This page has information about fellowships and prizes of interest to department graduate students. These include awards from external sources, the Graduate School, and the Department of Astronomy. There is also a list at the end of previous winners.

• General Fellowship Information
  This Graduate School webpage includes large databases of external fellowships and information on taxes, health insurance, and tuition remission.
• Fellowship Financial Policies
  This Graduate Catalog webpage has mostly overlapping information with the previous page but includes a few additional policies for those on fellowships.
• Fellowships Sorted by Deadline
  This webpage lists the fellowships below sorted in chronological order by deadline.

External Fellowships and Awards

• AAS Fellowship Opportunities
  This list includes astronomy-specific fellowships for grad students, postdocs, and more senior positions.
• AAS Grants and Prizes
  This list has AAS grants and prizes for grad students, postdocs, and more senior positions. It includes travel grants to present dissertation research.
• AAS List of Summer Opportunities
  This list includes summer schools, research opportunities, etc.
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
  For college seniors and 1st/2nd year grad students; U.S. citizen or perm. resident. Three years, $30k stipend (2010). Deadline mid-Nov.
• NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF)
  For college seniors and grad students; preference to U.S. citizens or perm. residents in case of tie. Three years, total annual award up to $30k including stipend, tuition, travel, and other expenses (2011). Deadline early Feb.
• NASA Space Technology Research Fellowships (NSTRF)
  For college seniors and 1st/2nd year grad students; U.S. citizen or perm. resident. Work at a NASA Center, with a focus on space technology. Four years, total annual award up to $46k plus tuition and insurance (2011). Deadline Jan.-Feb.
• DOE Science Graduate Fellowship Program (SCGF)
  For college seniors and 1st/2nd year grad students; U.S. citizens only; research in fields of interest to DOE Office of Science. Astronomy students are eligible, with particle astrophysics, cosmology, and plasma astrophysics being the best match. Three years, $35k annual stipend plus tuition and a $5k annual amount for research expenses (2011). Deadline early Jan.
• DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF)
  For college seniors and 1st/2nd year grad students; U.S. citizen or perm. resident; science/engineering research using high-performance computation. Includes 12-week practicum at a DOE lab. Four years, $36k annual stipend plus tuition and an annual allowance for research expenses (2011). Deadline mid-Jan.
• DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship
  For college seniors and 1st/2nd year grad students; U.S. citizens only; research in fields of interest to the Department of Defense (DoD). Astronomy students are eligible and have had competitive applications. Three years, $31k annual stipend plus tuition, fees, and insurance (2011). Deadline mid-Dec.
• DoD Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship
  For undergrads and grad students; U.S. citizens only. Up to five years, $25-41k annual stipend plus tuition, fees, books, and insurance (2011). Summer internships and post-graduation work at DoD facilities. Deadline early Dec.
• NASA Harriett Jenkins Fellowship
  For underrepresented STEM grad students (including minorities and women) in their 1st 3 years; U.S. citizens only. Three years, stipends start at $24k (2011). Deadline early Feb. (See here to apply.)
• NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP)
  For college seniors and grad students; U.S. citizens only; research at a NASA center (including HQ) for future scientists or teachers. One year, $21k stipend plus travel expenses, possible $3k extra (2010). Deadline early Mar.
• Lowell Observatory Predoctoral Scholar Fellowship Program
  For students done w/ courses/qual. Collaborations w/ Lowell staff astronomers leading to dissertation from home institution. Two years, renewable for extra years; $25k stipend (2012). Deadlines early Dec. and early May.
• Carnegie Observatories Graduate Research Fellowship
  For students done w/ courses/qual; any citizenship. Collaboration w/ Carnegie staff astronomers, in residence at Carnegie, leading to dissertation from home institution. Up to three years; $29k stipend (2012). Deadline mid-Apr.
• [Women] Faculty for the Future Program
  For female grad students and postdocs in the physical sciences who are citizens of developing countries and plan to return to their home country. Renewable through completion of PhD or postdoc; awards vary, up to $50k. Deadline late Nov.
• Fulbright Fellowship
  For college seniors and grad students (U.S. citizens). Conduct research abroad, usually for 1 year. Includes living costs, insurance, transportation, etc. University deadline early Sept.
• Chateaubriand Fellowship
  For doctoral students and postdocs (any citizenship) to conduct research in France for up to 10 months. Includes a stipend, round-trip ticket to France, and health insurance. Deadline early-mid Feb.
• Leifur Eiriksson Foundation Scholarship
  For doctoral students (any citizenship) to conduct research in Iceland. One year, $25k stipend (2010). Deadline early Dec.
• JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
  For doctoral students within 2 years of PhD completion and postdocs to conduct research in Japan for up to 12 months. U.S., Canadian, or European citizens/perm. residents. Includes a stipend, round-trip ticket to Japan, and insurance. Rolling deadlines.
• NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students (EAPSI) Fellowship Program
  For U.S. citizens or perm. residents. 8 week research experiences in East Asian/Pacific countries. $5k + airfare and living expenses (2010). Deadline early-mid Nov.
• International Research Experience for Students (IRES), India
  For U.S. citizens or perm. residents. 8 week research experiences in India. $4k + airfare and accommodation (2011). Deadline late Jan./early Feb.
• Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) National Fellowships Program
  For women grad students and early-career researchers in the natural sciences (any citizenship). Awards vary, up to $10k for research-related equipment, travel, and publications (2012). Deadline mid-Jan.
• Cosmos Club Foundation's Young Scholars Award
  For grad students (any citizenship?) at D.C.-area universities to meet unexpected and otherwise unsupported aspects of their research in any field. Awards between $500-$3000 for research-related equipment and some travel (2012). Deadline early Nov.
• Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars Programs
  For undergrads and grad students (U.S. citizens). 8-12 week summer internships at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sample topics include solar flares, instrumentation, and tracking/identification of satellites. Stipend $900-1100/wk (2012). Deadline early Feb.
• NAS Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program
  For grad students and postdocs (any citizenship). Public policy, 12 week session at the National Academy of Sciences. Stipend c. $8k (2010). Deadlines early May and early Oct.
• APS/AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellows Program
  For college seniors, grad students, and 1st-yr postdocs (any citizenship). 10 week session working as a reporter, researcher, and/or production assistant in mass media organizations nationwide.. Stipend c. $4.5k + travel (2011). Deadline mid-Jan.
• Maryland Senatorial Scholarship
  For undergrads and grad students; Maryland state residents only. Award up to $9k per year for up to four years. Deadline early Mar.
• Sigma Xi's Grants-in-Aid of Research Program
  For undergrads and grad students; any citizenship; membership in Sigma Xi helpful. Award up to $5k per year for the purchase of non-standard equipment, travel to a research site, and institutional equipment use fees. Deadline mid-Mar. and mid-Oct.

