NSF 00-60, Information for Graduate Research Fellows

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
DIRECTORATE FOR EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22230-0002

Information in this booklet is designed to serve
National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellows:

Graduate Research Fellowship Program
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard - Room 907N
Arlington, Virginia 22230-0002

Phone: (703) 292-8694
Fax: (703) 292-9048
E-mail: grfp@nsf.gov
Home Page: https://www.nsf.gov/grfp

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number
of this program is 47.076,
Education and Human Resources

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
DIRECTORATE FOR EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES
Arlington, VA 22230-0002

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an agency of the Federal Government. One of its responsibilities is the awarding of graduate fellowships in science, mathematics, and engineering. The fellowships offer direct support for full-time study leading to advanced degrees to individuals who have demonstrated ability and special aptitude in these areas. Fellows are not considered employees of the National Science Foundation.

As noted in the award letter, successful applicants must indicate formal acceptance or declination of the offer by April 30 using NSF Form 179, Acceptance/Declination Form for NSF Graduate Fellowship. In addition, for those individuals accepting the award, the Certifications page must be signed, dated, and returned with the Acceptance Form. If you indicate that you plan to attend a U.S. institution, the Foundation obligates funds for your support under an agreement with the institution of your choice. If you indicate that you plan to attend a foreign institution, reimbursement will be electronically transferred directly to your bank account or a U.S. Treasury Check can be mailed to your address, within the limits outlined in section 10.

Most of the questions you may have pertaining to your fellowship are answered in this booklet or can be answered by the Coordinating Official (see section 3) at your affiliated U.S. institution. If you need to contact the Foundation concerning your fellowship, please use the following address:

Because of the size of this program, NSF uses form letters and electronic mail extensively. Fellows should know, however, that when the need arises, direct contact with the program staff is always encouraged.

The Foundation is required to use ZIP codes on all domestic mail. Please be certain to furnish the proper ZIP code when providing the Foundation with any address in the United States.

Each college or university in the United States attended by Graduate Fellows has named a Coordinating Official (CO)--usually a graduate dean or a similar official--who assists the Foundation in administering fellowships at that institution. The Directory of Coordinating Officials lists all COs and their contact information. The Directory is available on the NSF Online Document System (see section 15). Under the terms of an agreement with the Foundation, the fellowship institution provides various services to Fellows at that institution. It is the Fellow's responsibility to contact the Coordinating Official for information and assistance.

No request to the Foundation regarding a change in your fellowship plan or an exception to any fellowship guideline will be considered unless first endorsed by the Coordinating Official. Therefore, Fellows should discuss such requests with their Coordinating Official before contacting the Foundation.

There are no Coordinating Officials at institutions outside the United States. For Fellows abroad, responsibilities normally carried out by the Coordinating Official in the United States will be divided between the Fellow and the Science Adviser. For this reason a number of provisions in this booklet apply specifically to Fellows abroad (see section 10).

You should immediately inform your Coordinating Official of any change of mailing address, e-mail address, or name. Also, please send a copy of the change to the NSF Graduate Fellowship office e-mail address: grfp@nsf.gov.

The period of your fellowship includes three years of tenure, during which you receive NSF funding to pursue your graduate work, and two years of reserve, which you may utilize for alternate activities with the approval of your Coordinating Official and NSF (see paragraph below and section 14a). All NSF fellowship tenure must be completed within five years of your fellowship starting date. The fellowship period is divided into fellowship years; each comprised of a nine-month academic year (and up to three months of an associated summer). A fellowship year cannot be further subdivided into separate periods of utilization and reservation except for medical deferral or military deferral. Each year of the fellowship period is funded and administered separately.

Recipients of new three-year awards may begin tenure in the summer following the award and must begin fellowship tenure not later than the beginning of the fall term with certain exceptions explained below. In any all NSF fellowship tenure during any year in which you plan to use your award must start no later than the fall term of that year.

Tenure is the period of time during which you utilize your fellowship to pursue your advanced degree in science, mathematics, or engineering. It includes periods of full-time research and independent study whether or not your school is in session, as well as any normal, short vacation periods scheduled at your institution. The starting date of your fellowship is the date on which you actually begin your full-time activities, and your tenure is computed from that date. This need not necessarily coincide with a formal summer or fall academic session of your university (though normally it does), and is not defined by the date on which a stipend check may be issued. (The exact starting date is to be mutually arranged between you and your Coordinating Official.) New Fellows should present a copy of their award letter to the Coordinating Official at their affiliated institution when beginning tenure.

Fellows at institutions outside the United States will receive Fellowship Starting Certificates (NSF Form 349) for notifying the Foundation directly of their beginning dates (see section 10).

The proper fulfillment of the full-time training obligation assumed by Fellows will be determined at each institution in accordance with Foundation requirements. If you terminate your activities at your institution prior to the completion of your expected tenure, you are entitled to stipend payments only for those months you were on fellowship tenure at your university (including possible field work), the last month being defined for stipend payment purposes as 14 or more days of tenure.

A Fellow may reduce the tenure of any fellowship year from 12 to no fewer than 9 months, without penalty other than loss of the tenure and associated stipend involved in such a reduction, by notifying the Coordinating Official, or, if abroad, the Foundation directly.

In unusual circumstances and with prior approval, the Foundation will permit a brief interruption of tenure. Normally in such cases stipend payments and tenure will be forfeited for the duration of the interruption.

Should you find it necessary to resign or end your fellowship, you should notify both the Foundation and your Coordinating Official immediately.

The maximum period of tenure in any fellowship year is 12 months and may not be extended for any reason, even in the final year of a fellowship. No individual will be eligible to receive more than 36 months of NSF Graduate Research Fellowship support.

With prior Foundation approval, Fellows may reserve the first one or two years of NSF fellowship tenure to engage in activities (e.g., travel, work) other than those that would constitute the significant start or continuation of progress toward an advanced degree in science, mathematics, or engineering. In addition, with prior NSF approval, Fellows may reserve the first one or two years of NSF fellowship tenure to accept a one- or two-year highly competitive international fellowship, such as the British Marshall or Rhodes Scholarship, for study abroad. The first year of an NSF Fellowship cannot be reserved in order to allow an individual to use an alternative means of support to engage in graduate study in the United States.

When returning to active tenure after a period of reserve, Fellows may change start time from fall to summer or vice versa. When such a change in start time is made, NSF must be certain that no Fellow receives more than 36 months of NSF Graduate Fellowship support and that no Fellow is allowed more than five years from the summer or fall after the announcement of the award in which to utilize the fellowship support. Regardless, Fellows exercising this option must enter tenure of the NSF fellowship no later than the fall of the year that their reserve status ends.

Fellows reserving the first two years of their NSF fellowship must use their NSF fellowship in three consecutive years. The fellowship may be reserved for not more than two years. Forfeiture of a year of tenure is not permitted in order to obtain a third year of reserve.

In either or both of the years that you do not utilize your award, your fellowship normally will be reserved for your future use during the permissible five-year period. A portion of a year of tenure cannot be reserved for later use, except for medical deferral or military deferral; thus, any months of tenure not utilized during a year of tenure are forfeited.

Since there is no expectation that three years of NSF fellowship support will be sufficient to complete a doctoral degree program, years of fellowship tenure may be interspersed with one or two years of other forms of support, which it is the Fellow's responsibility to locate and obtain. This practice is in keeping with the Foundation's objective of providing Fellows near the beginning of their graduate studies reasonable assurance of three years of fellowship support, with some flexibility left to Fellows as to when best use of tenure can be made.

(1) Institution during reservation. During a year in which a fellowship is reserved, the affiliated institution, for Foundation record purposes, will continue to be the institution at which tenure was most recently carried out, even if the Fellow subsequently severs connections with that institution. For this reason, NSF Form 719, the declaration to utilize or reserve a fellowship in the following year (see section 14a) will be sent during the year of reservation to the Coordinating Official at that institution. The change of institution will be recorded at NSF immediately prior to resumption of tenure at the new institution, rather than prior to or during a period of fellowship reservation. For Fellows who reserve the first one or two years of fellowship tenure, the institution specified on the application form will be considered the fellowship institution unless the Fellow notifies the Foundation of a change. In any case, please keep the National Science Foundation and the Coordinating Official at your Institution of record informed of your current address.

(2) Medical deferral. Should serious illness or other medical condition occur that prevents full-time fellowship activity for an extended period, you must contact your Coordinating Official regarding fellowship arrangement during this period.

With Foundation approval, a Fellow may be granted a medical deferral. A Fellow requesting a medical deferral must secure a letter verifying the need for a medical deferral from a health care provider and notify the Coordinating Official, who should contact the Foundation. The unused portion of the stipend and cost-of-education allowance during the medical deferral will be reserved for later use by the Fellow. A letter from a health care provider should accompany a Fellow's request to resume tenure after being on medical deferral. A medical deferral may be granted for psychological as well as physical reasons, and the nature of the condition need not be disclosed.

