The National Science Foundation aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1,000 graduate fellowships in this competition. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master's or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.
The deadline is in early November each year. See the NSF site for more information.
The National Science Foundation awards Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in selected areas of the biological sciences. These grants provide partial support of doctoral dissertation research to improve the overall quality of research. Allowed are costs for doctoral candidates to conduct research in specialized facilities or field settings away from the home campus, to participate in scientific meetings, and to provide opportunities for greater diversity in collecting and creativity in analyzing data than would otherwise be possible using only locally available resources.
Please note that in the Division of Integrative Organismal Biology (IOB), the Environmental and Structural Systems Cluster will no longer participate in this competition. As a consequence, only proposals whose focus falls within the scope of (1) the scientific area of animal behavior in the Behavioral Systems Cluster of IOB or (2) any scientific area in the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) will be eligible.
The deadline is in mid-November each year. Note that the proposal is to be submitted by the advisor for the benefit of the student. See NSF's site for more information.