Graduate School and Other University-Based Fellowships and Awards

• Graduate School Fellowships
  A list of fellowships offered by the Graduate School.
• Graduate School Awards
  A list of endowed awards administered by the Graduate School.
• Graduate School Travel Grants
  Travel grants offered by the Graduate School.
• CTE-Lilly Graduate Teaching Fellows Program
  This is a Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) 1-year program for senior grad students to engage in pedagogical discussions. Stipend of $1000. Deadline early Sept.
• UMCP Veterans Initiative Scholarships
  Support for students who are veterans of US military service. Deadline late May.
• Maryland Alumni Association Scholarships
  $3k (2012) for grad students w/ 3.8+ GPA, preferably who volunteer in their communities or on campus, participate in extracurricular activities, and write a compelling essay on building Terrapin spirit among the student body. Deadline late June.

Department Awards and Funding

• JSI High Energy Assistantship
  This is a new NASA-sponsored assistantship related to the Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI). The Departments of Astronomy and Physics each nominate one graduate student per year, who will become funded through CRESST. This 1-year RA position is intended for students who have begun their thesis research. Contact JSI Director Dr. Chris Reynolds for details.
• Andrew S. Wilson Prize for Excellence in Research
  "Awarded to a graduate student nearing completion of the Ph.D. dissertation who demonstrates the high standards for research and scholarship exemplified by Professor Andrew S. Wilson." The student must be advised by a member of the Department of Astronomy and be applying for jobs in astronomy during the upcoming academic year, but can be based in another department. Selection is made based on research quality. To apply, please submit your cv and a statement of your dissertation research (two pages maximum) to the graduate director. $500 award. Annual, typical deadline end of Aug.
• John Chi-Lin Wang Award for Academic Excellence
  $500-$1000, given each fall to the third-year graduate student with the best overall performance in course grades, second-year project, and qualifying exam. No application needed; the winner will be selected by all faculty members present at the first faculty meeting of the Fall semester at which the qualifying exam results are discussed.
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
  No application needed; award recipient determined by faculty committee. $250.
• Gregor Wentzel Scholarship
  $250-$3000, awarded by the Graduate Entrance Committee to new applicants for graduate study in Astronomy. The award(s) is/are made to the most promising applicant(s) each year. No application needed.