MSGC Scholarship and Fellowship Program
Guidelines for Academic Institutions
For a Cohesive Competitive Program
Mission:
The Maine Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) is an affiliate of NASA’s National Space Grant College
and Fellowship Program. The mission of the Maine Space Grant Consortium is to support NASA’s
mission and its Mission Directorates by strengthening Maine’s aerospace related research and
education assets, which are critical to the Agency.
Description and Purpose of the Scholarship & Fellowship Program:
The purpose of this program is to provide research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate
students in aerospace- related research which is broadly defined to include biological, physical, social,
earth science, human exploration and development of space, space science, and other science,
technology, computer or engineering related fields.
Program guidelines are provided to ensure that each academic institution receiving funds from MSGC
for its scholarship & fellowship program conforms to the same overall process, resulting in a cohesive
program. Each institution will run its own separate in-house competition.
The focus of the proposed project must be aligned with the research priorities of NASA’s Mission
Directorates (Aeronautics Research; Science; Exploration Systems; and Space Operations), and with
its new “Vision for Space Exploration”. Please access the following website for more information on
NASA’s Mission Directorates and the “Vision for Space Exploration”:
http://fellowships.hq.nasa.gov/gsrp/enterprises/
The project may be ongoing or new. With this program support, students can:
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Conduct research in areas of interest to NASA, funding can support student’s tuition or stipend
Travel to conduct research, and/or to present finished project work at a NASA field center,
Travel to present finished project work at a discipline-specific conference
Facilitate technology transfer from NASA to the Institution and industry in Maine.
Outreach:
Affiliate representatives are expected to distribute this program announcement broadly across all
relevant campus departments. Failure to do so will jeopardize institutional participation and program
intent.
Underrepresented/Minority Participation:
It must be clearly noted in each institution’s competition solicitation that minorities, women and
persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply to this program. NASA’s definition of
underrepresented groups include: African American, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander.
This program announcement must be sent to multi-cultural centers, or an equivalent of such, at
each academic institution.
Identifying a NASA Collaborator/Mentor:
One of the goals NASA attempts to achieve through its space grant funding is to promote collaboration
between students/faculty advisors and NASA researchers at the research centers. MSGC recognizes
that the process to identify NASA mentor can be difficult and time consuming. For this reasons,
MSGC will help student applicants and their faculty advisors to identify NASA mentors, where
possible, after a demonstrated good faith effort to make contact themselves. To facilitate the process,
student applicants and their faculty advisors are strongly encouraged to carefully review the Vision for
Space Exploration (www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/exploration/main/index.html) and supporting
documents and browse searchable directories of research activities underway at each NASA center
available at the following sites (click on Research Opportunities link): NASA Postdoctoral Program
Research Opportunities website https://www2.orau.gov/nasacatalog/; and Graduate Student
Researchers Program http://fellowships.hq.nasa.gov/gsrp/.
The listed research activities are intended to provide student applicants and faculty advisors overviews
of the research topics underway at NASA and identities of potential NASA mentors. From this
information, student applicants and faculty advisors should be able to develop their own proposals that
are topically similar to those underway at NASA and are consistent with the undergraduate
institution’s education focus.
Once the research topic is identified, student applicants and/or the faculty advisors should make a good
faith effort to contact NASA researchers whose research areas are similar to the students’ proposed
research. The student/faculty and NASA mentor relationship does not have to be a time-consuming
one, in that at a minimum, students/faculty should share the project description, goals, intent, etc with
the NASA mentor. In turn, the NASA mentor should provide initial feedback and be available to
provide assistance throughout the project life, if needed - and at the end, the student/faculty will share
the results with the NASA mentor. Although we hope that the relationship takes on more than the
minimum, it doesn't have to be an extensive mentoring relationship.
Student Selection/Eligibility Criteria:
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The student applicant must be a US citizen,
The student must be enrolled or intending to enroll on a full-time basis in a Maine institution of
higher education
GRADUATE STUDENTS: The student should have a GPA of a 3.2 or higher (lower GPAs
may be considered if there is sufficient justification based on the letter of recommendation and
relevant courses taken or enrolled in)
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: The student should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher (lower
GPAs may be considered if there is sufficient justification based on the letter of
recommendation and relevant courses taken or enrolled in)
Application Process and Information needed to apply:
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Each student applicant must identify a Faculty Supervisor/mentor
Each student applicant/faculty mentor must identify, or at a minimum, make a good faith effort
to identify a NASA collaborator
Scholarships and fellowships are available for a one-year period
Graduate Fellowships will not exceed $6,000 per student
Undergraduate Scholarships will not exceed $3,000 per student
Applications must include the following:
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Standard application form, including project summary (the Word document is below)
Narrative description of the project (one to four pages)
Student resume (resume should include relevant courses taken or enrolled in)
Student academic transcript(s)
Recommendation letter from his/her faculty supervisor
*Commitment letter/e-mail from collaborating researcher at a NASA Space flight
center, or indication that student/faculty is working on securing a NASA collaborator
*The absence of a letter/e-mail from a NASA mentor in the application package should not be a deciding factor
in selecting the application for an award. The funded student/faculty advisor should make a good faith effort to
establish a mentor relationship with a NASA researcher. Again, MSGC will help the funded students/faculty
with this process if they do not have success.
