About this page

News of special interest to students of all ages is provided here. For further information of interest to educators, please see the education program area page, the faculty interests page, the home page of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, or search the NSF Online Document System.

For Younger Students

Many younger students know the National Science Foundation as a sponsor of the original Magic School bus series, featuring Ms. Frizzle and her adventurous class; NSF is also a sponsor of Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

Don't miss another popular feature of our site, our Find Out Why site.

Bayer/NSF Award

Thanks to the Bayer/NSF Award for Community Innovation, middle school students are turning on to science. Sponsored by the Bayer Corporation, NSF, and the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation with Discover Magazine, the Bayer/NSF Award is a nationwide competition that challenges students to apply science and technology to community issues. Its cross-curricular, team-oriented, inquiry-based, real-life approach to science education attracts kids of all interests and ability levels.

More Information

Our Education and Human Resources Directorate also has information for parents and students on doing science at home, and some great links to Internet resources for teachers. There are more resources for teachers of younger students at the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse Resource Finder for NSF Materials and Resources.

Project kNOw, sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, has important resource information on drugs, alcohol, and how you can make a difference. The TeenSpeak section includes real-life stories from kids and teens.

For Undergraduate Students

The NSF has an important program for undergraduate students, Research Experiences for Undergraduates. The purpose of this program is to help attract a diversified pool of talented students into research careers in these fields, and to help ensure that they receive the best education possible. The undergraduate years are critical in the educational sequence, as career-choice points and as the first real opportunities for in-depth study.

For more information, see the REU program announcement. You may also want to see the list of REU Sites. REU "Sites" are established in all fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. Each Site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates, who work in the research programs of the host institution.

For information about other NSF programs of interest to undergraduate educators, visit the home page of the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE).

For scholarship information: please see general information about the NSF and scholarships, fellowships, and financial aid.

For Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers

Among the NSF programs of interest to graduate students is the Graduate Research Fellowship Awards. Through this program the National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, mathematics, and engineering in the United States and to reinforce its diversity.

The NSF awards approximately 1,000 new three-year Graduate Research Fellowships in March of each year. NSF Fellows are expected to contribute significantly to research, teaching, and industrial applications in science, mathematics, and engineering. For more information, see the Graduate Research Fellowship Program web site. Lists of 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 awardees are also available:

2000

• Press Release, March 23, 2000
• 2000 Graduate Research Fellowship Awardees
• 2000 Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mentions

1999

• Press Release, April 16, 1999
• 1999 Graduate Research Fellowship Awardees
• 1999 Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mentions

1998

• 1998 Minority Graduate Fellowship Awardees
• 1998 Minority Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mentions
• 1998 Graduate Research Fellowship Awardees
• 1998 Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mentions

1997

• 1997 Minority Graduate Fellowship Awardees
• 1997 Minority Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mentions
• 1997 Graduate Research Fellowship Awardees
• 1997 Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mentions

Another important program for graduate students is the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) Program. The goal of this program is to enable the development of innovative, research-based, graduate education and training activities that will produce a diverse group of new scientists and engineers well-prepared for a broad spectrum of career opportunities. Supported projects must be based upon a multidisciplinary research theme and organized around a diverse group of investigators from U.S. Ph.D.-granting institutions with appropriate research and teaching interests and expertise.

The NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) Program supports fellowships and associated training that will enable graduate students and advanced undergraduates in the sciences, mathematics, engineering, and technology to serve as resources in K-12 science and mathematics classrooms. Academic institutions apply for awards to support fellowship activities, and are responsible for selecting fellows.

The NSF also sponsors travel grants for graduate students and recent doctorates to attend NATO Advanced Study Institutes.

Additional information of interest to graduate educators is available from the Division of Graduate Education.

Postdoctoral Research. In addition to the NATO ASI travel grants mentioned above, NSF makes resources available for postdoctorate research both in the U.S. and abroad through a variety of postdoctoral fellowships. These are listed at https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/d11/D11SelectFellow.htm.