An Open Letter to U.S. STEM Leadership on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

September 25, 2025

Update (September 29, 2025): In response to the NSF solicitation released on Fri 9/26/2025, we have created a new letter and signature campaign prompting NSF to revert changes which unfairly excludes large numbers of students. See our specific concerns and support that effort at https://laurenkuehne.github.io/grfpChanges/.

This form will no longer take comments, but will remain up and public. Please sign on the new campaign: Petition to NSF to Restore Eligibility for the 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program Competition.

Update (September 26, 2025): The GRFP solicitation is out as of Fri 9/26 (See: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/grfp-nsf-graduate-research-fellowship-program/nsf25-547/solicitation)

Urgent updates:

Updated due dates (Nov 10-14).
Second year graduate students are not eligible. This disadvantages
- All those who delayed applying last year as first-year students, expecting to apply now
- Those who withdrew their applications due to missing letters with the expectation of applying this year
- All first-year students for whom this is now their ONLY chance to apply. Having only 6 weeks is quite a race to put together a compelling application.
No estimated number of awards is given.
As with last year, recommendation letters are due BEFORE the application (start your application in Research.gov early so the letter writers will receive their links).
The 3 paragraphs on broadening participation were removed.

We find most concerning that second-year students are no longer eligible. Students are already sharing the impact this has on them (see posts on Reddit, and BlueSky).

We are also concerned about the bias in awards toward a very few fields of study. Especially given NSF’s intent to focus on early-career students, it is critical to encourage high-potential applicants from all fields of study that NSF supports. See: Prestigious NSF graduate fellowship tilts toward AI and quantum.

To the National Science Foundation, the National Science Board, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Members of Congress, Researchers, and U.S. STEM Educators

Since 1952, the U.S. National Science Foundation has nurtured the nation’s brightest homegrown research talent via the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Each year, the program’s support enables high-potential graduate students to dedicate themselves fully to developing scientific and technological breakthroughs that benefit society —innovations that create new industries, safeguard against emerging threats, and improve quality of life. The program’s impact is undeniable: among its alumni are 50 Nobel laureates and thousands of today’s science and engineering leaders—a testament to GRFP’s unparalleled success.

It is shocking, therefore, that at the very moment when these promising students should be stepping onto the starting line of their research careers, that line has vanished.

Weeks ago, the NSF asked the impossible—posting application deadlines without providing a way to apply and without issuing an official solicitation or guidelines (see: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/grfp-nsf-graduate-research-fellowship-program). The announcement includes no clarity on eligibility, no information about reference letter deadlines, and no guidance on the rumored changes that thousands of graduate students—and the mentors who support them—have been anxiously speculating about for weeks. In previous years, this information was made public at least 90 days before the October deadlines, as required by the very first paragraph of NSF Policy.

With only a month remaining before the posted deadlines, students are being asked to begin their research careers in the dark. Competitive GRFP applications often take months to prepare, and the absence of clear guidance places all of that effort at risk. Worse still, because students may apply only at the start of their graduate studies, missing this year’s application window would deprive entire cohorts of the opportunity—an outcome that harms not only the students themselves but cheats the nation, through the loss of future talent.

Despite these unfortunate circumstances, everyone committed to the success of U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) wants the best for these students. Those of us outside the chain of decision-making—but working on the front lines of STEM research and education—trust in the good intentions of our NSF colleagues, yet we are compelled to voice our support for the GRFP and to urge the highest vigilance in safeguarding its legacy.

We call on decision-makers to provide clarity and extend flexibility so that whatever process emerges remains true to the merit-based standards that have guided NSF since 1952 in selecting fellows who go on to make extraordinary contributions to research and society across every STEM field. We also call on all who care about U.S. leadership in science and technology to scrutinize the forthcoming solicitation closely and—in the best spirit of scientific collaboration—hold every party accountable for how we meet the profound responsibility of selecting and supporting those whose careers will shape the future of U.S. science, technology, and prosperity.

Authors: Jason Williams, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Lauren Kuehne, Omfishient Consulting; Susan E. Brennan, Stony Brook University; Gisèle Muller-Parker, Retired NSF GRFP Lead Program Officer (2008-2018).

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This form will no longer take comments, but will remain up and public. Please sign on [the new campaign: Petition to NSF to Restore Eligibility for the 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program Competition. The more than 400 comments collected will remain posted and are a valuable record of the impact of the changes to this program.