U.S. Department of Energy —
Office of Science Graduate Fellowship Program

Note to PIs:  The following program summary is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It does not replace the sponsor’s actual funding opportunity announcement. Always review the most recent version of the sponsor’s full announcement to verify that the deadline has not changed and to identify the most current program requirements.

About the fellowship

The goal of the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program is to prepare graduate students for science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission, by providing graduate thesis research opportunities at DOE laboratories.  The SCGSR program provides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to pursue part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE laboratory in areas that address scientific challenges central to the Office of Science mission. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students’ overall doctoral thesis while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the DOE laboratories/facilities.

The SCGSR program is sponsored and managed by the DOE Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS), in collaboration with the 6 Office of Science research programs and the DOE national laboratories/facilities. Online application and awards administration support is provided by Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE) under Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU).

The SCGSR program provides supplemental funds for graduate awardees to conduct part of their thesis research at a host DOE laboratory/facility in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist within a defined award period. Collaborating DOE Laboratory Scientists may be from any of the participating DOE national laboratories/facilities. The award period for the proposed research project at DOE laboratories/facilities may range from 3 to 12 consecutive months.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

  • Be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Resident Aliens at the time of application and be at least 18 years of age at the time of applying.
  • Be enrolled full-time in a Qualified Graduate Program with the Ph.D. as their degree objective. At the time of application, applicants must have obtained the Ph.D. candidacy at their home institution, and must have established a defined graduate thesis project and graduate thesis advisor.
  • Be pursuing a Ph.D. in physics, chemistry, material sciences, biology (non-medical), mathematics, engineering, computer or computational sciences, or select areas of environmental sciences at an accredited college or university in the United States or its territories. Specifically, applicants must demonstrate that their graduate thesis research is in an area of fundamental research aligned with the DOE Office of Science Priority Research Areas.
  • Work with their primary graduate thesis advisor to identify a collaborating research scientist at a DOE laboratory and jointly develop the research proposal as part of the SCGSR application process. Collaborating DOE laboratory scientists may be from any of the participating DOE laboratories.

Award amount

Supplemental awards are intended to cover incremental costs associated with living and travel expenses during the award period. Each awardee is eligible to receive the following benefits:

  • Living Stipend — A monthly stipend in the amount of up to $3,000 for general living expenses while at the host DOE laboratory during the award period.
  • Inbound and Outbound Transportation — Awardees are eligible for travel reimbursement only if the host DOE national laboratory is greater than 50 miles from their university/resident location.  The reimbursement applies to transportation costs only (i.e., not other relocation costs) and is limited to a total travel benefit of up to $2,000 per award.

Award period

Three (3) to twelve (12) consecutive months.

Application deadline

2021 Solicitation 2:  November 2021.

Learn more

Visit https://science.osti.gov/wdts/scgsr.

Last updated:  July 2021.