Supporting U.S. Doctoral Students through
NSF’s Division of Graduate Education
Holly Given, Ph.D.
AGEP National Conference
March 2009
Building Global Leaders through Transformative
Research and Education
Career Preparation
and Development
Early Career
Graduate
Undergraduate
Pre-college
R & RA Areas
Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Water Quality
of National Priority: and Resources, CI and CL, Nanotechnology, etc.
NSF’s Division of Graduate Education
Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRF)
Integrative Graduate Education and Traineeships (IGERT)
Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 (GK-12)
• Part of NSF’s portfolio to support graduate education
• Uniquely responsive to emerging research areas without
regard to disciplinary boundaries
• Unique opportunities for graduate students, with
spinoff value for institutions and PIs
• Designed for U.S. citizens and permanent residents,
developing an inclusive national workforce. /
GRF
• Awards to INDIVIDUALS
• Focused on the individual’s
potential and achievements
• Sparks independence in
early stages of graduate
career
• $65M/year for 1600 awards
and
IGERT
• Awards to INSTITUTIONS
• Focused on an Interdisciplinary
theme, usually in an emerging field
• Sparks new faculty collaborations
and expects institutional
sustainment
• $65M/year for 20 awards
Supported U.S. citizen/resident doctoral students receive $30K/yr
stipend + $10.5K/yr cost-of-education allowance
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• NSF’s oldest NSF program
(since 1952)
• > 43,000 Fellows to date;
> 20 Nobel laureates
• Competition involves
research plans, personal
essay, and
recommendations; 11%
success rate
Fellow Juliana Rangel-Posada,Cornell, studies how
honey bees communicate.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• 30K/year stipend to Fellow,
$10.5K/year cost-ofeducation to institution
• 3 years of support
• $1,000 international travel
allowance
• Award follows the Fellow
Fellow Elizabeth Thomas, SUNY at Buffalo, does
climate change research in the Canadian Arctic.
Graduate Research Fellowship Program Impacts
In 2007-08, 3200 Fellows studied
at 180 US and 12 international
institutions. They reported:
 2132 presentations
 1954 publications
 205 discoveries, patents and
inventions
 501 broadening participation
activities
Fellow Stuart Williams, Purdue, developed a new
technique to precisely position nano-scale particles with
a laser for application in bioimaging.
Disciplinary Distribution of Graduate Research Fellows
100%
Mathematics
Computer Science
80%
Physics
Geoscience
60%
Chemistry
Engineering
40%
Life Science
20%
Social Science
Psychology
19
52
19
55
19
58
19
61
19
64
19
67
19
70
19
73
19
76
19
79
19
82
19
85
19
88
19
91
19
94
19
97
20
00
20
03
0%
Climate change and water resources: glacier hydrology
Fellow Jason
Gulley incorporates
studies of glacier
ice caves into
models on the
melting of the
world’s glaciers with
implications for sea
level rise.
Fellow Jacob Gulley, University of Florida explores a
water conduit in the Khumbu Glacier in the Himalaya
Career Plans of NSF Graduate Research Fellows
2007-2008
Consulting
Govt Service
Industry
Teaching
Other nonsci/eng
Other sci/eng
N = 3,500
Research
Integrative Graduate Education
and Research Traineeship
Program (IGERT)
139 Active IGERT awards at 87 institutions
Characteristics of IGERT Awards
• Dual focus on a transformative interdisciplinary research
theme and an aligned innovative educational plan
• Awards to institutions ($3M/5 years); senior PIs; 80% of
award goes directly to graduate student support
• Recent competitions have > 400 preliminary proposals, ~20
awards (5%)
• In 10 years:
 215 projects
 103 institutions in 41 states
 ~25 trainees/award supported for 2 years
• Intended to catalyze sustainable institutional change
Climate Change and the Human Environment
UCSD: Marine
Biodiversity –
Understanding Threats
and Providing Solutions
George Washington
University: Dynamics of
Behavioral Shifts in
Human Evolution: Brains,
Bodies, and Ecology
Dartmouth: Polar
Environmental Change
Clean Energy and Engineering Processes
University of Delaware:
Sustainable Energy from
Solar Hydrogen
Texas Tech University:
Wind Science and
Engineering
University of Tennessee:
Sustainable Technology
through Advanced
Interdisciplinary Research
Cutting Edge Research Themes
MIT: Interdisciplinary
Quantum Information
Science and Engineering
Rice University:
Nanophotonics:
Fundamentals and
Applications in Emerging
Technologies
About half of all IGERTs include an international component
Countries IGERT trainees visited in 2007-2008
IGERT and Broadening Participation
• IGERT proposals must include strategies for recruitment,
mentoring, and retention of trainees from groups
underrepresented in science and engineering, including women,
racial and ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities
• More than half of all IGERT proposals have letters of support
from Minority-Serving Institutions
• Many proposals mention their AGEP relationships
• Peer-to-Peer faculty relationships develop, and continue
• IGERT outreach activities frequently include diverse
communities
Coming in June: www.igert.com
Report from 2008 Institutional Workshop
Thinking about an IGERT proposal?
• Foremost is the cohesive interdisciplinary research
theme
• Educational plan must be innovative and aligned with
research theme
• The WOW Factor: Would I like to do the program?
• Strategies for broadening participation
• Broader impacts and sustainability of the investment
• Will graduates be different, and make a difference?
Building Global Leaders through Transformative
Research and Education
Career Preparation
and Development
Early Career
Graduate
Undergraduate
Pre-college
R & RA Areas
Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Water Quality
of National Priority: and Resources, CI and CL, Nanotechnology, etc.