CSGrad4US: Third Year Call for NSF Fellowship Opportunity for CS Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Holders to Return for Ph.D.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate recently announced that applications are now being accepted for the third year of the CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowship program. The 3-year fellowships support new Ph.D. students pursuing their degree in a CISE field which includes programs in Computer Science, Computer and Information Sciences, and Computer Engineering.

This program has already changed the lives of 78 people, with 16 participants from Cohort 1 now attending CISE PhD programs and 62 participants from Cohort 2 receiving admissions offers from Ph.D. programs this spring!

Goal and Motivation
The goal is to increase the number of diverse, domestic graduate students pursuing research and innovation careers in the CISE fields. The fellowship program, which will provide 3-year fellowship opportunities for new Ph.D. students in the computing disciplines, was released in response to the increased demand for people with a Ph.D. in CISE fields, the continued decrease of domestic students pursuing research and completing a Ph.D., and the overall small number of bachelor’s degree recipients in CS pursuing graduate school. In particular, the percentage of domestic Ph.D. students in Computer Science graduating has decreased from 69% in 1985 to 31% in 2021 [1].

NSF seeks candidates from a broad array of backgrounds and strongly encourages women, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Native Pacific Islanders, and persons with disabilities to apply.

Benefits

• A year-long preparation program, organized by CRA-E and CRA-WP, in which individuals selected for the Fellowship will receive mentoring support in identifying a graduate program, finding a research mentor, and applying to graduate programs; during this year, the individuals will also have opportunities to form a network with one another and with faculty advisors;
• For those who enroll in a qualifying doctoral degree-granting program at an institution of higher education having a campus located in the United States, its territories or possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an annual stipend of $37,000 for three years out of five; and
• Cost-of-education allowance of $16,000 per year for the three years noted above to the institution of higher education, which typically covers costs for all tuition, medical insurance, and institutional fees.

Timeline and Eligibility
To be eligible for the CSGrad4US Fellowship,  applicants must (1) have graduated with a bachelor’s degree before December 31, 2022, (2) have demonstrated CISE core competency, (3) have not been enrolled in any degree-granting program since January 1, 2023, (4) have never enrolled in and have no pending application or offer of admission for a doctoral degree-granting program in a CISE discipline; and (5) be prepared to attend graduate school by Fall 2025.  Applications for the CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowship are due June 5, 2023.

Please visit https://www.nsf.gov/cise/CSGrad4US/ for all eligibility criteria and additional details and deadlines.

Applications for the 2023 Cycle are open!

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[1] 2021 CRA Taulbee Survey. Stuart Zweben and Betsy Bizot, 2021.

Help support this unique opportunity by…

• Forwarding this email to your faculty and alumni
• Posting information about the CSGrad4US Fellowship on Social Media
• Encourage faculty members to serve as application reviewers (reviewer application) and to mentor participants by serving as individual coaches and area-specific advisors (coach/area advisor application)