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2025-2026 Graduate Fellowship

Deadline: October 17, 2025

Purpose

The Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) Graduate Fellowship Program is designed to support outstanding graduate students pursuing NASA-aligned research opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines. Program goals include alignment with the NASA Mission Directorates, encouragement of qualified individuals to continue in a space science or aerospace-related field, support of research infrastructure at our member institutions, and retainment of U.S. graduates.

 

Eligibility

  • U.S. citizen
  • Full-time enrollment at Iowa State or University of Iowa as of August 2025
    • Enrolled in a minimum of 9 credits per semester or 1 or more credits on assistantship
  • Graduation date no earlier than May 2026
  • Must be accepted into an MS or PhD program (STEM field)
  • Currently working on a faculty-mentored research project that has NASA STEM relevance
  • Good academic standing (minimum 3.0/4.0 GPA)

Selection

Funding is competitively awarded based on complete application information including academic qualifications, research project, NASA alignment, and faculty letter of recommendation. A total of eight (8) awards of $6,000 will be processed before the end of the Fall 2025 semester. The awardee will receive funding as a stipend applied to their university account after receipt of an acceptance form. Awardees will need to provide an unofficial transcript upon graduation and agree to participate in a NASA longitudinal tracking process that surveys student progress and eventual employment outcome to help assess the effectiveness of our program and STEM retention efforts. The ISGC director, in consultation with a consortium review committee, will make award selections. Awards will be announced prior to the end of Fall semester 2025. 

To Apply

Complete the fellowship application
As part of the application, you will be asked to upload your most recent unofficial transcript (unprotected and unsecured PDF).
Faculty advisors must submit a recommendation letter online that describes the student’s role within a STEM research project. A second recommendation letter is optional that addresses the student’s broader qualifications. Forward URL: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/0196f8da11867fe89bb388ab91801168 to your mentor.

Questions

Send inquiries to: isgc@iastate.edu.