Deadlines
- Northeastern: 12/29/2023
- Fellowship: 12/29/2023
Contact
If you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in applying for this fellowship, please fill out a preliminary questionnaire. You may contact the office with any questions.
Term Length: Initial support may be for two or three years, or for a full six years, depending on the employer-sponsor. If the initial support is for the shorter period, it may be extended up to six years at the discretion of the employer.
US Citizenship Required
- GFSD welcomes applications from any qualified U.S. citizen who has the ability to pursue graduate work at an GFSD member institution.
- Applicants at any stage of their graduate program may apply, as long as they will be available to accept two summers of paid internship. Those who already possess a doctoral degree are ineligible.
- Applicants must be accepted at a participating GFSD-member university or college and progress through a full-time study program leading to a graduate degree in the physical sciences or related engineering fields.
- Fellows must complete one or two summer internships, as the sponsoring employer requires.
- To continue in good standing, fellows must submit a transcript annually as well as any forms and information that GFSD requests.
- Fellows must perform satisfactorily in their summer internship and during the academic year.
- A fellow who switches his or her field of study to one not of interest to the sponsoring employer may have support terminated.
GFSD employers select fellows based the following factors, not in order:
- Whether the applicant’s field of study matches the employer’s needs
- Undergraduate and graduate course work and grades
- Research experience at a university or in industry
- Letters of recommendation from professors and employers. These can be decisive. The most effective letters are from persons who have supervised or observed the applicant’s participation in research.
- The GRE General tests are required; the Subject test is suggested and may be required by your university.
Using these criteria, employers review the pool of applicants and advise GFSD of which students the employer wishes to support. GFSD then makes the award.
Duration:
Initial support may be for two or three years, or for a full six years, depending on the employer-sponsor. If the initial support is for the shorter period, it may be extended up to six years at the discretion of the employer.
Amount:
The charge to the employer for each student supported is $27,000 annually, of which $20,000 is the fellow’s expense allowance and $7,000 is GFSD’s fee to support its operations. The charge is subject to change at the discretion of the GFSD Board of Directors.
The Application includes the following:
- Research Statement
- Personal Statement
- Publications and Presentations List
- Research Projects List
- GRE General & Subject Test Scores
- 2-5 recommendations
You must choose between the National Security Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Sandia National Laboratories to co-review your application. If you are awarded the fellowship, then you are required to complete a summer internship (with competitive pay) with that agency at some point during the course of your fellowship. Additionally, if you choose to leave academia after completing your PhD, you are expected to consider a job offer from that agency in good faith.
Interested? Have Questions?
If you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in a fellowship or opportunity, please fill out a preliminary questionnaire. Contact the office with any questions: