National 
Science Foundation (NSF)Division of Graduate Education
(DGE)Bypass Top Navigation
Programs |  Publications |  Awards |  Deadlines |  About |  Help

NSF > EHR > DGE > Programs > Travel Grants for NATO Advanced Study Institutes

Travel Awards for NATO Advanced Study Institutes

Welcome to the ASI Travel Awards Home Page

Table of Contents

Description Return to the Top

National Science Foundation offers travel awards of $1,000 each to enable United States scientists to attend Advanced Study Institutes (ASI) sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), centered in Brussels, Belgium. ASIs may be held in the NATO-member countries of Europe, the Partner Countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) Countries. Institutes in Canada and the United States are not supported; neither are institutes whose subjects deal with medical sciences. The institutes are 10-to-15 day instructive courses conducted by scientists and engineers of international standing who present comprehensive analyses of active research areas in a tutorial context between students and instructors at a very high level. The ASI schedule begins in January and continues through the year until the end of November, although the majority of the institutes are scheduled for the months of June, July, and August. Up-to-date scientific information, including presentations and demonstrations of current findings, is available to participants. The aim of the NATO-sponsored ASI program is the dissemination of advanced scientific knowledge and the promotion of international contacts among scientists, which includes the establishment of connections between young scientists and their international peer groups. The atmosphere at an ASI is one of sharing scientific knowledge with open exchanges of ideas, leading to greater understanding and broader applications of cutting-edge research. For more information, go to the Advanced Study Institutes: Notes for Applicants page on the NATO Headquarters website.

Eligibility Return to the Top

The travel awards are offered to United States citizens and nationals, and permanent resident aliens of the U.S. who are graduate students or have received a Ph.D. less than three years as of the date of the ASI which they will attend and have been accepted at a NATO Advanced Study Institute. The applicant must be planning to attend the ASI as the principal reason for travel to Europe at the time.

Conditions of Awards Return to the Top

The $1,000 travel award is to be used toward a round trip, economy-class airline ticket plus related travel expenses for the awardee to attend a NATO ASI in Europe. The award is subject to the conditions in F.L. 27, Attachment to International Travel Grant, which states the U.S. flag-carrier policy.

How to Apply Return to the Top

Potential applicants should contact the director of the particular Advanced Study Institute in which they are interested. When they are invited to attend the ASI, they should inform the ASI director that they would like to be considered for an NSF travel award. The director sends to NSF a list, in order of priority, containing the names and addresses, both regular and email, of individuals who are interested in a travel award. Commensurate with available funds, the Foundation then sends an electronic message to the nominees instructing them where to find the application forms on the NSF website.

The application forms consist of:

  • NSF Form 192, "Application For Advanced Study Institutes Travel Award"
  • NSF Form 1310, "NSF Application For Travel Award Nominee Information Sheet"
  • NSF Form 1379, "NSF Faststart Direct Deposit Form"
  • (attached to the electronic mail message received from Program Manager in the Division of Graduate Education)

Within 60 days after completing the travel, the awardee must submit:

  • NSF Form 250, "Advanced Study Institutes Travel Award Report Form"

ASI Schedule Return to the Top

The ASI schedule of institutes in science, mathematics, and engineering fields are supported with NSF Travel Awards. NSF support is not provided for bioscience research with disease-related goals, including work on the etiology, diagnosis, or treatment of physical or mental disease, abnormality, or malfunction in human beings or animals. Animal models of such conditions or the development or testing of drugs or other procedures for their treatment also are not eligible for support.

The complete list of NATO Advanced Study Institutes is published in the January or February editions of "Nature", "New Scientist", and "Science". The 2004 list is also available on the NATO Home Page. As always, these courses are subject to change at any time.

For questions concerning the travel awards to NATO Advanced Study Institutes, send e-mail messages to nato-asi@nsf.gov


Return to the topDGE Homepage

If you need assistance in reading the contents of these pages or want the page delivered in some alternative form, please e-mail the webmaster (ehr_webmaster@nsf.gov).


Division of Graduate Education
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22230, USA
[Tel: 703-292-8630] [Fax: 703-292-9048]