GRFP Application Instructions

1. Personal Information
2. Education and Work Experience
3. Proposed Field of Study
4. Proposed Graduate Study
5. References
6. Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement
7. Graduate Research Plan Statement
8. NSF GRFP Program Information
9. Review Application

Instructions for Preparing the GRFP Application

• The GRFP application is divided into sections with separate headings. Instructions are provided for completing each section. The required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*). Before you start this application, please read the Application Preparation Instructions in the Program Solicitation and review the GRFP Application Guidelines.
• You may complete the sections in any order that you choose. Navigate through the application using the links in the title for each section.
• You may save your application information as you go and complete it at a later time. Click "Save and Continue" to save your data and advance to the next step. Caution: Using the buttons on your Internet browser toolbar to navigate can result in the loss of data.
• Please review the certifications before you start. You will not be able to submit an application without making these certifications.
• Click "Check Application Completeness" to check for application completeness.
• DOWNLOAD A COPY OF YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION!

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Step 1. Personal Information

• Legal Name and Identifier
  • Legal names are required at the time of application.
  • You can update your name and ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) in the My Profile section of Research.gov.
• Mailing Address
  • Your mailing address will be used for all correspondence that is sent to you and will be used to determine the deadline for your application.
    • Applications are due at 5 p.m. local time of the applicant's mailing address.
    • Please enter a mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address to which you will have access throughout the duration of your graduate study.
    • Use the ZIP Code Lookup to find the recommended city name for your ZIP Code.
  • Your primary email address will be used for all the correspondence that is sent to you.
    • A personal email address (e.g., Gmail address) is recommended.
    • Your primary email address will be used to make changes to your NSF account or password resets. You must have ongoing access to this email address throughout your graduate study duration even if you change your academic institution.
    • You can update this email in the My Profile section on Research.gov.
    • Please make sure emails sent from the address domain nsfgrfp.org will not be rejected by your email service. Fellowship decisions are sent from the email address info@nsfgrfp.org.
• Date of Birth
  • The National Science Foundation requests Date of Birth solely for compliance, eligibility checking and for contacting applicants in the future for program-level evaluations.
  • Date of Birth information is not disclosed to reviewers and is not a factor in award decisions.
• High School Location
  • If you attended more than one high school, please indicate the high school that you most identify with as an alumna/alumnus.
• Demographic Information
  • For more information about the information we collect and definitions for each category, read the Privacy Act Notice and Public Burden Statements.

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Step 2. Education and Work Experience

• List academic institutions attended and your enrollment details. If you earned more than one degree or majored in multiple subjects at the same institution, add additional degrees or majors by clicking the Add New button and entering the same institution information while selecting a different degree or major.
• Undergraduate institution(s): If you attended more than one institution for your undergraduate career (e.g., you attended another institution before transferring to your undergraduate institution), list only the degree-granting institution, provided any transfer credits appear on your undergraduate institution's transcript.
  • Please select your undergraduate institution from the list of academic institutions you attended.
  • Choose only one institution even if you have graduated from multiple undergraduate institutions.
  • Note: This information will be made public upon announcement of awards and this listing cannot be changed.
• Graduate institution(s): If you started a graduate program this fall, enter your graduate institution below and upload your transcript or other record showing current enrollment. You must list all graduate institutions in which you were enrolled in a graduate degree-granting program (e.g., Master's, professional, or doctoral degrees).
  • Current institution: If you are currently enrolled in an academic institution, please select your current institution from the list of academic institutions you attended.
    • Note: This information will be made public upon announcement of awards and this listing cannot be changed.
  • Transcript Requirements: Transcripts must be official and must be uploaded as unencrypted PDFs. Although these documents will be handled confidentially, we recommend that you redact sensitive and personally identifiable information (PII) on the transcripts. PII includes individual Social Security Numbers (SSNs), personal financial information, home addresses, home telephone numbers and personal e-mail addresses. Once an institution is added below, a link will be displayed to upload a PDF Transcript for the corresponding degree.
  • It is up to you to ensure that all transcripts uploaded meet the following requirements otherwise your application will be found to be non-compliant.
    1. The transcript must be legible.
    2. The transcript must be complete.
    3. The applicant name must be listed.
    4. The school name must be listed.
    5. You must upload a transcript for each degree.
    6. Rules about page margins do not apply to transcripts.
    7. If you are or were enrolled in a joint Bachelor's-Master's degree program (see below), your transcript must clearly show your enrollment in a joint program.
    8. Encrypted or password-protected transcripts are not accepted.

