship period ($159,000 per award, per NSF) - A portable award you can move to another eligible U.S. institution after your first fellowship year - Access to supplemental funding, including support to sustain your research while on approved medical leave - Applicants who are not funded can be named Honorable Mention, which NSF calls a significant national academic achievement **What you'll do:** - Write a three-page Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement - Write a two-page Graduate Research Plan Statement proposing your own research idea - Address Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts under separate headings in both statements - Line up at least three reference writers (up to five); at least two letters must arrive for your application to be reviewed - Submit everything, with official undergraduate transcripts, through the GRFP module on Research.gov **Key dates:** - Reference letters due October 16, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (all fields) - Life Sciences applications due October 19, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time - Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Materials Research, Psychology and Social Sciences due October 20, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time - Engineering due October 22, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time - Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics and Astronomy due October 23, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time - November 15, 2026: last day to withdraw without the application counting towards the number of times you apply - Decisions announced by early April 2027 **More information:** - Full rules are in the FY 2027 solicitation, NSF 26-526: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/grfp-nsf-graduate-research-fellowship-program/nsf26-526/solicitation - Eligibility questionnaire: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/grfp/eligibility - Applicant FAQ: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/grfp/applicants/faq - Questions: grfp@nsf.gov

U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)Fellowship

$37,000-a-Year NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Oct 19, 2026 20:00:00 ET

Opportunity type

Fellowship

Funding

Fully Funded

Location

United States

Deadline

Oct 19, 2026 20:00:00 ET

About this opportunity

What you get:

A $37,000 stipend for each of three funded years, paid through your university
A $16,000 cost of education allowance each funded year, paid to your university in place of all tuition and mandatory fees, at no cost to you
$53,000 a year for three years, used over a five-year fellowship period ($159,000 per award, per NSF)
A portable award you can move to another eligible U.S. institution after your first fellowship year
Access to supplemental funding, including support to sustain your research while on approved medical leave
Applicants who are not funded can be named Honorable Mention, which NSF calls a significant national academic achievement

What you'll do:

Write a three-page Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement
Write a two-page Graduate Research Plan Statement proposing your own research idea
Address Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts under separate headings in both statements
Line up at least three reference writers (up to five); at least two letters must arrive for your application to be reviewed
Submit everything, with official undergraduate transcripts, through the GRFP module on Research.gov

Key dates:

Reference letters due October 16, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (all fields)
Life Sciences applications due October 19, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time
Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Materials Research, Psychology and Social Sciences due October 20, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time
Engineering due October 22, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time
Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics and Astronomy due October 23, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time
November 15, 2026: last day to withdraw without the application counting towards the number of times you apply
Decisions announced by early April 2027

More information:

Full rules are in the FY 2027 solicitation, NSF 26-526: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/grfp-nsf-graduate-research-fellowship-program/nsf26-526/solicitation
Eligibility questionnaire: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/grfp/eligibility
Applicant FAQ: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/grfp/applicants/faq
Questions: grfp@nsf.gov

Who can apply

U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or permanent resident (green card holder) by the application deadline; student visa holders and people awaiting green cards are not eligible
Final-year undergraduate, bachelor's degree holder never enrolled in a graduate degree program, joint bachelor's-master's student in the final undergraduate or first graduate year, or first-year graduate student with less than one academic year completed in your first graduate degree
Second-year graduate students, and anyone who already holds a master's, doctoral or terminal degree, are not eligible
Must intend to enroll full time in a research-based (with thesis) master's or doctoral program in an eligible STEM field by fall 2027
Eligible major fields: Chemistry; Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering; Engineering; Geosciences; Life Sciences; Materials Research; Mathematical Sciences; Physics and Astronomy; Psychology; Social Sciences
The university must be an accredited nonprofit with a campus in the United States, its territories or possessions, or Puerto Rico
Professional and practice-oriented degrees are not eligible (for example MBA, MPH, MSW, JD, MD, DVM, DDS, clinical or counseling psychology), nor joint professional and science degrees such as MD/PhD
Research directly aimed at human disease or health treatment, drug development, conservation practice or natural resource management, or research meant to advocate for specific policies is not eligible
Must never have accepted an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and must not be a current NSF employee
One application per competition; your Major Field of Study sets your deadline

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Good to know

+$37,000 a year plus $16,000 a year towards tuition and fees, for three years
+Run by the US National Science Foundation, with no payback or service requirement
+Open to final-year undergraduates and recent graduates
+Free to apply, and the award moves with you between US universities

Worth checking yourself

!US citizens, nationals and permanent residents only
!Your reference letters are due 16 October 2026 at 8 pm Eastern, before your own deadline, and you are not reviewed without at least two
!Your deadline depends on your field: 19 to 23 October 2026, each at 8 pm Eastern
!Fewer awards this year: about 1,500, down from 2,500
!Second-year graduate students are no longer eligible, and some fields were removed for 2027

Sources checked

NSnsf.govApplyNSnsf.govApplyNSnsf.govApplyNSnsf.govApplyNSnsf.govApplyNSnsf.govApplyNSnsf.govApplyNSnsf.govApplyREresearch.govOfficial

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