Graduate School Newsblog

Deadline is November 8th, 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is offering Graduate Fellowships for master’s and doctoral level students in environmental fields of study. The deadline is November 8, 2011 at 4:00 PM ET for receipt of paper applications, and November 8, 2011 at 11:59:59 PM ET for submittal of electronic applications via Grants.gov. Subject to availability of funding and other applicable considerations, the Agency plans to award approximately 80 new fellowships by July 31, 2012. Master’s level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years, usable over a period of five years. The fellowship program provides up to $42,000 per year of support per fellowship.

Eligibility Information:

1. Students must attend a fully accredited U.S. college or university (located in the U.S. or its territories) for their graduate studies.
2. Applicants must also be citizens of the U.S. or its territories or possessions, or be lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence. Resident aliens must include their green card number in their application (you must have your green card at the time of application to be eligible for this Fellowship opportunity). EPA may verify this number with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service of the Department of Homeland Security.

Application Materials:
The following application materials must be submitted:

• Education & Relevant Experiences
  Publications & Presentations
  Course Work

Item 1. Application for Federal Assistance, Standard Form (SF) 424 (for electronic submissions via Grants.gov) or Standard Form (SF) 424 I-Individual (for paper submissions)

Item 2. EPA Key Contacts Form (5700-54)

Item 3. Front Page

Item 4. Personal Statement

Item 5. Proposal Description

Item 6. Background Information:

Item 7. Letters of Recommendation (sent by referees)

The National Physical Science Consortium is a partnership between government agencies and laboratories, industry, and higher education. NPSC’s goal is to increase the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool including women and minorities.

The NPSC Graduate Fellowship is unique in being: open to all American citizens; lasting for up to six years; providing a $20,000 annual stipend; covering tuition; including one or two paid summer internships with a government agency; providing a mentor and the opportunity for a lasting relationship with the sponsor.

The application is easy to complete, requiring the same information as other national fellowships. The online application typically opens August 25 and closes November 30.

If you have interned, have been employed or are employed by a government agency or laboratory, ask your mentor/research supervisor to nominate you directly for an NPSC fellowship. Contact NPSC for details.

NPSC offers two programs, each using the same online application (opens August 25):

The Traditional NPSC Fellowship provides support for up to six years, depending on degree sought and employer funding. Students may apply during their senior year in college, or in the first year or two of graduate school, as long as they are not eligible for the program below.

The Dissertation Support Fellowship provides support while a graduate student conducts dissertation research. Students should apply in the year of graduate school prior to the beginning of their dissertation research program, but not before they can describe their intended research in general terms.

NDSEG Information

The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship is a highly competitive, portable fellowship that is awarded to U.S. citizens and nationals who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in one of fifteen supported disciplines.

There are four eligibility requirements: citizenship, discipline, academic status, and the ability to accept the full benefit. You must meet all four requirements in order to be eligible.

The DoD will pay the fellow’s full tuition and required fees (not to include room and board). In addition, fellows receive a stipend for 12-month tenures.

Apply online now by clicking here or below.

Application closes December 1, 2011

Participants in the SMART Scholarship for Service Program receive;

• Full tuition and education related fees (does not include items such as meal plans, housing, or parking)
• Cash award paid at a rate of $25,000 – $41,000 depending on prior educational experience (may be prorated depending on award length)
• Paid summer internships
• Health Insurance reimbursement allowance up to $1,200 per calendar year
• Book allowance of $1,000 per academic year
• Mentoring
• Employment placement after graduation

All awardees must be;

• a U.S. citizen at time of application,
• 18 years of age or older as of August 1, 2012,
• able to participate in summer internships at DoD laboratories,
• willing to accept post-graduate employment with the DoD,
• a student in good standing with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (as calculated by the SMART application) and,
• pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in one of the disciplines listed on the About SMART page.

In addition;

*Undergraduate applicants must be currently enrolled in a regionally accredited U.S. college or university and have a high school diploma/GED. Current high school students are not eligible to apply.

**Graduate applicants can be either currently enrolled in a regionally accredited U.S. college or university or awaiting notification of admission to such. If awaiting admission, you must be accepted for entrance in the fall 2012 term.

*Freshman/First Year Associate’s Program applicants must report an ACT or SAT Reasoning Test Score. Subject tests are not required. In addition, individuals who apply during their Freshman/First Year must obtain a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale during the fall academic term of their Freshman/First Year. Freshman/First Year Associate’s Program applicants will be required to submit an official transcript reflecting their fall academic term grades to establish compliance with this requirement.

**Graduate applicants must have taken the GRE and test scores must be reportable by ETS. Subject tests are not required.

Fellowship applications must be submitted electronically using NSF FastLane Graduate Research Fellowship Program Application Module at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/

Applicants must first register as a FastLane user at that web site. Registration for the GRFP is only available when the application module is open, from August to November.

To create an account:

1. Access the GRFP application by going to http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov.
2. Click on the Graduate Research Fellowship Program tab at the top of the page. This will take you to the GRFP application within FastLane. (You can also access the page directly at http://fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/)
3. Once on the GRFP site, click the Register Here link (on the right hand side of the page) to begin the Fellowship Application.
4. You are required to read and accept the rules of behavior before continuing through the Registration Process. Click the “I have read and accept the Rules of Behavior,” and click the Accept button.
5. The Applicant Information page will be displayed. This page will be used to create your user profile. All required information (indicated by an asterisk) must be completed in order to save the data and submit the registration form.

NOTE: Emails are the primary source of communication used by the GRFP administrators. It is important for you to use an active email address and to update the email address if it changes.
The complete set of GRFP eligibility guidelines is published in the program solicitation.

2012 GRFP Application Deadlines – submitted by 7:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time

• November 14, 2011- Engineering
• November 15, 2011 – Mathematical Sciences; Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering; Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy; Materials Research
• November 16, 2011 – Social Sciences; Psychology; Geosciences; STEM Education and Learning Research
• November 18, 2011 – Life Sciences

Interdisciplinary applications must be submitted by the deadline for the field of study with the highest effort. If the effort is split equally among different fields, it should be submitted on the deadline for the field listed first in the Proposed Graduate Program section of the application.