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Step 3. Proposed Field of Study

• Select the Major Field of Study and associated sub-field that most closely reflects the field of your proposed graduate program. If the proposed subfield is not listed in the Appendix of the Program Solicitation, then it may not be eligible for Fellowship support.
• Choose your Major Field of study carefully. Your selection of a Major Field of Study determines the application deadline to which you must adhere, the expertise of the reviewers who will review your application, and the degree program in which you must enroll if awarded a Fellowship. Reviewers will review applications from broad areas of related disciplines.
• If awarded a Fellowship, you will be required to enroll in a degree program in the Major Field of Study you designated. Changing the Major Field of Study in the first year of the Fellowship is not allowed.

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Step 4. Proposed Graduate Study

• Select your proposed academic institution from the list provided in the application. If you cannot find your proposed academic institution in the list provided, you may enter the name in the "Other" field along with the city and state.
• The information you provide in this section is collected for the GRFP's purposes but is not provided to reviewers. Applicants may discuss their proposed graduate institution in their statements if they choose. The proposed institution you list in this section is not binding and can be changed if you are selected for a Fellowship.

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Step 5. References

All reference letters are due with the status "Submitted to NSF" by the reference letter due date which is before the application submission deadline. Two (2) reference letters (from non-family members) are required for application submission and review. However, you are strongly encouraged to have three (3) reference letters.

• Email address should be entered exactly as provided by the reference writer.
• Provide up to five (5) reference writers to ensure that your application has at least two (2) reference letters (from non-family members) with a status of "Submitted to NSF" by the reference letter due date.
• To change the Reference Writer email address, select the Delete link to remove the writer and then use the Add New button to re-add the writer with the updated email address.
• To change the Reference Writer name, select the Edit link to update the first name, middle initial, and/or last name.
• Rank your reference letters in order of preference for review. If more than three letters are received, the top three letters according to ranked preference will be considered. You can update the ranking through the Application deadline for your Field of Study.

Note that changes to Reference Writer name must be completed well in advance of the published Reference Letter deadline.

• If fewer than two (2) reference letters (one or none) are received by the reference letter due date, you will not be able to submit your application.
• You will not be able to add, edit, or delete reference writers once the reference letter due date has passed. Monitor Reference Letters submitted by your reference writers by clicking on the Manage References or Check Application Package Status links on the Welcome Applicants home page.

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Step 6. Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement

Refer to the Format Requirements in the Program Solicitation. Your application will not be reviewed if you fail to comply with the format requirements.

• Outline your educational and professional development plans and career goals. How do you envision graduate school preparing you for a career that allows you to contribute to expanding scientific understanding as well as broadly benefit society?
• Describe your personal, educational and/or professional experiences that motivate your decision to pursue advanced study in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).
• Include specific examples of any research and/or professional activities in which you have participated
• Present a concise description of the activities, highlight the results, and discuss how these activities have prepared you to seek a graduate degree.
• Specify your role in the activity including the extent to which you worked independently and/or as part of a team.
• Your file must include separate section headers for Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. To be valid, a heading must be on its own line with no other text on that line. DO NOT include other terms in the individual headings, combine these two sections into one section, or with any other section.
• Describe the contributions of your activity to advancing knowledge in STEM fields as well as the potential for broader societal impacts (See Solicitation, Section VI, for more information about Broader Impacts).
• If you have completed more than one academic year in a graduate degree-granting program or a graduate or professional degree, followed by an interruption of at least two consecutive years, address the reasons for the interruption in graduate study here.
• Do not include weblinks or direct the reviewer to external sites.
• Do not use APA style of reference citation.  Cited references must include the name of the journal (abbreviations accepted). DOI reference will not be accepted in place of the name of the journal.

File preparation and upload instructions:

• Download the template (DOCX format): Personal Statement
• Do NOT use Google Docs to prepare your statement to avoid PDF format problems
• Retain formatting in the Personal Statement template but remove the instructional text as you complete your statement.
  • Standard 8.5" x 11" page size
  • Arial (not Arial Narrow), Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger
  • Times New Roman and Computer Modern family of fonts at font size of 11 points or larger
  • A font size of less than 10 points may be used for mathematical formulas or equations, figures, tables, or diagram captions and when using a Symbol font to insert Greek letters or special characters. Other fonts not specified above, such as Cambria Math, may be used for mathematical formulas, equations, or when inserting Greek letters or special characters.
  • Descriptive alternative text must be provided for all images, graphs, and charts, including sufficient color contrast for text and graphics, and be submitted in a machine readable/accessible electronic format (e.g., HTML) to ensure legibility and readability for individuals with visual impairments.
  • 1" margins on all sides, no text inside 1" margins (no header, footer, name, or page number)
  • No less than single-spacing (approximately 6 lines per inch)
  • Do not use line spacing options such as "exactly 11 point," that are less than single spaced
  • Page limit is three (3) PDF pages
• Save file as a PDF before uploading
• Upload the completed PDF to your application using the Upload button
• Reference GRFP File Uploads for help in resolving errors related to PDF uploads

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Step 7. Graduate Research Plan Statement

Refer to the Format Requirements in the Program Solicitation. Your application will not be reviewed if you fail to comply with the format requirements.

• Present an original research topic that you would like to pursue in graduate school
• Describe the research idea, your general approach, as well as any unique resources that may be needed for accomplishing the research goal (i.e., access to national facilities or collections, collaborations, overseas work, etc.)
• You may choose to include important literature citations
• Your file must include separate section headers for Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. To be valid, a heading must be on its own line with no other text on that line. DO NOT include other terms in the individual headings, combine these two sections into one section, or with any other section.
• Address the potential of research to advance knowledge and understanding within science as well as the potential for broader impacts on society
• The research discussed must be in a field listed in the Solicitation (Section X, Fields of Study).
• Do not include weblinks or direct the reviewer to external sites.
• Do not use APA style of reference citation.  Cited references must include the name of the journal (abbreviations accepted). DOI reference will not be accepted in place of the name of the journal.

File preparation and upload instructions:

• Download the template (DOCX format): Graduate Research Plan
• Do NOT use Google Docs to prepare your statement to avoid PDF format problems
• Retain formatting in the Graduate Research Plan template but remove the instructional text as you complete your statement.
  • Standard 8.5" x 11" page size
  • Arial (not Arial Narrow), Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger
  • Times New Roman and Computer Modern family of fonts at font size of 11 points or larger
  • A font size of less than 10 points may be used for mathematical formulas or equations, figures, tables, or diagram captions and when using a Symbol font to insert Greek letters or special characters. Other fonts not specified above, such as Cambria Math, may be used for mathematical formulas, equations, or when inserting Greek letters or special characters.
  • Descriptive alternative text must be provided for all images, graphs, and charts, including sufficient color contrast for text and graphics, and be submitted in a machine readable/accessible electronic format (e.g., HTML) to ensure legibility and readability for individuals with visual impairments.
  • 1" margins on all sides, no text inside 1" margins (no header, footer, name, or page number)
  • No less than single-spacing (approximately 6 lines per inch)
  • Do not use line spacing options such as "exactly 11 point," that are less than single spaced
  • Page limit is two (2) PDF pages
• Save file as a PDF before uploading
• Upload the completed PDF to your application using the Upload button
• Reference GRFP File Uploads for help in resolving errors related to PDF uploads

Proposed Research Title instructions:

• The title should be brief, informative, scientifically or technically valid, intelligible to a scientifically or technically literate reader, and suitable for use in the public press
• Describe in succinct terms your proposed research, reflecting the contents of your Graduate Research Plan Statement
• Do not use abbreviations and chemical formulas
• This title will be used for searching research topics
• Do not use curly brackets, {}; your Proposed Research Title should be less than 255 characters

Key Words:

• Use key words to describe the Graduate Research Plan Statement
• Do not use curly brackets, {}; your Key Words should be less than 50 characters

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Step 8. NSF GRFP Program Information

Completed Level of Study detailed descriptions

Level 1: As a current Undergraduate student in the final year of Bachelor's degree program or individual who previously completed a Bachelor's degree, you are,

• Not enrolled in a graduate degree-granting program
• Ready to enroll in a graduate degree-granting program full-time by the Fall of the year after the GRFP Application deadline.

NOTE: Students who previously completed a Bachelor's degree and are not currently enrolled can have NO PRIOR enrollment in a graduate degree program (non-degree graduate coursework is allowed). Students who have completed completed a joint Bachelor's-Master's degree are not eligible.

Level 2: As a First Year Graduate student, you are,

• Currently enrolled in the first year of the first graduate-degree granting program in an eligible Field of Study at a US academic institution
• Currently enrolled in BS/MS program (must have completed three undergraduate years)
• Applicant may not have applied to GRFP before as a graduate student.

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Step 9. Review Application

Carefully review your application information in the GRFP module and the PDF version prior to submission. You may make changes in the Review Application step by clicking the Edit links by the step names to update the information in that section. 

Review application guidelines:

Use the Check Completeness button to validate your application. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE REVIEWED.

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