Graduate STEM Research Fellowship Program

The VSGC Graduate Research Fellowship Program provides fellowships of $5,000 add-on support to graduate students to supplement and enhance basic research support. Applicants must be enrolled full-time in a program of study in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and have a specific faculty-mentored research project that has NASA or aerospace relevance.

Awardees will be required to certify through their academic department that basic research support of at least $5,000 in matching funds is also being provided before funds are released.

This is a competivite fellowship program, funded by NASA and the Commonwealth of Virginia contributions, with the goals of:

• Encouraging undergraduate students in STEM and aerospace-related fields of study to continue to the graduate level
• Promote graduate aerospace-related research, while recognizing high academic achievement and promise
• Increasing participation of underrepresented minorities, females and students with disabilities in aerospace-related careers
• Implementing the goals of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Graduate Research Fellowship Application Due February 8, 2010

The objective of this STEM research fellowship opportunity is to encourage talented individuals to pursue careers in the aerospace industry that support NASA’s mission.  The Virginia Space Grant Consortium provides graduate research fellowships in the amount of $5,000 to supplement and enhance basic graduate support such as graduate research assistantships, graduate teaching assistantships, and non-federal scholarships and fellowships.

Graduate Research Fellowships require that students participate in an active faculty-mentored research experience that aligns with the aerospace sector and meets NASA’s mission.   Awards are made annually and are renewable for one year for students making satisfactory academic and research progress. This is a competitive fellowship program and awards are based on merit recognizing high academic achievement and promise.

**New VSGC Policy for Graduate Research Fellowship Awards Beginning with Awards Made for the 2009-10 Academic Year

Beginnig with new Graduate Research Fellowship awards for the 2009-10 academic year, the VSGC implemented a new renewal policy. New Graduate Research Fellows will be eligible to renew their Fellowship for only one year. Current VSGC Graduate Fellows awarded for the 2008-09 academic year or prior, are still eligible to renew their Fellowships for up to three total years.

Eligibility

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must be enrolled as a full-time graduate student at one of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium member institutions
• May apply prior to entering or anytime during your graduate program
• Must be in a program of study demonstrating an interest in aerospace or supporting NASA’s mission
• Must have a grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale

Since an important purpose of this program is to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities, females, and persons with disabilities in aerospace-related careers, the VSGC especially encourages applications from these students.

For Graduate Research Fellowship Renewal Applications

Current Graduate Research Fellows applying for a Fellowship Renewal or second Renewal do not need to submit any old transcripts as VSGC has those already on file. Renewal applicants do need to submit transcripts from current institution with Fall 2009 semester grades.

In the Educational History section of the application, please only list your current institution. If your institution does not calculate a traditional GPA, please calculate an estimated GPA for the application and add a related comment in the comments field. Renewal applicants only need to submit a progress report for your VSGC-funded research. You do not need to submit a full research proposal for your continued research.

VSGC-supported Graduate STEM Research Activity

The fellowship program requires students to 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.

For a list of research titles and abstracts recently funded by the VSGC through the Graduate STEM Research Scholarship Program, visit the VSGC Student Research Conference web site.

Click here for a list of researchers from NASA and other organizations that you can contact to discuss potential research projects and ideas.

Sample research proposals that were awarded through the VSGC Graduate STEM Research Scholarship Program.

Application Review Process

Applications must be received by the VSGC by February 8, 2010. Awards will be announced by early April 2010 with funding provided to students through the universities for the 2010–2011 academic year.

Graduate STEM Research Fellowship Application

Applicants must click new user registration button to begin application
APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 P.M. EST February 8, 2010
(Letters of recommendation must be submitted by the reference by February 15, 2010)

Awardee Requirements

Awardees are required to participate in the VSGC’s Annual Student Research Conference to be held in late March or early April 2011. Participation includes attendance and active involvement throughout entire conference, an oral presentation on current research progress, and submission of a research brief for inclusion in the conference proceedings.

Additionally, awardees must:

• provide a photo and biographical information upon selection;
• inform the Consortium of changes of address; and,
• respond to academic and employment follow-up surveys administed by VSGC as required by NASA.

Students may also be asked to share research experiences in public forums, classroom presentations and professional meetings. Presentations that encourage interest in aerospace careers and research to high school students are of particular interest to the Consortium.

Disposition of Unused Funds

If an awardee terminates his/her academic program during the 2010–2011 academic year the University is required to return a prorated share of the fellowship award to the VSGC. Fellowship funds are not transferable.

Application Information

The application must be submitted online and all information must be complete or the application will not be reviewed. The components of the application are discussed in more detail below.

Description of Proposed Research and Plan of Study

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 statement should not exceed five double-spaced pages. The selection committee is made up of university faculty in a variety of disciplines. Applicants should present their proposed research in a form that will be understandable to a range of readers.

Resume, Letters of Recommendation and Faculty Advisor’s Vita

Applicants will submit a short resume of education, significant accomplishments (e.g. honors or fellowships) and any other relevant information.

Applicants will also provide the names and contact information for two references of which one must be the student's faculty advisor. VSGC 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. The faculty advisor must submit a short vita (no longer than two pages) that includes name, current position, title, department, university address, phone number, research to date, and principal publications. For the application to be complete, the faculty advisor must submit both a letter of reference and a vita. The VSGC suggests that applicants contact the references listed and inform them that they will receive an email requesting this information on their behalf.

Transcript

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 (see Graduate Fellow Renewal exception above). Applicants must submit one transcript from each institiution 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.

For questions, please contact VSGC:
Virginia Space Grant Consortium
600 Butler Farm Road Suite 2253
Hampton, Virginia 23666
vsgc@odu.edu
Phone: 757/766-5210
Fax: 757/766-5205