The DoD, through the Office of the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering and the military services, promotes education in science and engineering disciplines relevant to the Defense mission. One means of promoting science and engineering education is through awarding fellowships to encourage promising U.S. scientists to pursue doctoral degrees in designated research disciplines.
The DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program is a competitive fellowship that is awarded to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and U.S. dual citizens who intend to pursue a Doctoral degree aligned to the DoD services Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) in research and development at a U.S. institution of their choice.
Since the program's inception, over 4,400 fellowships have been awarded from over 70,000 applications received. The three-year Fellowship program, described herein, will award between 150-350 fellowships annually, and is designed to encourage baccalaureate, masters, and current PhD candidates early in their course of study recipients to enter graduate school and ultimately gain doctorates that align to the DoD services Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) and other strategy documents in research and development.
Specific Eligibility Criteria
- Be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Dual Citizen, or U.S. National (as defined below)
- 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.
- 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.
- Have at *least* THREE remaining years in your graduate degree program as of the most recent September.
- Be pursuing research in alignment with one or more specific topics identified in the Department of Defense's Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs).