SMART Scholarship for Service Program

Deadline

Overview

The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program is an opportunity for students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree completion.

The SMART Program aims to increase the number of scientists and engineers in the DoD. The program is particularly interested in supporting individuals that demonstrate an aptitude and interest in conducting theoretical and applied research. As such, the program primarily targets "hand-on-the-bench" researchers and engineers. Individuals applying to the program should have a strong interest in working for the DoD as a civilian research scientist or engineer. Applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in one of the disciplines listed on the About SMART page.

Benefits

Cash stipends are paid at a rate of $25,000 - $38,000 per year depending on degree pursuing.

SMART scholarships are awarded for a specific time based on the anticipated degree completion and conferral dates on the SMART Service Agreement. SMART scholarships range from a minimum of 1 year to a maximum of 5 years per award, depending on degree requirements.

Eligibility criteria

• U.S. citizen at time of application,
• 18 years of age or older as of August 1
• able to participate in summer internships at DoD laboratories,
• willing to accept post-graduate employment with the DoD,
• a student in good standing with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale at the time of award and,
• pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in one of the disciplines listed on the SMART page.

Undergraduate applicants must be currently enrolled in a regionally accredited U.S. college or university and have a high school diploma/GED. Current high school students are not eligible to apply.

Graduate applicants can be either currently enrolled in a regionally accredited U.S. college or university or awaiting notification of admission to such. If awaiting admission, you must be accepted for entrance in the fall term.

Award requirements

Award selections must:

• Submit all award documents required by the SMART Scholarship Program by assigned deadlines.
• Awardees currently enrolled in school must maintain a cumulative 3.0 grade point average.
• Attend a 2-day site visit at their Sponsoring Facility before August 1st. The site visit will be paid for by the DoD. The site visit is an opportunity for awardees to tour the Sponsoring Facility and to develop professional relationships with Sponsoring Facility personnel that will benefit awardees during their scholarship tenure and post-graduation employment.

Selection criteria

Applicants are selected based on the following criteria:

• Academic Background
• Proposed Area of Study
• Placement Preferences
• Summary of Goals
• Interests and Research
• Community and Volunteer Work
• Leadership Experiences
• Teamwork Experiences
• Publications & Presentations
• Awards  & Honors
• GRE Scores
• SAT/ACT Scores
• References
• Transcripts

Application process

All applicants are required to submit applications online by the deadline. All supporting materials including references and test scores must be received by the deadline. Notifications of awards are traditionally made in the spring. Application materials are not returned to applicants. Applicants must click the "Submit Application" button to submit the application. 

Freshman/First Year Associate’s Program applicants must report an ACT or SAT Reasoning Test Score. Subject tests are not required. Scores must be reported to ASEE by the December application deadline.

Graduate applicants must have taken the GRE General Test and scores must be reportable by Educational Testing Service (ETS). Subject tests are not required. It is advised that graduate applicants take the GRE General Test by November to ensure that scores reach ASEE by the December application deadline. GMAT/MCAT/LSAT test scores cannot be substituted for GRE test scores.

Details are available at https://dodstem.us/stem-programs/scholarships.