NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program | 24 588

Opportunity Information: Apply for 24 588

The NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) is a National Science Foundation grant opportunity designed to convert prior NSF GRFP Honorable Mention recipients into funded graduate fellows, specifically in states and territories that qualify as EPSCoR jurisdictions. The central idea is capacity building: NSF uses EGFP to strengthen the research workforce and long-term competitiveness of EPSCoR jurisdictions by funding graduate education at eligible institutions located in those jurisdictions. Rather than funding individual students directly, NSF makes awards to graduate degree-granting institutions, which then support cohorts of NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellows as they complete STEM graduate degrees aligned with participating NSF Directorates and offices under this solicitation.

Eligibility for the fellowship support is tied to a very specific prior achievement. The students who can be supported are applicants who received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Honorable Mention no more than three years before the EGFP proposal due date. A notable feature is flexibility in academic direction: fellows supported through EGFP are allowed to pursue graduate degrees in a field that is different from the field or sub-field they listed in their original GRFP application. In other words, the program is not locked to the earlier GRFP topic, as long as the degree program fits within the STEM disciplines and topical focus areas covered by the participating NSF units for EGFP.

Only certain organizations are allowed to submit proposals. Proposals may be submitted only by accredited Institutions of Higher Education that (1) have a campus located in an eligible EPSCoR jurisdiction at the time of submission, and (2) offer at least one masters and/or doctoral degree in a STEM discipline that aligns with the topical focus area(s) described in the solicitation. This structure reinforces that EGFP is meant to channel resources into graduate programs within EPSCoR jurisdictions, helping those institutions recruit and retain strong graduate students who have already been recognized by NSF through the GRFP process.

The solicitation also defines who can serve as the project leadership on the institutional proposal. As of the submission deadline, the PI, co-PIs, and other senior/key personnel must hold primary, full-time, paid, and continuing appointments at an eligible submitting institution. There is a limited exception for family or medical leave if the institution approves it, but individuals in term-limited appointments are not eligible to serve in these roles. This requirement ensures the award is managed by stable institutional personnel with ongoing responsibility for program administration and student support.

Funding is structured around a clear per-fellow budget model and a cohort requirement. Each NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellow is supported for three years total, and proposals must request support for a minimum of three fellows. For each fellow-year, the stipend must be budgeted at 37,000 per year, and the cost-of-education allowance must be budgeted at 16,000 per year. That means each fellow represents 53,000 per year in combined support, and 159,000 across the full three-year support period. Importantly, the award must budget the entire three years of support per fellow up front. Fellows are given up to five years to use the three years of funded support, which provides flexibility for common graduate-school realities such as research timelines, internships, coursework sequencing, or other approved pacing needs.

Administration rules are explicit about how funds must flow once awarded. Institutions are expected to manage the award so that fellows receive the full stipend amount during their supported years, while the institution retains the full cost-of-education allowance during those same years. In practice, this mirrors NSF’s typical separation between student living support (paid to the fellow) and education-related costs (managed by the institution), while making the expectation unambiguous for budget planning and compliance.

From the federal funding listing details, this opportunity is an NSF discretionary grant in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category, with CFDA/assistance listing numbers that include 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.083, and 47.084. The opportunity number is 24-588, with an original closing date of 2024-10-02. NSF anticipated making about 35 awards, with an award ceiling listed at 3,180,000, reflecting support for multiple fellows per institution consistent with the required stipend and cost-of-education levels and the minimum cohort size.

Overall, EGFP is best understood as an institutional mechanism for building graduate STEM talent in EPSCoR jurisdictions by providing a second pathway to funded NSF-recognized students: those who earned GRFP Honorable Mention within the last three years. It combines cohort-based institutional proposals, fixed per-fellow support levels, and flexible usage timing so institutions can recruit strong candidates and sustain them through key stages of graduate training, ultimately strengthening the research ecosystem in EPSCoR regions.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.083, 47.084.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-02. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,180,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 35 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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