Latest Advice from Astrobites

In case you missed todays information session on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Astrobites has you covered:

Applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

by astroph

If you’re an undergraduate gearing up to apply to graduate schools in the Fall, don’t forget to look into applying for fellowships as well. Although in the US almost all graduate student positions in the physical sciences are funded (your tuition is paid for and you receive a cost-of-living stipend), there are a number of reasons why you should apply for external fellowships, as well. Below we will outline the NSF GRFP, which is perhaps the most prominent of these opportunities.
What is the NSF GRFP?
The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (usually called an NSF) is a fellowship for science graduate students that provides three years of full funding at an accredited institution of your choice.  There are numerous benefits to being an NSF fellow:

• The freedom to work with a professor who wouldn’t otherwise be able to support you.
• More time for coursework and research: while on NSF, you can’t be required to teach.
• If you’re on a waiting list for a graduate school you’d really like to attend, bringing three years of your own funding definitely can’t hurt.
• Financial gain: NSF pays more than most graduate programs, and departments may award you an extra bonus as an incentive for bringing in external funding.
• Possibilities to access special research opportunities and a supercomputer.

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