NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) 2026 (Historical Reference): Institutional Graduate Funding for EPSCoR Jurisdictions
Historical reference for NSF’s EGFP 2026 institutional competition, which funded eligible EPSCoR-jurisdiction institutions to recruit GRFP Honorable Mention recipients into graduate fellowships. The 2026 deadline has passed and NSF has not announced a next cycle on the current program page.
NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) 2026 (Historical Reference): Institutional Graduate Funding for EPSCoR Jurisdictions
Historical status: The 2026 EGFP proposal deadline was 2026-06-01 at 5 p.m. in the submitting organization’s local time. That competition is closed. NSF’s current EGFP program page still points to solicitation NSF 24-588 and does not announce a next cycle, so this page is an archive of the 2026 opportunity, not an open application listing.
| Key Details | Details |
|---|---|
| Opportunity | NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) |
| Funder | U.S. National Science Foundation |
| Applicant | Accredited institution of higher education in an eligible EPSCoR jurisdiction |
| Funding type | Institutional grant supporting NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellows |
| Fellow pool | Students who received NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention |
| Minimum request | 3 Fellows; $477,000 total over 3 years |
| Fellow support | $37,000 stipend and $16,000 cost-of-education allowance per year |
| Use period | Three years of support per Fellow, usable over up to five years |
| Closed proposal deadline | 2026-06-01, 5 p.m. submitting-organization local time |
| Proposal route | Research.gov or Grants.gov |
| Fellow connection route | NSF Education and Training Application (ETAP) after institutions are designated |
What this program was
The NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program was an institutional funding program, not an individual scholarship application. NSF made awards to eligible graduate degree-awarding institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions. Those institutions then used the funding to recruit and support NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellows from the pool of applicants who had received Honorable Mention from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, or GRFP.
The program had two connected purposes. It gave highly qualified GRFP Honorable Mention recipients another route to funded graduate study, and it helped institutions in EPSCoR states and territories recruit and retain graduate talent. A proposal therefore needed to describe more than a list of available departments. It needed to show a real graduate program, a credible recruitment process, faculty and institutional support, and a reason the award would strengthen STEM capacity in the jurisdiction.
The 2026 competition was governed by NSF solicitation 24-588. The solicitation describes EGFP as a new three-year pilot and names the U.S. National Science Foundation as the funder. The official program page lists the 2026 deadline as the latest EGFP proposal deadline and links to the same solicitation. Because that deadline has passed and the official page has not posted another cycle, there is no verified future date to put in the deadline field.
Award amount and what the budget covered
The award structure was fixed at the Fellow level. Institutions had to budget a $37,000 stipend per Fellow per year and a $16,000 cost-of-education allowance per Fellow per year. Each Fellow had to receive three years of support. The institution administered the award so that the Fellow received the full stipend and the institution retained the full cost-of-education allowance during the funded years.
Every proposal had to request at least three Fellows. That made the minimum request $477,000: three Fellows multiplied by three years of $37,000 stipends and $16,000 cost-of-education allowances. The solicitation anticipated that proposals would generally request no more than 20 Fellows, or $3,180,000 over three years, and gave an anticipated average award size of $795,000 for five Fellows. Those figures were planning guidance, not a promise that every proposal would receive the requested amount. NSF also stated that award numbers and sizes depended on available funds and proposal quality.
The five-year utilization rule gave each Fellow more time to use the three funded years. It did not turn the award into five years of paid support. Institutions had to plan for three funded years per Fellow and explain how the graduate program would support enrollment, mentoring, progress, and completion during that period.
Who was eligible to submit
The submitting entity had to be an accredited institution of higher education with a campus in an eligible EPSCoR jurisdiction at the time of proposal submission. It also had to offer at least one master’s or doctoral degree in a STEM discipline aligned with a topic or area covered by the solicitation. The program was therefore not open to an individual student, a private applicant, or an institution whose only connection to an EPSCoR jurisdiction was a partnership elsewhere.
The proposal team had its own eligibility rules. At the proposal deadline, the PI, co-PIs, and other Senior/Key personnel had to hold primary, full-time, paid, continuing appointments at an institution eligible to submit. The solicitation allowed exceptions for family or medical leave as determined by the submitting institution, but term-limited appointments did not qualify.
There were participation limits as well. Each submitting organization could submit one proposal per annual competition. An individual could not participate as PI, co-PI, or Senior/Key personnel on more than one proposal for the same deadline. If an institution wanted to support Fellows in multiple topical areas, it had to combine those areas in one institutional proposal rather than submit separate proposals.
The solicitation also required a Letter of Collaboration from the submitting institution’s Graduate School Dean or a person with similar responsibility and authority for the relevant graduate programs. A strong institutional fit required evidence of an existing graduate program in each discipline addressed by the proposal, not simply a plan to create one after an award.
Who could receive the fellowship support
The institution selected the Fellows, but the eligible student pool was defined by NSF. A prospective Fellow had to have received the distinction of GRFP Honorable Mention no more than three years before the institution’s EGFP proposal due date. The Fellow could pursue a graduate field different from the field or sub-field listed in the earlier GRFP application, provided the proposed graduate program fit the EGFP proposal and the participating NSF topic.
For continued support, the Fellow had to be enrolled full-time in an eligible master’s or doctoral degree program and make satisfactory progress toward the degree. The Fellow had to remain in the same discipline as when admitted by the institution, and the institution’s registrar or equivalent had to certify full-time enrollment. The fellowship was not portable: a Fellow who transferred to another institution forfeited continued access to the EGFP fellowship.
