National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. For more information about the NSF-GRFP program, please visit www.nsfgrfp.org.

The Graduate College helps to administer this fellowship program to awarded ASU students. Fellowships begin either in summer or fall based on NSF’s award notification.

About this Award

Application and Eligibility Information

To be eligible for the NSF GRFP, an applicant:

• Must, at the time of submission, be a U.S. citizen, national, or a permanent resident (“green-card” holder) 
• Must intend to enroll or be enrolled in an eligible research-based master's or doctoral degree program in an eligible field of study in STEM, including STEM education (See Appendix and Section IV.3 for eligible Fields of Study);
• Never have previously accepted a Graduate Research Fellowship;
• Have declined any previously offered Graduate Research Fellowship by the declination deadline (if applicable);
• Have completed less than one academic year in a graduate degree program (according to the institution’s academic calendar; non-degree coursework must be clearly identified in the transcript and does not count toward this limit).

• Undergraduate in the final (senior) year of a bachelor’s degree program
• Bachelor’s degree-holder with NO enrollment in a graduate degree program (non-degree graduate coursework allowed)
• First-year graduate student in their first graduate degree program with less than one academic year completed in the degree program (according to institution’s academic calendar)
  • Individuals enrolled in joint bachelor’s-master’s degree programs are considered graduate students. For GRFP, joint bachelor’s-master’s degrees are defined as degrees concurrently pursued and awarded.
  • Not be a current NSF employee.

To apply, visit https://www.nsfgrfp.org/. Applicants have the choice to work with the Lorraine W. Frank Office of National Scholarships for receiving advisement and writing support on their application materials; interested applicants should contact [email protected] as soon as the NSF GRFP cycle opens, as ONSA has its own processes and internal deadlines for ASU applicants.

Award Details for NSF-GRFP recipients

For each "On Tenure" year, GRFP Fellows will receive:

• $37,000 annual stipend from the National Science Foundation, paid through the Graduate College on a monthly basis.
• Institutional support from the ASU Graduate College:
  1. Graduate resident or graduate nonresident tuition based on residency classification.
  2. ASU standard fees and program fees
  3. ASU student health insurance - registration via MyASU required annually
  4. $750 in research/educational expenses - Funds can be used for research supplies, professional development and/or travel. 
  5. Summer graduate tuition - coverage up to a total of six graduate-level credits for the summer term.

Recipient Contact

NSF Coordinating Official for ASU - Katrina Roalson, Sr Director, Fiscal Business Services, 480-965-7627, [email protected]. 

Important Information

• Responsible Conduct of Research training is mandatory for all NSF fellows; therefore, please go to the following website and check next training date(s): https://researchintegrity.asu.edu/responsible-conduct/training-requirements.
• For fellowship stipends, ASU has no tax reporting or tax withholding responsibilities unless the student is a nonresident for US tax reporting purposes. Please refer to the information for graduate fellowships with regards to income tax considerations.