Additional Information:
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Funds will be awarded by MSGC to the college/university to be distributed to each student in
the form of a scholarship or fellowship, or in a way that is consistent with institution policy. If
multiple student awards are from one institution, one grant agreement will be sent to that
institution indicating each student award
Cost share is required on a 1:1 basis
Indirect costs cannot be allocated to fellowships and scholarships, but can be used as cost share
Equipment cannot be purchased with fellowship and scholarship funds.
Foreign travel is unallowable
MSGC staff will assist applicants in making the appropriate ties with NASA field centers if
needed
Collaboration with industry, among departments within the same institution, and among
institutions within the State of Maine is highly encouraged.
Application Selection Criteria/Review Process
Each institution will conduct its own review process. Suggested evaluation criteria for all applications
submitted to the institution’s in-house program are as follows:
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Project relevance to NASA’s research priority areas and/or Mission Directorates
Strong commitment letter/e-mail from collaborating researchers at NASA Space flight centers
Qualification of the student (minimum GPA of 3.0 for undergraduate students and 3.2 for
graduate students. Lower GPAs may be considered if there is sufficient justification based on
the letter of recommendation and relevant courses taken or enrolled in)
Technical content and quality of the proposal
Strong recommendation letter from faculty member
A strong application will provide a clear linkage with one of NASA’s Mission Directorate research
areas and it will include collaboration with a NASA center. Information regarding NASA’s Mission
Directorates can be found at: http://fellowships.hq.nasa.gov/gsrp/enterprises/
Proposals should be written so that a reviewer who is not in the same technical field can understand the
goals, objectives, scope of work, anticipated resources, and benefits to the body of knowledge or
science. For an undergraduate scholarship a statement should be made regarding your motivation to
pursue graduate studies.
Award Notification and Requirements:
Competitions will be conducted by, and students will be awarded by, each individual academic
institution and its designated Space Grant representative, following these guidelines for a cohesive
scholarship/fellowship program.
Once an academic representative has completed a competition, said representative will submit a form
(provided by MSGC) which includes names and contact information of awarded students, his/her
faculty mentor and a project description to MSGC.
At a designated time by MSGC (usually by April 30th of each year), the academic representative will
submit to MSGC a completed CMIS form per student (to be provided by MSGC) outlining each
student award and his/her required information.
Awarded students should be made aware of, and agree to be longitudinally tracked by MSGC for a
period of five years from the award date. MSGC will periodically contact each student to gather
updated contact information and information on his/her academic and workforce progress (see student
follow up and tracking below).
Grant agreements will be sent to each institution outlining representative and student requirements,
including the submission of a final technical report at project completion.
Assessments:
Each academic institution representative and/or student awardee will send to MSGC the following
information when it occurs, or at a minimum on an annual basis, or at a time specifically requested by
MSGC:
 Student, faculty or joint student/faculty publications as a result of work conducted under this
program
 Student, faculty or joint student/faculty proposals submitted to other funding agencies (whether
awarded or not) as a result of work conducted under this program
 Presentations conducted at meetings/conferences (either abstract or poster) as a result of work
conducted under this program
Student Follow-up and Tracking:
To comply with NASA’s National Scholarship and Fellowship Program, MSGC has implemented a
student longitudinal tracking policy. Awarded students will be required to send to MSGC updated
contact information and a brief progress report on his/her academic and/or workforce progress, for five
years from the student award date. Updated contact info includes his/her e-mail address, postal
mailing address and phone number.
Failure to Comply/Penalties:
A failure to comply with these guidelines may result in reduced and/or zero funding in future years.
Maine Space Grant Consortium/University of Southern Maine
Fellowship & Scholarship Program
2013 Application Form
College/University Name
Faculty Supervisor and Department
Student Name, Current address, phone
number and e-mail address:
Student’s Permanent address, phone
number and email address:
Student’s Academic Major
Student’s current academic standing
(check one)
st
___1 Yr. ____Soph. ____Jr. _____Sr.
______Graduate Student
Current Grade Point Average___________
US Citizen (check one) ____Yes _____No
*Underrepresented
____Yes _____No
Disabled
____Yes _____No
Motivation for Grad Studies (check one)
____Strong _____Moderate _____None
Title of Project, Start date and funding request (max $3,000 undergrad - $6,000 grad):
Name of NASA Collaborator
Collaborating NASA field center
Project summary (brief)
Student’s Signature and Date
Faculty Supervisor Signature and Date
* Underrepresented includes: African American, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander