NSF GRFP and NDSEG Application Guide

As the 2024 Fellowship application cycle wraps up, I wanted to reflect on the process and make a resource to guide other students on their application journeys. I applied to the NSF GRFP and the NDSEG Fellowship program and have inclduded details and tips about them below. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about either application.

NSF GRFP

Application Materials:

• Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement
• Graduate Research Plan Statement
• 2 Reference letters (maximum 5 allowed)
• Unofficial Transcript

This fellowship from the National Science Foundation supports graduate (both masters and doctoral) students from various research areas for 3 years of their program. It has a relatively high acceptance rate, funding 2,300 students a year, so definitely apply for this one, you have a good chance! At the time of writing this, the personal statement is 3 pages long while the research plan is 2 pages long. This fellowship funds the scientist, not the science. This means that while your research plan is important, your personal statement is equally important, if not moreso. They want to fund promising future scientists who have the potential for significant research achievements. They take interests and competencies into consideration, taking a holistic view of your research journey to graduate school.

There are three main parts of your Personal, Relevant Background and Future Goals Statement. The first part is the intellectual merit section, where you weave together a story of your research journey. Why are you interested in research? What research have you done and why? Try to paint a narrative of your journey, no one wants to read a long winded resume. The second part is the broader impacts section, where you describe the potential effect for you to benefit society and contribute to specific societal outcomes. Here, you can get creative. You can outline an activity that you want to create, talk about your volunteering efforts, or anything that encompasses your potential to benefit society. The third part is the future goals section, where you talk about what your plans for the future are professionally. It could also help to talk about your future plans relating to broader impacts as well, how you will keep volunteering, or whatever you said in your broader impacts. This section should be relatively short. Then just throw in a couple transitions and an introduction and you're done with the statement!

There are also three parts to your research plan statement. The first part is the actual research plan, where you introduce your research, why its important, and outline each specific aim. This is a short research proposal that demonstrates your ability to make a well thought out plan to vigorously investigate a topic. It is a good idea to make your second aim not reliant on your first aim, so that if your first aim fails, the plan is not completely done for. The second part is the intellectual merit section, where you describe how your project would advance your field. The third part is the broader impacts section where you describe how your project would benefit society. Include your references at the bottom and you are on your way to being awarded the NSF GRFP!

As an example of a NSF GRFP research proposal, you can find mine here. Pls dont judge my figure haha.

Note:

• Differentiate and label your intellectual merit and broader impacts sections in each statement, as without them your application won't be considered
• Reference letters have a different due date than the application. This year they were due Oct 11 5 pm EST while the application was due Oct 5 pm local time.
• They do not accept PDFs with any sort of securities on them. Upload well before the due date so there is time for troubleshooting.
• Their system will only accept PDFs in their required formatting, download their template and paste your writing into it to ensure correct formatting.
• They are EXTREMELY strict with the due date. No exceptions are made.

NDSEG Fellowship

Application Materials:

• Personal Essay
• Research Proposal
• Resume/CV
• Official Transcript (has to be official)
• Up to 3 references (although none required)

This fellowship from the Department of Defense (DoD) supports Ph.D. students from various research areas for 3 years of their program. It has a pretty low acceptance rate (~2%), but its definitely still worth applying to. While the NDSEG also funds the scientist, not the science, your personal essay isn't worth as much as it is only 500 words and weighted 10%. However, the research proposal is 3 pages plus up to another page of references and, according to a slightly outdated source, is worth 65% of the application. The rest of the application is weighted: 10% for your academic experience and accomplishments and 15% for your references.

One thing to note is that your research proposal will be judged on usefulness to the DoD, and must be encapsulated by a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) topic. Agencies that are part of the DoD (army, navy, air force/spaceforce) to solicit project proposals for funding. It seems that each agency has the same number of awards to give out, so it may be advantageous to apply your research to one of the less popular branches, like the Space Force or Air Force. These BAAs can be found on the NDSEG website or by searching them up yourself. The research areas are pretty broad so don't worry too much about how applicable your research is, its how you frame it. They fund basic research, so if there is any result later down the line of research (could be almost science fiction) applicable to the DoD, write that when describing the relevance of the research. The research proposal doesn't have an established format, you can use any way you want to present your proposal. My format was overall research goal, introduction and significance, specific aims, benefit to society, and relevant qualifications.

For the personal essay, I would keep it direct and short. Many of the successful applications that I saw sounded quite robotic and focused, writing about accomplishments and research/industry experiences, while relating those to their long and short termgoals. I also some lackluster successful personal essays, highlighting the importance of the research proposal over the personal essay. This year, there was a statement of challenge, also 500 words. In this essay, you describe a challenge(s) that you have encountered while pursuing your education. If you have encountered significant challenges, here is where to say it. If you have not, treat the prompt like the interview question "describe a challenge you had and how you overcame it", where you talk about workplace squabbles and the like.

In contrast to reference letters, these references are multiple choice surveys that ask the referee to evaluate the applicant. Make sure to ask research figures who will say good things about you and consider you amongst their top students ever. These forms apparently don't take as long to complete as a reference letter, but still make sure to ask your referees early (>1 month before due date) and remind them often!

As an example of a NDSEG research proposal, you can find mine here.

Note:

• The DoD's way of removing bias is through redacting parts of your application, including removing identifying information from your research proposal and your resume/CV. Don't leave this to the last moment as it can take some time.
• The team that manages the application web app make many mistakes. Trust the information on the website and send any questions to [email protected]. They respond within a couple of days usually.
• They are also really strict about their deadline. Don't leave it to the last second!

These are my tips but I am not sure if they are successful (yet). I will keep this post updated when the awards come out. Best of luck with your applications!