NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the quality, vitality, and strength of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. Since 1952, the program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including STEM education. NSF GRFP was established to recruit and support individuals who demonstrate the potential to make significant contributions in STEM, including STEM education. NSF encourages applications from the full spectrum of talent that the U.S. has to offer.

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Fall 2026 Updates

August 26, 2026 Update: The NSF just released the solicitation for the Fall 2026 application cycle (FY 2027 awards).

Deadlines

These are the directorate-specific deadlines for Fall 2026:

  • October 16: Letters of recommendation (all fields) due by 8:00PM eastern time
  • October 19: Life Sciences
  • October 20: Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Materials Research; Psychology; and Social Sciences
  • October 22: Engineering
  • October 23: Chemistry; Geosciences; Mathematical Sciences; and Physics and Astronomy

Resources

Here are some resources that you may find useful when working on your NSF GRFP application:

Questions

See the list below for frequently asked questions about the NSF GRFP application process:

  • Frequently Asked Questions from www.nsfgrfp.org.
  • Once again, the NSF has decided to require students to upload official transcripts. However, files you upload to the NSF application portal may not be encrypted or password protected.
    • Click here for instructions on how to request a copy of your official transcript. Then, read the following carefully:
      • The transcript you receive from the Parchment service will be permission-restricted. You’ll need to reprint it (or save another copy) and remove all permission restrictions before uploading your transcript. Otherwise, the file will not upload successfully.
      • Note that when you print a copy of an official transcript, it generates a red “Copy of Transcript” watermark on your transcript.
      • For the second year in a row, the NSF is requesting “official transcripts” but did not create a mechanism for students to have official transcripts sent directly to the NSF (like you did when you applied to college or graduate school). Because of this, every transcript they receive will be a “copy.” The whole point of an official transcript is that there’s no opportunity for the student to manipulate or edit it. But this is what they’re asking for, so submitting the version with the red “Copy of Transcript” watermark appears to be the way to go. This is what students nationwide did last year, and it does not appear to have resulted in their applications being rejected.
      • That said, if the red “Copy of Transcript” watermark really bothers you, there’s nothing keeping you from opening the file, printing it to PDF, saving the new file with no security restrictions, and then using a PDF editor to delete the watermark. Of course, this means there’s also nothing keeping you from using that same PDF editor to alter your transcript in other, more nefarious ways, which illustrates precisely why this new “official-looking-but-not-really-official-transcript” requirement is so inane.
      • If the NSF ever issues any application submission guidance suggesting the solutions outlined above are not sufficient or problematic in other ways, we’ll provide updates on this page.