(3) Military deferral. Within a given fellowship year a brief interruption for duly authorized military service or training is permitted with the approval of your Coordinating Official. In the case of a longer interruption resulting from active military service or from certain activities in lieu of service with the regular Armed Forces, provision can be made for reservation of a fellowship (or the balance of it) and reinstatement of the unused portion at a later date. In such cases a Fellow should notify the Foundation immediately in writing of these plans and request further instructions. Pay received by a Fellow for occasional attendance at military reserve or National Guard functions may be received concurrently with support from the Foundation.

Fellows must be affiliated at all times during tenure with an appropriate, accredited, nonprofit U.S. or foreign institution of higher education. If the Foundation does not raise a question with you concerning the institution you plan to attend, you may assume your choice has been approved. You are responsible for making all arrangements for acceptance at your chosen institution.

(1) Before starting tenure. If you seek acceptance at an institution other than the one listed on your fellowship application, please indicate this change on the Acceptance/Declination Form For NSF Graduate Fellowship (NSF Form 179) that is to be submitted by April 30 following the award announcement.

(2) Between fellowship years. A request to change affiliated institutions between fellowship years is normally made at the time you submit your annual Declaration to Utilize, Reserve or Terminate a Subsequent Year of a 3-Year Graduate Fellowship Award (NSF Form 719) to your Coordinating Official. The signature of your Coordinating Official or Science Adviser on this form is usually sufficient to support your request. If a decision to change institutions is made subsequent to submission of your annual declaration, you must submit a written request to NSF accompanied by a statement from your Coordinating Official or Science Adviser indicating that your work has continued to be satisfactory as well as evidence of acceptance at your new school.

(3) During a fellowship year. If you wish to transfer from one institution to another during a fellowship year, you must notify the NSF and attach (1) a statement from your Coordinating Official or Science Adviser indicating that your work has continued to be satisfactory, and (2) evidence of acceptance in a graduate degree program from your proposed affiliated institution. The Coordinating Official at your current institution will indicate the amount of stipend paid and the amount of the cost-of-education allowance claimed. You must contact the Coordinating Official at your new institution in order to ensure proper transfer and continued payment of your stipend allowances. In order to receive continued fellowship support when transferring from one institution to another, there must be only minimal disruption in your enrollment and pursuit of academic goals. Please be advised, however, that because of differing payment schedules at U.S. institutions, there may be some disruption in your receipt of stipend payments.

The Graduate Fellowship stipend is as specified on the inside front cover of this booklet and is subject to periodic review. No dependency allowances are provided. There is no travel allowance for the purpose of assisting you in reaching your affiliated institution in the United States or for any other domestic travel.

The Foundation reserves the right to withhold your stipend if you do not conform to the standards of conduct of your affiliated institution and the National Science Foundation, pending a satisfactory explanation. Any stipend payment received for a period in which you were not actually engaged in fellowship activities must be refunded either to the U.S. institution involved or, if you were attending a foreign institution, to the Foundation.

At U.S. fellowship institutions all arrangements for payment of your stipend are handled by your affiliated institution through the Coordinating Official. It is your responsibility to ascertain the method of payment and plan your activities accordingly. Your Coordinating Official will explain the exact procedures employed by your institution.

The institution may, if it deems such action desirable, augment NSF Fellows' stipends from institutional funds in such amounts as are in accordance with the supplementation policies of the affiliated institution. In the context of this guideline, funds that the institution has obtained from external (including Federal) sources may be considered institutional funds (see section 11g).

The fellowship award does not provide allowances for special student needs, such as research expenses, travel to scientific conferences, computers, books and publications, fieldwork expenses, special study, etc. Fellows may request support from other sources for such needs.

The receipt of educational benefits from the Veterans Administration is not considered by NSF as payment supplementary to support from the Foundation and may be received concurrently with such support.

Fellows enrolled for duly authorized ROTC training may accept the associated allowance. This allowance is not regarded by the Foundation as supplementation and may be received concurrently with such support.

The Foundation provides your affiliated institution in the United States with a fixed cost-of-education allowance, as specified on the inside front cover of this booklet. During tenure Fellows will be exempt from paying tuition and fees normally charged to students of similar academic standing. You will, however, be required to pay any fees or deposits that are refundable in whole or in part, or that are optional, or that were incurred prior to the actual start of fellowship tenure (e.g., an "Application for Admission" fee). All living expenses are the responsibility of the Fellow. See section 11c concerning tuition and fees charged by an institution or laboratory other than your affiliated institution.

