Graduate Research grants of up to $67,500 will be awarded through a competitive process. These grants are offered to graduate students majoring in science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics (STEM) fields. Grants are open to new and continuing students to support research projects fostering the vision of NASA by encouraging career goals in STEM disciplines, strengthening the nation’s STEM workforce and engaging Americans in NASA’s mission. Preference is given to projects directly related to NASA's interests. Awards available under this announcement are limited to students attending Alaska institutions of higher education. Women, under-represented minorities and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Students are required to identify a faculty mentor with whom they intend to work and who is available to write a letter of collaboration. The mentor must provide a letter of collaboration agreeing to serve in the capacity of mentor for the duration of the award and must provide 1:1 non-federal match. Please provide any potential faculty mentors the Letter to Potential Mentors. The letter of collaboration from a faculty mentor must address the items discussed in this letter.
Application Documents
- Download the Application
- 2018 NASA Strategic Plan
- 2020 NASA Technology Taxonomy
- How to Write SMART Objectives
- Letter to Potential Student Proposers
- Letter to Potential Mentors
- Report Template
- Direct Participant Demographic Form
- Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
- Student Tracking
- Informal Education Reporting Form
Dates | Deadlines
Application Deadline
All application materials, including supporting documentation, must be received at the ASGP office by the stated deadline. Applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a first come first serve basis until all the grant funds have been awarded.
- December 1
Award Announcement Date
Applicants will be notified of award decisions by email. The awards will be made through the faculty mentors business office.
- January 15
Eligibility and U.S. Citizenship Requirement
Grants are open to graduate students who meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Enrolled at an Alaskan institution of higher education during the period of the award.
- Good academic standing
- U.S. Citizen
Review | Selection Process
The ASGP office evaluates the eligibility of all applications received. Qualified applications are reviewed by a statewide committee which makes recommendations for funding to the ASGP Director based on the quality of the applications as reflected in the review criteria. The final award decision will be at the discretion of the ASGP Director. Preference may be given to women and individuals from under-represented groups.
Review Criteria
Applications are ranked based on the following criteria:
- Proposed project merit
- Relevance to NASA
- Potential for research infrastructure development in Alaska
- Mentor collaboration
- Scholastic achievement
Requirements
Award recipients agree to:
- Notify ASGP of any changes in mailing address, e-mail address, or telephone number for purposes of progress reports.
- At the end of the stipend period, the student must submit a final project report to the ASGP office. This report must be submitted by May 1 following the end of the grant period. A report template will be provided. The report should detail
- What were the major goals and objectives of the project?
- What was accomplished under these goals?
- Significant results, including major findings, developments, or conclusions (positive and negative)
- List of research success as measured by awards and honors, presentations and papers published, proposals submitted. Provide detailed citations where available
- Additional survey/questionnaire documents will be sent periodically to student awardees via email to conduct longitudinal tracking of students supported by ASGP funding. The longitudinal tracking survey/questionnaire in an on-line document and the email message sent to the student will give instruction on how to access it.
- Grant permission to release and/or publish requested recipient information to NASA or other appropriate parties.
- Students will be required to give a presentation of their research project at the Alaska Space Grant/NASA EPSCoR Education and Research Symposium.
- Acknowledge Alaska Space Grant Program support in any presentations or publications that the student develops as a result of his/her Space Grant supported research project. This acknowledgement should state that: "This material is based in part upon work supported by NASA through the Alaska Space Grant Program (80NSSC20M0070).”
- Complete at minimum one outreach event during the award period. Students may report on the event on the ASGP website: Informal Education Reporting Form.
Funding
Awards are subject to availability of NASA funding.
For More Information
Please email us at uaf-spacegrant@alaska.edu or call us at 907-474-6833.