NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

About

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program has, since 1952, recognized and supported outstanding students pursuing full-time, research-based master's and doctoral degrees in STEM fields. It is among the oldest and most prestigious fellowships of its kind, and its alumni include numerous national leaders and Nobel laureates.

The Fellowship provides three years of support over a five-year period: an annual stipend paid to the Fellow plus a cost-of-education allowance paid to the graduate institution in lieu of tuition and fees. Crucially, the award is portable—it belongs to the individual and can be carried to any eligible U.S. graduate institution—which gives Fellows real freedom in choosing a program and an advisor. Even applicants who are not selected may receive an Honorable Mention, itself a recognized national academic distinction.

$37,000 Annual Stipend | $16,000 Cost of Education | 3 Years of Financial Support

To learn more about the program and the application, review the official GRFP applicant site and its Frequently Asked Questions. NSF also offers free virtual information sessions open to all prospective applicants each cycle

Eligibility

Vassar encourages every eligible graduating senior and alum in a STEM field to apply. The GRFP is submitted directly to NSF, so there is no campus endorsement requirement and no limit on the number of Vassar applicants. Applicants must:

• Be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident (green-card holder) by the application deadline. (Applicants on a visa are not eligible.)
• Intend to enroll, or be enrolled, in an eligible research-based master's or doctoral program in an eligible field at a U.S. institution.
• Be in one of the following statuses at the deadline:
  • an undergraduate senior in the final year of a bachelor's degree;
  • a bachelor's-degree holder who has not yet enrolled in any graduate degree program;
  • a student in a joint bachelor's–master's program, in either the final undergraduate year or the first graduate year of that program; or
  • a first-year graduate student in their first graduate program with less than one academic year completed.

How many times you may apply

Seniors and bachelor's-degree holders who have not enrolled in graduate school may apply an unlimited number of times before they enroll—so it is well worth applying as a senior and, if needed, again during a gap year. Students already enrolled in a graduate program may apply only once. For a first-year graduate student, that is the first year of the first graduate program; for a joint bachelor's–master's student, it is either the final undergraduate year or the first graduate year — one application across the two, not one in each.

A note on eligible fields. The ten eligible Major Fields are Chemistry; Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering; Engineering; Geosciences; Life Sciences; Materials Research; Mathematical Sciences; Physics & Astronomy; Psychology; Social Sciences. The Social Sciences subfields are Anthropology, Archaeology, Artificial Intelligence, Biological Anthropology, Computationally Intensive Research, Cybersecurity, Decision Making and Risk Analysis, Economics, Geography, Linguistic Anthropology, Linguistics, Medical Anthropology, Quantum Information Science, Science and Technology Studies, Sociology, and Urban and Regional Planning. Clinical and health-related work is not eligible: this includes public health, clinical practice, clinical psychology, and research whose goals are directly disease- or treatment-related. If you are unsure whether your interests qualify, contact our office early.

Read the full eligibility requirements in the current NSF solicitation

Deadlines & Application Process

The GRFP application is prepared and submitted entirely online through Research.gov. Unlike Fulbright, there is no campus committee or institutional nomination—you apply directly to NSF. The CCE and your faculty mentors are here to advise, review drafts, and help you prepare a strong application.

Deadlines fall in October this year and are specific to the field of study you select (see below). Application deadline(s) are 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) for all applications on each deadline date:

Choose your Major Field of Study carefully. The field you select determines your deadline and the disciplinary expertise of your reviewers. Applications submitted to a Major Field of Study deadline that is not aligned with the proposed research plan and degree program will be deemed ineligible and returned without review. Select the Major Field and subfield most closely aligned with the graduate program and research plan you describe — and if you are accepted, you must enroll in a degree program that corresponds most closely to what you proposed.

Reference letters are due before the application. Applicants must list at least three recommenders, and at least three letters must be received by the reference deadline—Friday, October 16, 2026 by 8:00 p.m. ET—or the application will not be reviewed. Ask your recommenders early, and confirm their email addresses carefully: changes cannot be made after you submit.

Official undergraduate transcripts. Official undergraduate academic transcripts are required; graduate transcripts may be unofficial only if the institution does not provide official transcripts for first-year, first-term graduate students.

We recommend reaching out to the Director of Fellowships (fellowships@vassar.edu) and your faculty advisor in the spring or summer before you apply, so there is time to develop your research idea, line up recommenders, and revise your essays.

Next Steps for Prospective Applicants

The heart of the application is two short statements, both of which must explicitly address NSF's two review criteria:

• Personal, Relevant Background, and Future Goals Statement (up to 3 pages)
• Graduate Research Plan Statement (up to 2 pages)

Each statement must contain separate, clearly headed sections labeled "Intellectual Merit" and "Broader Impacts." NSF is specific about the form: do not combine the two headings or sections, do not substitute other terms for them, and insert a line break between them in each statement. Reviewers use these headings to locate the evidence for each criterion — build your drafts around them from the start rather than retrofitting them at the end.

• Intellectual Merit — your potential to advance knowledge: your ability to plan and conduct research, work with others, communicate findings, and persist through challenges.
• Broader Impacts — your potential to benefit society: broadening participation in STEM, outreach and mentoring, teaching, public engagement, and more.

To begin, email fellowships@vassar.edu to discuss your plans and our advising timeline.

Past GRFP Recipients and Honorable Mentions from Vassar

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program - Recipients and Honorable Mentions 1988 - 2026