Nationally competitive award

National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship

3 source pages

A doctoral fellowship funded by the Department of Defense supporting research and development aligned with DoD Broad Agency Announcements at a U.S. institution of the recipient's choice.

Award amount
  • Full tuition and required fees (excluding room and board).
  • Monthly stipend of $3,600 ($43,200 annually) for the duration of the fellowship tenure.
  • Up to $1,600 toward institutional minimum health insurance coverage or required private health insurance.
  • Three years of fellowship funding.

Overview

Academic level
  • Graduating senior
  • Master's student
  • Doctoral student (early stage)
Discipline
  • Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
  • Astrodynamics
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biosciences (includes toxicology)
  • Biotechnology (separate from Biosciences)
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Cognitive, Neural, And Behavioral Sciences
  • Computer and Computational Sciences
  • Cyber Sciences (to include “hard” networks, cybersecurity, disinformation)
  • Electrical Engineering
  • 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)
  • Political, Economic, and Sociocultural Sciences
  • Space Physics
  • Quantum Science
  • Science and engineering disciplines of Department of Defense relevance
Citizenship
  • U.S. Citizen
  • U.S. Dual Citizen
  • U.S. National
  • United States citizen
Eligibility
  • Must have received or will receive a baccalaureate degree in the year of fellowship application (or earlier).
  • Must be applying to, accepted to, or currently enrolled at an accredited graduate-level institution in the United States
  • if currently enrolled, must be within the first 2 years of graduate study in science or engineering.
  • Must have at least three remaining years in graduate degree program at the time of application.
  • Must pursue research aligned with one or more specific topics identified in Department of Defense Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs).
  • Candidates pursuing only a medical degree are not eligible.
  • Permanent residents are not eligible to apply.
Application materials
  • Research proposal (both original and redacted versions).
  • Personal essays typed directly into the web application (maximum 500 words each).
  • Resume/CV in PDF format (both original and redacted versions).
  • Scanned or photographed copies of official transcripts.
  • Up to 3 references submitted via online system evaluation forms (highly recommended, not required).
How to apply
Apply online via the NDSEG application portal at https://applyndseg.sysplus.com/
Contact
  • DoD NDSEG Program Office: NDSEG.PMO@sysplus.com
  • DoD NDSEG Program Office: (301) 948-4232