NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) 2027: Institutional Graduate Funding for EPSCoR Jurisdictions
Open NSF EGFP institutional competition for accredited institutions in eligible EPSCoR jurisdictions to recruit GRFP Honorable Mention recipients into graduate fellowships. Full proposals are due June 1, 2027, by 5 p.m. in the submitting organization’s local time.
NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) 2027: Institutional Graduate Funding for EPSCoR Jurisdictions
Current cycle: NSF solicitation 24-588 lists June 1, 2027, at 5 p.m. in the submitting organization’s local time, as a full proposal deadline. The solicitation is active and includes that upcoming date. This is an institution-led competition: students do not submit fellowship proposals directly to NSF. Confirm the solicitation and the applicable NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide before preparing a submission.
| 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 |
| Proposal deadline | 2027-06-01, 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 is
The NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program is an institutional funding program, not an individual scholarship application. NSF makes awards to eligible graduate degree-awarding institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions. Those institutions use the funding to recruit and support NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellows from the pool of applicants who received Honorable Mention from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, or GRFP.
The program has two connected purposes. It gives highly qualified GRFP Honorable Mention recipients another route to funded graduate study, and it helps institutions in EPSCoR states and territories recruit and retain graduate talent. An institutional proposal therefore needs to describe more than a list of available departments. It should show an existing graduate program, a credible recruitment process, faculty and institutional support, and a reason the award would strengthen STEM capacity in the jurisdiction.
The current institutional round is governed by NSF solicitation 24-588. Its deadline list includes June 1, 2027, due by 5 p.m. in the submitting organization’s local time. Use that date for the institutional proposal schedule, and apply the PAPPG version in effect for the due date. Because NSF can revise its policies, proposal teams should check both official documents again as they prepare the submission.
Award amount and budget rules
The solicitation sets the award structure at the Fellow level. Institutions must budget a $37,000 stipend per Fellow per year and a $16,000 cost-of-education allowance per Fellow per year. Each Fellow receives three years of support, which may be used over a period of up to five years. During funded years, the Fellow receives the full stipend and the institution retains the cost-of-education allowance in lieu of tuition and mandatory fees. The institution must exempt Fellows from tuition and required fees normally charged to students of similar standing, except optional or refundable charges.
Each proposal must request at least three Fellows, making the minimum request $477,000: three Fellows multiplied by three years of $37,000 stipends and $16,000 cost-of-education allowances. NSF anticipates that proposals will generally request no more than 20 Fellows, or $3,180,000 over three years, and estimates an average award size sufficient for five Fellows ($795,000). These are planning figures, not a promise that every proposal will receive its requested amount. The solicitation states that award numbers and sizes depend on available funds and proposal quality.
The five-year utilization rule gives each Fellow more time to use the three funded years; it does not provide five years of paid support. Institutions should plan for three funded years per Fellow and explain how the graduate program will support enrollment, mentoring, progress, and completion during that period. Both the stipend and cost-of-education allowance belong in the NSF budget as Participant Support Costs, and the proposal should distribute the requested funds evenly across its three project years. Voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.
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 requires 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. The institution must provide clear 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 solicitation allows 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 to apply for the 2027 institutional competition
The institution and the prospective Fellow have different roles. The institution submits the proposal to NSF; the student applies to a designated institution through ETAP only after the institution has an award and opens an opportunity. For the 2027 institutional proposal, use this sequence:
The institution checks eligibility and selects its internal proposal. The research office, graduate school, and relevant departments should confirm the jurisdiction, graduate degree, participating topical area, proposal-team appointments, one-proposal limit, and plan for at least three Fellows.
The institution builds the full NSF proposal. The submission needs the standard NSF proposal components plus the EGFP-specific material in the solicitation. The project summary should identify the participating NSF organization or organizations and the number of graduate students to be supported. The project description should explain the institution’s educational ecosystem, graduate programs, recruitment plan, mentoring environment, and capacity-building benefit. The budget must use the required Fellow-level stipend and cost-of-education amounts.
The institution completes required supporting documents. The proposal needs 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 must certify that each graduate student receiving substantial support had an Individual Development Plan during the reporting period.
The institution submits through a permitted route. Full proposals may be submitted through Research.gov under the PAPPG or through Grants.gov under the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide. The deadline is 2027-06-01 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 use ETAP for Fellow recruitment. After awards, institutions register as EGFP-designated institutions in the NSF Education and Training Application system and create opportunities for eligible candidates. Prospective Fellows register in ETAP, review designated institutions and programs, apply through ETAP, and supply any additional documents requested by the institution. Institutions review ETAP applications, request any additional materials they require, and make fellowship offers through their designated programs. An applicant becomes a Fellow only after acceptance by an EGFP institution and designated program. NSF lists designated awardee institutions and their active program application links separately; availability varies by institution.
Planning before the proposal deadline
The current solicitation gives institutions a June 1, 2027 deadline. A prospective institutional applicant should begin with the research office, graduate school, and relevant departments rather than trying to submit an individual proposal to NSF. Because each organization may submit one proposal, many campuses need an internal selection and review process well before the federal deadline. Institutions should confirm that process locally and allow time for authorized organizational review and electronic submission.
An institution considering a proposal should first verify that its campus is in an EPSCoR jurisdiction eligible at the time of submission, that it is accredited, and that it already offers an aligned master’s or doctoral STEM program. It should identify the participating NSF topic areas, the faculty and graduate programs that will host Fellows, and the student recruitment plan. The proposal has to request support for at least three Fellows and present an institutional case for recruitment, mentoring, and graduate success.
A student with GRFP Honorable Mention should not treat the June 2027 institutional deadline as their own deadline. Students connect with institutions through NSF’s ETAP process once awardees establish program opportunities. Candidates need to meet the three-year Honorable Mention window tied to the institution’s proposal due date, the host institution’s admission rules, and any additional requirements the institution sets. An EGFP fellowship belongs to the institution and is not portable to another institution.
Before committing to any detail, read NSF 24-588 and the version of the PAPPG in effect for the due date. The solicitation controls the eligibility rules, award budget, required documents, submission routes, and the participating topic areas. A future NSF revision could change those terms, so institutional proposal teams should check the official solicitation again during final preparation.
Common mistakes to avoid in the 2027 cycle
The first mistake is treating EGFP as a portable personal fellowship. The institution submits the proposal, selects the Fellows, administers the award, and operates its 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
What is the deadline for the current solicitation?
The active NSF 24-588 solicitation lists June 1, 2027, due by 5 p.m. in the submitting organization’s local time. It provides the deadline and the requirements for the institutional proposal; use the applicable PAPPG alongside it.
Is this an individual student application?
No. The institution submits to NSF. Eligible students connect with funded institutions and apply through ETAP when the institution creates an opportunity.
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 proposal request 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.