Applicant Eligibility

By signing and submitting the application, the applicant certifies meeting the NSF GRFP eligibility criteria. Willful provision of false information in this request and its supporting documents or in reports required under an ensuing award is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001).

To be eligible, an applicant must meet all the following eligibility criteria by the application deadline:

1. Must, at the time of submission, be a U.S. citizen, national, or a permanent resident ("green-card" holder).

2. Must intend to enroll or be enrolled full-time in an eligible research-based master's or doctoral degree program in an eligible field of study in STEM.

3. Must never have previously accepted an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

4. Must have declined any previously offered NSF Graduate Research Fellowship by the deadline (if applicable).

5. Must 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). This means individuals in the following statuses at the time of application are eligible:

• Level 1: Undergraduate in the final (senior) year of a bachelor's degree program.
• Level 1: Bachelor's degree holder with no enrollment in a graduate degree program (non-degree graduate coursework allowed).
• Level 2: Joint bachelor's-master's degree students in final undergraduate or first graduate year.
• Level 2: 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).

6. Must not be a current NSF employee.

An eligible applicant can submit only one application per annual competition.

Undergraduate seniors in bachelor’s degree programs

Have no restrictions on the number of times they can apply before enrolling in a graduate degree-granting program.

Bachelor's degree holders with no prior enrollment in a graduate degree program

Have no restrictions on the number of times they can apply before enrolling in a graduate degree-granting program.

Individuals enrolled in joint bachelor's-master's degree programs

Are considered graduate students and can apply only once.

Individuals enrolled in graduate degree programs

Can apply only once, in the first year of their first graduate program.

The following individuals are not eligible to apply:

• Individuals who are not U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents. This includes foreign nationals who are in the U.S. on a student visa and those awaiting green cards.
• Individuals who do not intend to enroll or be enrolled in a research-based graduate degree program¹ in an eligible field of study in STEM.
• Individuals who have previously accepted an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship offer.
• Individuals who were awarded the fellowship and did not notify NSF of their intention to accept or decline the fellowship by the published deadline for accepting the fellowship.
• Individuals who have previously applied while enrolled in a degree-granting graduate program.
• Individuals who have earned a master's, doctoral, or terminal degree in any field.
• Individuals who are current NSF employees.
• Individuals who will be enrolled in a practice-oriented professional degree program such as medical, dental, law, and public health degrees at any time during the fellowship. This includes, but is not limited to, MBA, MPH, MSW, JD, MD, DVM, and DDS programs.
• Individuals who plan to pursue a joint science-professional degree program (such as an MD/Ph.D. or JD/Ph.D.) even if they are proposing to use the NSF GRFP only for the Ph.D. part of their program. Additionally, applicants who are enrolled, or plan to enroll, in a graduate degree program while on a leave of absence from a professional degree program or professional degree-graduate degree joint program are not eligible.

^{1. Degree programs must be at a nonprofit institution of higher education accredited in, and having a campus located in, the United States, its territories, or possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.}