NC Space Grant | Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The NC Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship Program provides add-on support for graduate students to supplement and enhance basic research support. The objective of this research fellowship opportunity is to encourage talented individuals to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields that support NASA’s mission. Applicants must be enrolled full-time in a program of study in STEM and have a specific faculty-mentored research project that has NASA or aerospace relevance.

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program requires that students participate in an active, identified research activity in STEM that has aerospace and NASA applications. The research must be supervised by a faculty mentor and may be conducted on the home campus or at an industrial or government facility. The research activity should be continuous and may be conducted anytime during the academic year, summer (defined as a minimum of 10 weeks) or both.

Awards are made annually and are renewable for one year for students making satisfactory academic and research progress. This is a competitive fellowship program supported by NASA and the State of North Carolina. Awards are based on merit recognizing high academic achievement and promise. (Examples of exemplary Graduate Research Fellowship applications)

Award Levels

PhD Students:
Academic Year: $7,000
Summer on-campus: $7,000
Summer off-campus at a NASA center, industry, or other research facility: $8,000

Masters Students:
Academic Year: $6,000
Summer on-campus: $6,000
Summer off-campus at a NASA center, industry, or other research facility: $7,000

Applicants must indicate on their application whether they are applying for an academic, summer on-campus, or summer internship (NASA center, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute*, or industry) award. *For students interested in applying for an internship at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI), please review projects here.

Eligibility Requirements

The Graduate Research Fellowship applicant must be:

A permanent United States citizen.
Enrolled full-time in an advanced degree program of study in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM).
Conducting a specific faculty-mentored research project that has NASA or aerospace relevance.
Receiving at least half-time support from their home institution in the form of a teaching assistantship, research assistantship, or fellowship. Federally funded fellowships or scholarships do not qualify.
In good academic standing with a GPA of 3.0 (out of 4.0).

Applicants are eligible to receive up to four Graduate Research Fellowships (two Masters and two PhD) during their academic studies.

Applying for a Graduate Research Fellowship

The 2010 Application Period has closed.

Applicants must click new user registration button to begin application
APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 P.M. EST February 25, 2010
(Letters of recommendation must be submitted by the reference by March 1, 2010)
Awards will be announced by early April 2010.

Interested students must complete an online application (see link above). Please read all program guidelines including applicant eligibility and reporting requirements before submitting your application. The application must be submitted online and all information must be complete or the application will not be reviewed. The key components of the application are discussed in more detail below.

Description of proposed research project: A statement written by the student in consultation with the advisor should describe: the key elements of the proposed research and plan of study; what he/she intends to accomplish; and, identify any aerospace and NASA application of the proposed research activity. The selection committee is made up of university faculty in a variety of disciplines. Applicants should present their research project in a way that will be understandable to a range of readers.
Faculty Recommendations: Applicants will also provide the names and contact information for two references of which one must be the student's faculty mentor. NC Space Grant will contact both references via email to request a letter of recommendation on behalf of the applicant. References will be provided with a link to submit the recommendation. For the application to be complete, both letters of recommendation must be submitted by the mentioned due date. NC Space Grant suggests that applicants contact the references listed and inform them that they will receive an email requesting this information on their behalf (applications@spacegrant.org).
University transcripts: Unofficial transcripts from all institutions and from the current institution with grades through Fall 2009 are required and can be submitted as a PDF in the online application. Applicants must submit one transcript from each institution of higher education attended, whether as an undergraduate or graduate student. If the applicant is selected to receive the award, official transcripts will be required at time of acceptance. If the applicant does not have a PDF conversion tool, links to free on-line PDF converters are provided within the application.

Awardee Requirements

Additionally, at the end of the award period, selected students are required to submit a research summary to NC Space Grant.

Awardees must:

Share their research experiences in public forums or educational settings. Presentations that encourage interest in aerospace careers and research to high school students are of particular interest to NC Space Grant;
Provide a photo and biographical information upon selection;
Inform the Consortium of changes of address; and
Respond to academic and employment follow-up surveys administered by NC Space Grant as required by NASA.

For questions, please contact:
Tom Knott, Technology and Communications Specialist
NC Space Grant
1009 Capability Drive, Suite 210
NC State University
Campus Box 7515
Raleigh, NC 27695-7515
tom_knott@ncsu.edu
(919) 515-4240

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