October 7, 2025
Schedule: Online applications open in late August and close on January 15, 2026.
Type: Fellowship
Duration: Initial support may be for two or three years, or for a full six years, depending on the employer-sponsor. Fellowship renewal will be reviewed in partnership with employer-sponsor on an annual basis.
Amount: The charge to the employer for each student supported is $27,000 annually, of which $20,000 is the fellow’s expense allowance and $7,000 is GFSD’s fee to support its operations. (The charge is subject to change at the discretion of the GFSD Board of Directors.)
Fields of Study: Though the fields supported can vary annually depending on employer needs, in general GFSD covers the following: Astronomy, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Materials Science, Mathematical Sciences, Physics, and their subdisciplines, and related engineering fields: Chemical, Computer, Electrical, Environmental, Mechanical.
Location or Type of Institution: Any participating GFSD University or College
Eligibility: GFSD welcomes applications from any qualified U.S. citizen who has the ability to pursue graduate work at a GFSD university partners. Applicants at any stage of their graduate program may apply, as long as they will be available to accept two summers of paid internship. Those who already possess a doctoral degree are ineligible.
Employers may nominate GFSD fellows directly, obviating the selection process. These fellows may enroll for either a Master’s or a PhD degree.
Selection Process: GFSD employers select fellows based the following factors, not in order:
- Whether the applicant’s field of study matches the employer’s needs
- Undergraduate and graduate coursework and grades
- Research experience at a university or in industry
- Letters of recommendation from professors and employers. These can be decisive. The most effective letters are from persons who have supervised or observed the applicant’s participation in research.
- The GRE General tests are optional but suggested; the Subject test is suggested and may be required by your university.
Using these criteria, employers review the pool of applicants and advise GFSD of which students the employer wishes to support. GFSD then makes the award.
Additional Requirements
Applicants must be accepted at a participating GFSD-member university or college and progress through a full-time study program leading to a graduate degree in the physical sciences or related engineering fields. Fellows must complete one or two summer internships, as the sponsoring employer requires. To continue in good standing, fellows must submit a transcript annually as well as any forms and information that GFSD requests. Fellows must perform satisfactorily in their summer internship and during the academic year. A fellow who switches his or her field of study to one not of interest to the sponsoring employer will likely have support terminated.