Eligibility

Applicants to the DOE SCGF program must meet all of the requirements in the following areas to be eligible to apply:

  • Minimum age and U.S. citizenship
  • Academic Status
  • Enrollment in a Qualified Graduate Program
  • Other Federal Graduate Fellowships

Minimum Age and U.S. Citizenship

The DOE SCGF is open to individuals who are U.S. citizens and will be at least 18 years of age by July 1, 2012. Applicants must have U.S. citizenship at the time of applying.

Academic Status

You are eligible to apply if one of the following circumstances applies to you at the time of applying:

  • You are an undergraduate senior, planning to apply to qualified graduate programs (see below) this year and be enrolled by Fall 2012.
  • You are a first year or second year Master’s or Ph.D. student in a qualified graduate program.
  • You are in your last year of a BS/MS program and plan to be enrolled in a qualified Ph.D. program by Fall 2012.
  • You are not currently enrolled in a graduate program, but have been accepted into a qualified graduate program that will begin in the Spring or Fall of 2012.
  • You have completed your undergraduate degree and are not currently enrolled in a graduate program, but plan to apply to qualified graduate programs and be enrolled in Fall 2012.

You are NOT eligible to apply if one or any combination of the following describe your graduate education status:

  • You will be in your third year of a Master’s program in Fall 2012.
  • You have completed more than 6 semesters/9 quarters (*) of cumulative graduate work at the time of applying.
  • You have completed more than 3 semesters/5 quarters (*) of cumulative graduate work in a Ph.D. program at the time of applying.
  • You seek to pursue a second Ph.D. degree.
  • You are currently in your second Master’s degree program and will not be in a qualified Ph.D. program by Fall 2012.

*Full or part-time  

Enrollment in a Qualified Graduate Program

Applicants must be planning to pursue or be currently pursuing a Master’s or Ph.D. in physics, chemistry, biology (non-medical), mathematics, engineering, computer science, and areas of environmental sciences at an accredited college or university in the United States or its territories. Applicants should demonstrate a strong interest in pursuing graduate study and research in areas of fundamental research supported by the DOE Office of Science.

The Master’s or Ph.D. degree program pursued must require a research thesis/dissertation, with an emphasis on fundamental experimental or theoretical research.

Graduate programs not eligible for the DOE SCGF include: joint BS/MS degree programs, DVM, MBA, MD, joint MD/PhD, JD, or joint JD/PhD degree programs. Graduate programs in the social sciences are also not eligible.

Applicants must be enrolled as a full-time graduate student in a qualified graduate program by Fall 2012. The DOE SCGF is a three-year award, with the goal of supporting a student’s pursuit of a Ph.D. program as a terminal degree. If you are entering your first or second year of a Master’s degree program in the Fall of 2012, you must plan to pursue a Ph.D. in a qualified Ph.D. graduate program immediately following the completion of your Master’s degree.

Other Federal Graduate Fellowships

Applicants may apply to other Federal graduate fellowship programs concurrently with their application to the DOE SCGF. However, the DOE SCGF award cannot be accepted concurrently with some other types of Federal graduate fellowships/grants. This applies to both prospective fellows and current fellows throughout the tenure of their DOE SCGF.   

Specifically:

  • Prospective applicants who are the current recipients of another Federal graduate fellowship that provides tuition and stipend support are not eligible for the DOE SCGF, if the applicant was selected for that fellowship directly by the Federal Agency based on an application submitted by the applicant directly to the Federal Agency.
  • If an applicant has been selected to receive another graduate fellowship directly by their university (even if that fellowship is funded through a Federal grant), the student is eligible to apply to the DOE SCGF (e.g. NSF IGERT, NIH Institutional training grant, etc.).
  • An applicant who was previously awarded another Federal graduate fellowship that provided tuition and stipend support is not eligible for the DOE SCGF, if the applicant was selected directly by the Federal agency based on an application submitted by the student directly to the Federal agency.
  • If an applicant had been previously awarded a graduate fellowship directly by their university (even if that fellowship was funded through a Federal grant), the student is eligible to apply to the DOE SCGF.