Eligibility

Applicants Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the NDSEG Fellowship, you must meet 5 basic criteria:

  1. Be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Dual Citizen, or U.S. National (as defined below)
  2. Have completed your undergraduate studies prior to the commencement of the fellowship in September of the fellowship year. For example, if applying for 2025 fellowship year, you must have completed your undergraduate studies as of September 2024.
  3. Be applying to, accepted to, or currently enrolled at an accredited graduate-level institution within the United States. If enrolled, you must be or near the beginning (within first 2 years) of your Graduate study in Science or Engineering.
  4. Have at *least* THREE remaining years in your graduate degree program as of September 2024
  5. Be pursuing research in alignment with one or more specific topics identified in the Department of Defense's Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs)

For the purposes of the NDSEG Fellowship, the term "U.S. National" designates a citizen of the United States or a native of a possession of the United States such as American Samoa. It does not refer to a citizen of another country who has applied for but not yet received citizenship. Persons who hold permanent resident status are not eligible to apply.

Candidates pursuing only a Medical Degree are not eligible for the NDSEG Fellowship.

If you complete an application, and are not selected, you can apply again as long as you continue to meet all of the eligibility criteria above.

Applications are also encouraged from women, persons with disabilities and minorities, including members of ethnic minority groups such as Native American, African American, Hispanic American, Native Alaskan (Inuit and Aleut) or PacificIslander (Polynesian or Micronesian).

DoD NDSEG Fellow Appointment Eligibility Requirements

DoD NDSEG Fellows must meet the following requirements as a condition of their appointment:

  • Enrolled in full-time programs leading to graduate degrees in fields specified in the DoD services Strategy Documents
  • Attending an accredited U.S. institution of higher education
  • Has made satisfactory academic progress toward an advanced degree in one of the science or engineering fields
  • Mandatory attendance to the DoD National NDSEG Fellows Conference within their award term

Fellow may not accept simultaneous remuneration from another fellowship; e.g., if an applicant is offered both an NSF and an NDSEG Fellowship, the applicant must choose between the two offers.