Institutions could impose additional academic-program or admission requirements. Receiving GRFP Honorable Mention did not itself guarantee admission to an EGFP-designated program. A prospective Fellow still had to meet the institution’s graduate admissions and program requirements and provide any additional documents requested by that institution.
Academic areas covered by the solicitation
The 2026 solicitation allowed proposals connected to nine NSF participating organizations: Biological Sciences; Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Engineering; Geosciences; Mathematical and Physical Sciences; Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences; STEM Education; Technology, Innovation and Partnerships; and the Office of Integrative Activities.
The fit had to be specific. Biological Sciences identified interests including biology and artificial intelligence, the bioeconomy, and solutions for a resilient planet. Computer science, engineering, geosciences, mathematical and physical sciences, and social and behavioral sciences could address topics normally supported by their respective NSF organizations. STEM Education covered graduate degrees in STEM education, including discipline-based education research.
Technology, Innovation and Partnerships required graduate curricula connected to non-academic employers and the key technology areas described in the solicitation. Those programs were expected to include experiential learning and problem-solving beyond traditional research activities. The Office of Integrative Activities expected proposals to align with an EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement award in the jurisdiction and to explain how graduate experiences would work with existing academic, government, or private-sector partners.
How the 2026 application process worked
The institution and the prospective Fellow had different application paths. The following sequence describes the closed competition and should not be read as an instruction to submit after the deadline.
The institution checked eligibility and selected its internal proposal. The research office, graduate school, and relevant departments had to confirm the jurisdiction, graduate degree, participating topical area, proposal-team appointments, one-proposal limit, and plan for at least three Fellows.
The institution built the full NSF proposal. The submission needed the standard NSF proposal components plus the EGFP-specific material in the solicitation. The project summary had to identify the participating NSF organization or organizations and the number of graduate students to be supported. The project description needed to explain the institution’s educational ecosystem, graduate programs, recruitment plan, mentoring environment, and capacity-building benefit. The budget had to use the required Fellow-level stipend and cost-of-education amounts.
The institution completed required supporting documents. The proposal needed a graduate student Mentoring Plan in the Other Supplementary Documents section, a Letter of Collaboration from the Graduate School Dean or equivalent authority, and a plan for responding to NSF program evaluation requests. The PI or co-PI would later certify that each graduate student receiving substantial support had an Individual Development Plan during the reporting period.
The institution submitted through the permitted route. Full proposals could be submitted through Research.gov under the PAPPG or through Grants.gov under the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide. The deadline was 2026-06-01 at 5 p.m. in the submitting organization’s local time. Letters of intent and preliminary proposals were not required, and separately submitted collaborative proposals were not accepted.
Designated institutions used ETAP for Fellow recruitment. After awards, institutions registered as EGFP-designated institutions in the NSF Education and Training Application system and created opportunities for eligible candidates. Prospective Fellows registered in ETAP, reviewed designated institutions and programs, applied through ETAP, and supplied any additional documents requested by the institution. The institution then accepted or verified candidates through ETAP. An applicant became a Fellow only after acceptance by an EGFP institution and designated program.
What to do with this historical entry
There is no open 2026 application remaining. A student who finds this page should not infer that NSF is accepting direct EGFP applications or that ETAP currently offers a new EGFP opportunity. An institution planning for a possible future round should monitor the official NSF EGFP program page, read any replacement solicitation in full, and confirm that its EPSCoR-jurisdiction status and graduate program remain eligible. The next solicitation, if NSF issues one, may change the deadline, eligible topics, budget rules, Fellow pool, or submission process.
The closed solicitation remains useful for institutional planning. It shows the level of evidence NSF expected: an existing master’s or doctoral STEM program, a clear topical fit, a recruitment plan for GRFP Honorable Mentions, faculty and graduate-school support, a mentoring plan, and a budget for at least three Fellows. It also shows that the program was designed around institutional capacity rather than a single student’s request for funding.
Common mistakes to avoid when a new cycle is announced
The first mistake is treating EGFP as a portable personal fellowship. The institution submits the proposal, selects the Fellows, administers the award, and controls the designated program. The second is ignoring the EPSCoR requirement or assuming that any campus with a remote partnership qualifies. The campus location and the institution’s accreditation and graduate-degree offerings must meet the solicitation.
Another mistake is budgeting an arbitrary scholarship amount. The solicitation specified $37,000 in annual stipend support and $16,000 in annual cost-of-education allowance for each Fellow, with three funded years and a minimum of three Fellows. A proposal also needs to address the institution’s one-proposal limit, the PI appointment rules, the Dean’s collaboration letter, the mentoring plan, and the evaluation obligations.
For students, the key errors are applying to NSF as if EGFP were GRFP, overlooking the GRFP Honorable Mention time window, and assuming that an EGFP offer can be transferred to another university. The official process routes prospective Fellows through ETAP after institutions are designated, and the student must also satisfy the host institution’s admission and program requirements.
FAQ
Is the 2026 opportunity still open?
No. The official deadline was 2026-06-01, and it has passed. This page is marked as a historical reference.
Has NSF announced a next EGFP cycle?
The current official EGFP page still identifies solicitation NSF 24-588 as the latest solicitation and does not announce a next cycle. Do not replace the historical deadline with an unverified future date.
Does the student apply directly to NSF?
No. Institutions submit proposals to NSF. After an institution is designated, eligible prospective Fellows connect with it and apply through ETAP, along with any materials the institution requires.
What is the minimum award request?
The minimum is $477,000 for three Fellows, with three years of $37,000 annual stipend support and $16,000 annual cost-of-education allowance per Fellow. Each Fellow can use the three years of support over up to five years.
Can a Fellow transfer the award?
No. The solicitation states that EGFP fellowships are granted by the institution and are not portable to another institution.