DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship

Deadline

Overview

The Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) provides outstanding benefits and opportunities to students pursuing doctoral degrees in fields that use high-performance computing to solve complex science and engineering problems.

The program fosters a community of energetic and committed Ph.D. students, alumni, DOE laboratory staff and other scientists who want to have an impact on the nation while advancing their research. Fellows come from diverse scientific and engineering disciplines but share a common interest in using computing in their research.

More than 340 students at more than 60 U.S. universities have trained as fellows. The program's alumni work in DOE laboratories, private industry and educational institutions.

Its specific objectives are:

• To help ensure a supply of scientists and engineers trained to meet workforce needs, including the DOE’s, in computational science.
• To make DOE laboratories available to fellows for work experiences, ensuring cross-disciplinary collaborations in productive work teams.
• To strengthen ties between the national academic community and DOE laboratories so the fellowship’s multidisciplinary nature builds the national scientific community.
• To make computational science careers more visible, encouraging talented students to enter the field and thereby building the next generation of computational science leaders.

Benefits

The DOE CSGF has defining benefits that set it apart from other science- and engineering-focused graduate fellowships:

• A yearly stipend of $36,000
• Payment of full tuition and required fees during the appointment period (at any accredited U.S. university)
• A $5,000 academic allowance in the first fellowship year and a $1,000 allowance each renewed year (to be used for the purchase of a computer workstation or for research/professional development expenses)
• Up to four years of total support, depending on renewal
• A twelve-week practicum experience at one of 21 DOE national laboratories or sites, including access to DOE supercomputers
• A rigorous program of study that ensures fellows have solid backgrounds in a scientific or engineering discipline plus computer science and applied mathematics
• An annual program review for fellows, alumni, university and DOE laboratory staff, held each summer in the Washington, D.C. area

Eligibility criteria

At the time of application, eligibility will apply to:

1. Undergraduate seniors
2. Applicants with no more than B.S. or B.A. degrees who are not enrolled in graduate school
3. First-year graduate students (M.S. degree or Ph.D. students without an M.S. degree)

During the fellowship period, fellows are required to be enrolled as full-time graduate students at an accredited U.S. college or university and conduct research in areas of interest to the DOE. The summer should be spent conducting full-time research related to the completion of one's degree program, enrolled in classes or on a practicum assignment.

Selection criteria

• After an application is complete, it is submitted along with all other complete applications to a review panel.  The review panel is made up of university, federal laboratory, and private and government sector personnel who are directly responsible for instruction and research in the area of computational science.  The panel reviews each application and recommends award recipients to Krell.  Applications are reviewed on the basis of grades, courses taken, GRE scores, research statements, and references.  The Program of Study submitted with the application is carefully scrutinized for breadth and consistency with the goals of the fellowship program.
  
   
• The number of awards given each year is dependent on the funding available.  Some applicants may be placed on a waiting list for a possible award should additional funding become available.
  
   
• The Krell Institute will notify applicants of their award status by late April.  Once fellowships are awarded, the Krell Institute handles the administration of the fellowship for the DOE.  During the fellowship tenure, questions about stipends, payment of tuition and fees, practicum assignments, travel, etc. should be referred to the DOE CSGF Coordinator at the Krell Institute.

Application Process

Apply online at https://www.krellinst.org/doecsgf/application/

The research statements, program of study, reference letters, transcripts, GRE and GPA are important parts of this competitive fellowship and reviewers consider them all.