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Story by Logan Jackson
The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), one of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) oldest programs, supports extraordinary graduate students pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees across NSF-related STEM fields.
The fellowship provides students with a $37,000 annual stipend for three years; a $16,000 annual cost-of-education allowance accepted by the institution as payment in lieu of tuition and mandatory fees; and access to professional development opportunities and the NSF GRFP community.
Numerous Mizzou students have received the award since its inception in 1952. Recently, the Mizzou Office of Global and National Fellowships hired five faculty ambassadors to expand the office’s support for students pursuing the fellowship. Those ambassadors are:
- Nicole Campione-Barr, professor of psychological sciences
- Wenchao Ge, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science
- Sarah Jacquet, assistant professor of geological sciences
- David Mendoza-Cózatl, professor of plant sciences
- Reginald Rogers, associate professor of chemical and biomedical engineering
“We are thrilled for students to have expert guidance from faculty members with experience reviewing for GRFP panels and with detailed knowledge in GRFP disciplines,” said Michelle Teti, associate dean of the Honors College, who is coordinating the ambassadors for the Office of Global and National Fellowships.
The Mizzou NSF GRFP Ambassadors will aid Tigers in multiple ways. The group will play an important role in the annual GRFP Sprint, a two-week workshop in the fall focused on guiding students from blank pages to full application drafts. They will be part of grant review workshops and will review essays of students applying for the award. Ambassadors will offer one-on-one consultations as well.
Throughout the rest of the year, ambassadors will work to provide further outreach to the Mizzou community about the award to identify interested students earlier in the process.
Support for the NSF GRFP has always been a collaborative effort at Mizzou. In addition to the Office of Global and National Fellowships, the Graduate School, the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Division of Research, Innovation and Impact play vital roles in aiding students along the journey.
“Applying well for highly competitive fellowships is a team sport,” said Erik Potter, program manager of the Office of Global and National Fellowships. “Mizzou students reach amazing heights academically and professionally, and there are so many dedicated staff and faculty, like these five faculty ambassadors, who play vital roles in helping them along the way.”
The Office of Global and National Fellowships, a program within the Mizzou Honors College dedicated to serving all Mizzou students, supports undergraduates and recent alumni applying for competitive, merit-based fellowships that fund domestic and international graduate study, research, language learning, cultural exchange and internships. The core of every fellowship journey is the reflection applicants do about who they are and what they want. Advisors help match students with fellowship opportunities that align with their goals and support them throughout the application process through workshops, information sessions and one-on-one advising.