National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSFGRF) Workshop

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• National Science Foundation Graduate Research
  Fellowship (NSFGRF) Workshop
• By James H. Faghmous1,2
• jfagh_at_cs.umn.edu
• 1Dept. of Computer Science, The University of
  Minnesota Twin Cities
• 2Dept. of Neuroscience, The University of
  Minnesota Twin Cities

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Overview

• Why graduate school?
• What is the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
• Why should you apply for an NSF Graduate
  Research Fellowship
• What you need to know before you start your
  application
• Applying for the NSF Graduate Research
  Fellowship
• What else is out there
• Acknowledgments

James H. Faghmous, The University of Minnesota
Twin Cities, 2007
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Why Graduate School?

• Specialization in your field
• Better life
• Better pay
• Now you can attend graduate school for free!

James H. Faghmous, The University of Minnesota
Twin Cities, 2007
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Whats the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

• The NSF looks to reinforce the diversity of
  scientific, technological, and engineering
  research by offering approximately 1,000 Graduate
  Fellowships yearly
• The NSFGRF covers
• 3 years of support
• 30,000 annual stipend
• 10,500 cost-of-education
• The ability to use the fellowship within a
  five-year period
• You still can receive complementary funding from
  your graduate institution on top of the NSFGRF

James H. Faghmous, The University of Minnesota
Twin Cities, 2007
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Whats the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

• The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship application
  consists of
• Three essays (personal statement, previous
  research experience, proposed plan of research)
  two single-spaced pages with one-inch margins
  each
• Three letters of reference
• Official transcripts
• General GRE scores. Subject GRE optional, but
  strongly encouraged

James H. Faghmous, The University of Minnesota
Twin Cities, 2007
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Why should you apply for an NSFGRF

• OK, OK, OK, it sounds good but wheres the
  catch?
• Absolutely no catch! As an NSF Graduate Fellow,
  you will do the SAME graduate work as a regular
  graduate student. Youre just being paid to do
  it.
• To get back to our question Why should you
  apply for an NSFGRF?
• Lets take a second and do the math 40,500 x 3
  121,500
• Absolutely no extra work for being an NSF Fellow

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What you need to know before you start your
application

• Now that I got you feeling pretty good about
  yourselves, heres the reality check
• The NSFGRF is one of the most competitive
  graduate fellowships
• Although youll not need to do any extra work as
  an NSF Fellow, you will need to do A LOT of work
  as an applicant
• This workshop will not review the eligibility
  criteria, deadlines, etc Please go to
  https//www.fastlane.nsf.gov
• Carefully read the information in these pages.
  Once you know what you are dealing with, it will
  save you a lot of time when the deadline gets
  closer, and the NSF Help Desk is overloaded with
  questions
• Please note that NOT all majors have the same
  deadline

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Understanding the NSF Intellectual Merit and the
NSF Broader Impact Criteria

• The NSF not only looks for talented students,
  they want more than book worms. They want
  researchers that can interact with their peers
  and promote science to the general public.
• Intellectual Merit Criterion
• (1) to work as a member of a team as well as
  independently
• (2) to communicate and
• (3) to plan and conduct research.

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Understanding the NSF Intellectual Merit and the
NSF Broader Impact Criteria
Broader Impacts Criterion The broader impacts
criterion includes contributions that (1)
effectively integrate research and education at
all levels (2) encourage diversity, broaden
opportunities, and enable full participation (3)
enhance scientific and technical understanding
and (4) benefit society.
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Gathering application materials

• All application materials are submitted
  electronically, except for your transcripts.
• As an NSFGRF applicant you will need
• Strong, but not perfect educational record. Make
  sure that your transcript is ABS, INC free. Keep
  in mind that it takes about a week for your
  transcript to be ready at the registrar. Dont
  wait until the last minute!
• Strong, but not perfect GRE scores. Take the GRE
  the summer before your Senior year. Dont wait
  until your last semester starts to start
  preparing for the GRE. Get it out of the way as
  soon as possible.
• Strong letters of recommendation. Choose your
  recommenders wisely. Make this process as easy as
  possible for your recommenders. Dont forget that
  Thank You note.
• Previous research experience. The least you
  should have is your Senior Capstone project.

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Choosing your reference writers

• Professors who have known you for a while and
  can speak about you on a personal level
• Known specialists in your field, if possible
• Make sure that you provide all the necessary
  information to your reference writers your
  personal statements (if you have them),
  transcripts, and pointers on what should the
  writer focus on while writing you the letter
• The NSF provides an FAQ for reference writers at
  www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp this would help them
  know what the NSF is looking for in letters of
  recommendation
• Ask for a strong letter of reference ahead of
  time. If the professor says that he/she cant
  write you a strong letter, find another reference

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Writing your statements

• Essay I Personal Statement
• Describe any personal, professional, or
  educational experiences or situations that have
  contributed to your desire to pursue advanced
  study in science, mathematics, or engineering.
  Discuss your career aspirations and how the NSF
  fellowship will enable you to achieve your goals.
  Provide specific details in the narrative that
  address the NSF Merit Review Criteria of
  Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts as
  described in the program announcement.
• You need to make it clear to the panelists that
  you are passionate about research. They will be
  looking for your motivations to pursue graduate
  studies
• The most important part of this essay is
  addressing the NSF Intellectual Merit and Broader
  Impacts criteria

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Writing your statements

• integrating research and education,
• Did you collaborate with other students in the
  classroom and discuss their research? Your
  Senior Capstone might be a good fit here
• Did you conduct research experiments in classes
  that you might have taught?
• If you intend to become a Professor, how would
  you bring in the latest research into your
  classroom?
• How will you continue to address your research
  area for the remainder of your career?

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Writing your statements

• advancing diversity in science,
• Did you tutor/mentor minority students?
• How did you contribute to the participation of
  under represented groups?
• If you are a minority student (race or gender),
  how would you (as a professor) contribute to
  diversifying science?

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Writing your statements

• enhancing scientific and technical
  understanding,
• Did you share your scientific knowledge with the
  general community?
• Did you publish scientific findings in a more
  common jargon (not only in scientific journals)
  to reach out to the general community?
• As a professional, how would you further the
  general communitys understanding of your
  field/research?
• benefiting society
• What have you done to benefit the society?
• How does your research benefit the society?

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Writing your statements
Essay II Previous Research Experience Describe
any scientific research activities in which you
have participated, such as experience in
undergraduate research programs, or research
experience gained through summer or part-time
employment or in work-study programs, or other
research activities, either academic or
job-related. Explain the purpose of the research
and your specific role in the research, including
the extent to which you worked independently
and/or as part of a team, and what you learned
from your research. In your statement,
distinguish between undergraduate and graduate
research experience. If you have no direct
research experience, describe any activities that
you believe have prepared you to undertake
research. At the end of your statement, list any
publications and/or presentations made at
national and/or regional professional meetings.
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Writing your statements

• When describing your research
• Keep in mind that the panelists are Professors
  in your field so make sure to use appropriate
  jargon
• Be as detailed as possible (especially if you
  haven't had much research experience)
• Display the ability to conduct research
  individually and in a group
• At least one of your recommendation letters
  should support your previous research experience

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Writing your statements
Essay III Research Proposal In a clear, concise,
and original statement, present a complete plan
for a research project that you may pursue while
on fellowship tenure and how you became
interested in the topic. Your statement should
demonstrate your understanding of research design
and methodology and explain the relationship to
your previous research, if any. Describe how you
propose to address the two NSF Merit Review
Criteria of Intellectual Merit and Broader
Impacts. Refer to the program announcement for
specific guidance. Format Include the title,
key words, hypothesis, research plan (strategy,
methodology, and controls), anticipated results
or findings, literature citations, and a
statement attesting to the originality of the
research proposal. If you have not formulated a
research plan, your statement should include a
description of a topic that interests you and how
you would propose to conduct research on that
topic.
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Writing your statements

• Your Research Proposal needs to be your most
  polished essay
• Start on this one early, and get as many
  specialists in the field to review it
• Make sure that you made it clear to the
  panelists (through your first two essays) that
  you have the appropriate background and
  preparation for your proposed research
• The NSF Research Proposal Format should be used
• Specific aims, background and significance,
  preliminary studies, methods, expected results
• You need to display your technical writing
  skills in this essay. This is not a creative
  writing one!
• Make sure you propose a realistic and achievable
  plan of research

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Writing your statements

• Cite relevant papers in the field. Thanks to
  Google, today you can see how many times a
  publication has been cited. Clearly, a paper that
  was cited 1,000 times is more important to your
  field than ones that were never cited
• Conclude your essay with a paragraph describing
  why you institution of choice is the best place
  to execute your plan of research

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The review process

• Applications are due in November. Winners are
  announced late March
• Three Panelists review your application. You are
  graded solely on how well you address the
  Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts Criteria
• In March, all three panelists submit their
  review sheets for feedback

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Reviewer rating sheet
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What else is out there?

• Once you apply for an NSFGRF you put yourself in
  a pretty easy position to apply for other
  graduate fellowships
• Unfortunately, most fellowships are either
  institution and/or major specific (Gates
  Cambridge, IGERT) or make you do extra work
  (Microsoft Graduate Fellowship, DOEGF, DODGF).
  They also offer far less fellowships (possibly
  100 per year) and restrict the research topics
  they fund
• Next we will discuss some Graduate Fellowships
  that are due after the NSFGRF

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What else is out there?

• National Defense Science and Engineering
  Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships http//asee.org/ndse
  g/
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security Graduate
  Fellowship
• http//www.orau.gov/dhsed/
• Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowships
• http//www.hertzfndn.org/
• IGERT National Student Recruiting Program
• http//www.igert.org/
• The Department of Energy Computational Science
  Graduate Fellowship
• http//www.krellinst.org/csgf/index.shtml
• The Whitaker Foundation Grant Programs
• http//www.whitaker.org/grants/

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What else is out there?

• For a list of numerous sources of funding for
  graduate school please visit
• The University of Minnesota Graduate School
  funding database http//www.grad.umn.edu/prospect
  ive_students/Financing/other.html
• Clemson University Graduate School funding
  database http//www.grad.clemson.edu/fellowships
  .php

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Download this presentation
This presentation and an NSF Rating Sheet will be
available for download on my personal
website http//www-users.cs.umn.edu/jfagh/
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Conclusion

• Masters VS. Ph.D.
• If eligible, you should apply for an NSFGRF
• Start now!
• Seek assistance from faculty members in your
  field
• Send supplemental materials early
• Have fun!

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Acknowledgments

• Nathan Netravali, Stanford University
• Keith Gamble, UC Berkley
• Dr. Tess Moon, U. of Texas at Austin
• Dr. Bruce Gao, Clemson University
• The Grove School of Engineering, CCNY
• The Division of Science, CCNY
• The Honors Center, CCNY
• CCAPP, CCNY