NASA Education Fellowship Activity, 2018

Awards will be made as NASA Training Grants to institutions with Master and Doctoral
programs in STEM fields. The period of performance for an award is up to three (3) years.

Prospective proposers are requested to submit any questions in writing to
NASA.Fellowships@nasaprs.com by February 28, 2018, so that NASA will have sufficient time
to respond.

Candidates eligible to receive a NASA Fellowship, the candidate shall meet the following
requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen or naturalized citizen (permanent residents are not eligible) at the
time of proposal submission;
• Hold a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field earned before August 31, 2018;
• Have a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale;
• Be enrolled in a full-time Master's or Doctoral degree program no later than
September 1, 2018;
• Intend to pursue a research-based Master's or Doctoral program in a NASA STEMrelevant
field (see full solicitation at http://nspires.nasaprs.com);
• Have a projected degree plan for continuous full-time enrollment equal to or greater
than May 2021;
• Have not completed credits exceeding what is listed in the Academic Eligibility
Requirements chart.

Credit and Enrollment Eligibility Requirements Chart

Degree Program - Number of graduate credits earned by May 31, 2018 - The student’s degree plan is continuous and full-time for a minimum of 2 years after September 1, 2018. - Is the
student eligible for an award?

Master’s ≤ 24 credits or 36 quarter credits yes Yes
Master’s ≤ 24 credits or 36 quarter credits no No
Master’s > 24 credits or 36 quarter credits no No
Master’s > 24 credits or 36 quarter credits yes No
* Dual ≤ 24 credits or 36 quarter credits yes Yes
* Dual > 24 credits or 36 quarter credits but
before a Master’s degree is confirmed
yes Yes
* Dual > 24 credits or 36 quarter credits but
after a Master’s degree is confirmed
yes No
* Doctoral ≤ 24 credits or 36 quarter credits beyond
a Master’s degree
Yes Yes
* Doctoral > 24 credits or 36 quarter credits beyond
a Master’s degree
yes No
* Direct Doctoral ≤ 48 credits or 72 quarter credits yes Yes
* Direct Doctoral > 48 credits or 72 quarter credits yes No
All credits including research credits are apart of the overall credit count.
* A Dual degree program is defined as a program where a student works towards satisfying the academic requirements for two distinct degree types, a Master’s and Doctoral, in an integrated fashion.

** A Doctoral degree program is defined as a program where a Master’s confirmed student
enters a Doctoral program.

*** A Direct Doctoral degree program is defined as a program where a bachelor’s degree student enters a Doctoral program without enrolling in a Master’s program and will only be confirmed a Ph.D.

• Students are not eligible to apply if they have been awarded a Doctoral Degree in a
STEM field (see full solicitation at http://nspires.nasaprs.com).
• Students are eligible to apply if they have been awarded a Master’s and/or a Doctoral
Degree in a non-STEM degree. Examples are M.A., M.A.Ed., or M.B.A.
• Meet all other eligibility requirements as outlined in the current NRA.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to inform NASA immediately if they
received/accepted a Federal fellowship or traineeship from another agency.

If the fellowship candidate meets the above eligibility requirements and is planning to start a
new graduate degree program at an academic institution that is different from his/her current
academic institution, he/she is encouraged to work with faculty and/or the Department Chair at the prospective university in assembling and submitting a proposals to this fellowship
opportunity.

Degree and Field of Study: Fellowships are awarded for graduate study leading to research-based masters and doctoral degrees in a NASA-specific STEM discipline. Please refer to full
solicitation at http://nspires.nasaprs.com.

Institutional Eligibility:

1. The institution shall be one of higher education with U.S. accreditation and a physical
campus located in the United States or its territories.
2. The institution shall offer graduate level degrees in eligible STEM fields (see full
solicitation at http://nspires.nasaprs.com) by fall 2018.

Proposers to this NRA are required to have the following, no later than the due date:

1. A Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number;
2. A valid registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) [formerly known as
the Central Contractor Registry (CCR)];
3. A valid Commercial And Government Entity (CAGE) Code;
4. A valid registration with NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and
Evaluation System (NSPIRES) (this also applies to any entities proposed for sub-awards
or subcontracts.)

NASA’s Office of Education is seeking proposals for a NASA Fellowship Activity 2018. The
purpose of the NASA Fellowship Activity 2018 is to support the vitality and diversity of the
STEM workforce of NASA and the United States by training and funding graduate students
during their STEM academic endeavors and providing access to NASA, its content, unique
facilities, and STEM experts.

The specific goals of NASA Fellowship Activity are to support the following NASA Education
multi-year performance goal and API:

A. Multi-year Performance Goal:

• 2.4.1: Assure that students participating in NASA higher education projects
are representative of the diversity of the nation.

B. Annual Performance Indicator:

• ED-17-1: Provide significant, direct student awards in higher education to (1)
students across all institutional categories and levels (as defined by the U.S.
Department of Education), (2) racially or ethnically underrepresented students,
(3) women, and (4) persons with disabilities at percentages that meet or
exceed the national enrolled percentages for these populations, as determined
by the most recent, publicly available data from the U.S. Department of
Education’s National Center for Education Statistics for a minimum of two of
the four categories.

The specific objectives for NASA Education Fellowship awards are to:

1. Improve the nation’s future STEM workforce by developing the skills and
competencies of graduates pursuing degrees in STEM disciplines, one student at a
time;
2. Provide opportunities for a diverse population to participate and contribute to
NASA’s missions and projects;
3. Use NASA’s unique mission content, workforce, and facilities in order to enhance
and increase the capabilities, diversity, and size of the nation’s next generation
workforce needed to enable future NASA discoveries;
4. Improve the rates at which students, who have historically been underrepresented in
NASA-related fields, are awarded graduate degrees at their respective universities in
the STEM fields.

To achieve these goals and objectives, NASA seeks, an independently conceived graduate
research proposal that response to the NASA Research Opportunity found in the solicitation.

Every institution that intends to submit a proposal to this NRA must be registered in NSPIRES.
Electronic submission of proposals is required by the due date and must be submitted by an
authorized official of the proposing organization. Such registration must identify the authorized organizational representative(s) who will submit the electronic proposal. All principal investigators and other participants (e.g., co-investigators) must be registered in NSPIRES regardless of submission system. Potential proposers and proposing organizations are urged to access the system(s) well in advance of the proposal due date(s) of interest to familiarize themselves with its structure and enter the requested information.

Electronic proposals must be submitted via the NASA proposal data system NSPIRES.

Additional programmatic information for this NRA may develop before the proposal due date. If so, such information will be added to a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) or formal amendment to this NRA and posted on http://nspires.nasaprs.com. It is the proposer’s responsibility to regularly check NSPIRES for updates to this NRA.