NDSEG - National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship

Deadline

Overview

The highly competitive Fellowship Program has awarded nearly 4700 fellowships from over 70,000 applications to U.S. citizens and nationals since its inception in 1989. Selected Fellows can choose the U.S. Institution to attend for pursuit of their doctoral degree. 

The NDSEG Fellowship is sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) under the direction of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering. 

Applicants who are interested in furthering their education in the disciplines of military importance compete for Fellowship opportunities listed under DoD’s Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) in research development. The broad research area disciplines include, but are not limited to the following: aeronautical and astronautical engineering, Astrodynamics, biomedical engineering, biosciences (includes toxicology); chemical engineering; chemistry; civil engineering; cognitive, neural, and behavioral sciences; computer and computational sciences; electrical engineering; geosciences (includes terrain, water, and air); materials science and engineering; mathematics; mechanical engineering; naval architecture and ocean engineering (includes undersea systems); oceanography (includes ocean acoustics, remote sensing, and marine meteorology); physics (including optics) and space physics. 

Benefits

NDSEG Fellowships last for three years and pay for full tuition and all mandatory fees, a monthly stipend, and up to $1,000 a year in medical insurance (this excludes dental and vision insurance).

All Fellows, starting with the 2015 Class, will receive a total of $102,000.00 in stipend funds over the course of their 36-month program tenure. Stipends are prorated monthly based on a 12-month academic year.

If the fellow is not enrolled in an institutionally approved academic study and/or research activity during the summer months, financial support will not be provided. There are no dependency allowances. Persons with disabilities may be considered for additional allowances to offset special educational expenses.

Eligibility criteria

To check your Eligibility, see this webpage: https://ndseg.sysplus.com/NDSEG/about/Eligibility 

Selection criteria

An evaluation panel in each discipline reviews all complete and eligible applications. Each application is evaluated by a panel whose expertise is in the science or engineering discipline of the applicant's proposed doctoral degree program.

The evaluation of applicants is based on review of their entire online application, including academic records, personal statements, recommendations, and GRE scores. The top applications that are ranked by the evaluation panel are then forwarded on to the Department of Defense.

The DoD then selects applicants to receive NDSEG Fellowships based on an assessment of the applicants’ academic ability in fields of interest to the DoD.

Application Process

To apply, you will need to do so online. Check their "How to Apply" here: https://ndseg.sysplus.com/NDSEG/Applicants/How-to-Apply 

A complete fellowship application consists of the following:

• Personal Info/Application Form
• Personal Statement- Do not reference Your Name, School Name, Advisor Name, or anything that denotes who you are and what school you attend.  Personal statement will be typed in a Form (500 words) No special formatting required -What are your short and long-term professional goals? How did these goals develop? How have you already begun to lay the foundation for these goals? How does this fellowship fit into these goals?  Keep in mind personal statements are your introduction to the reviewer.
• Transcripts (Associate's, Bachelor's, - Upload a PDF of the official - DO NOT mail or email to ITS-JV/NDSEG. Have an official copy mailed or emailed to you and upload into the application.
• Research Proposal - Do not reference, Your Name, School Name, Advisor Name, or anything that denotes who you are and what school you attend (for additional information see details under research proposal).   Upload your research proposal using the following file name format: 2023-RP-Initials-Abreviated Discipline (Example: “2023-RP-KYM-CHEM-ENG”). NOTE: If uploading a new file (replacing an old file) you must use a unique name each time. Ex: First file was "2023-RP-KYM-MATH" please change version 2 to "2023-RP-KYM-MATH-2", or something similar. 

• 3 References are required, 4 can be submitted.  Applicants will need to DELETE ONE reference before submission:  Recommenders must complete the reference link.  Separate letters on letterhead will NOT be accepted.   We recommend reaching out to academic advisors, research advisors, internship supervisors, mentors, teachers, or employers.   Please remind Advisors the following:  Do NOT USE the UNIVERSITY's NAME; Do NOT USE the APPLICANT's NAME; or use the PROFESSOR's name in any written response to questions within the reference form, OR the applicant will be DISQUALIFIED.  

   

For a more thorough breakdown of the requirements, please see their website here: https://ndseg.org/requirements