The Foundation makes available this fixed cost-of-education allowance without regard to the actual amount of tuition and fees involved. This policy is based on the desire of the Foundation to contribute approximately the same percentage of the actual costs of the graduate education of all Fellows, regardless of how various graduate institutions normally generate income from endowments, public funds, tuition or other sources. The use of this cost-of- education allowance is entirely at the discretion of your affiliated institution.

If you intend to affiliate with a foreign institution, you must submit, as soon as possible, evidence from that institution that you have been accepted for study in a graduate degree program in one of the fields supported by the Foundation (unless such evidence was submitted with your fellowship application materials). A post-graduate degree program of study leading to an Honors degree at the baccalaureate level is unacceptable. In addition, all arrangements for affiliation with your foreign institution and provision for living quarters are your responsibility. You will be responsible for making all arrangements for securing any necessary passport or visas.

It is the responsibility of the Fellow to assure that any research activities carried on outside the United States comply with the laws or regulations of the foreign country in which the research is to be conducted. In some countries the foreign research activities contemplated in the proposed plan should be coordinated with the appropriate U.S. and foreign government authorities, and necessary licenses, permits, or approvals should be obtained prior to undertaking the proposed activities.

Your Science Adviser is the principal professor under whose guidance you are pursuing your fellowship activities.

Fellows studying abroad should keep the Foundation informed at all times of the names and addresses of their Science Advisers, since these are the individuals with whom the Foundation will correspond if questions arise concerning their fellowships.

(1) Initiation of monthly stipend payments. A Fellowship Starting Certificate (NSF Form 349) will be sent in advance of tenure and should be completed and returned to the Graduate Fellowship Program office at NSF as soon as possible after beginning tenure. In addition, an ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form (SF 3881) should be completed and sent to the Division of Financial Management, NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard--Room 575S, Arlington, VA 22230-0002 USA. (Note: Both forms can be downloaded from NSF, see section 15a.) Regular monthly stipend payments will not be authorized until these forms are properly completed and returned to the Foundation. Since it normally requires four to six weeks to process these forms, a Fellow should make provisions to maintain herself or himself during this period.

(2) Methods of receiving monthly payments. There are two ways to receive fellowship payments: (1) electronically deposited directly to the Fellow�s personal checking/savings account in a U.S. bank or (2) U.S. Treasury Checks mailed directly to the Fellow�s home address or foreign address (Please note: Fellows have informed NSF that checks mailed to a foreign site have experienced some delays; this can take up to 10 business days). Both methods require submission of form SF 3881. However, if you wish to receive Treasury Checks, indicate on the SF 3881, "WANT TO RECEIVE PAYMENTS BY TREASURY CHECK". It is strongly recommended that Fellows attending foreign institutions establish an account with a U.S. financial institution to receive fellowship funds by electronic means.

(3) Missing or delayed payments. If you experience any problems with receiving your monthly payments, please contact the Graduate Fellowship Program at NSF. The Foundation will forward the information to the U.S. Treasury Department after adding appropriate fiscal information. It usually takes at least four weeks to have a new transfer arranged.

In view of the diversity and complexity of financial charges made by foreign institutions, the Foundation will pay only those foreign institution tuitions and required fees that are normally assessed of all students of similar standing, exclusive of fees or deposits that are refundable in whole or in part, or that are of an optional nature, or that were incurred prior to the actual start of fellowship tenure (e.g., an "Application for Admission" fee). When you send a Starting Certificate to NSF, you can also send either an original statement from the university bursar regarding tuition and fees that are due, or a certified paid receipt for eligible charges from the affiliated institution to be reimbursed. NSF will pay to the Fellow the U.S. dollar equivalent, based on the exchange rate on the day the request is processed, up to the maximum of the annual cost-of-education allowance, in the same manner as the stipend is paid (electronic fund transfer to a U.S. bank or a U.S. Treasury Check mailed to the home or foreign address of the fellow).

Since the Foundation limits tuition and fee reimbursement at foreign institutions to an amount equivalent to the cost-of-education allowance paid to U.S. institutions, any bills in excess of the specified maximum amount of the cost-of-education allowance during any tenure year are the responsibility of the Fellow, and will not be paid by the Foundation. Therefore, if the cost-of-education allowance exceeds the foreign tuition and fees, the balance will not be made available to the Fellow.

Once fellowship tenure begins, a Fellow attending a foreign institution can request the one-time $1000 International Research Travel Allowance by completing and submitting the Fellowship Travel Certificate (NSF Form 524) to assist in getting to the institution abroad (see section 12a).

A Fellowship Termination Certificate and Grant Fiscal Report (NSF Form 453) must be completed and returned immediately upon completion of each tenure period, normally one year, at a foreign institution (see section 14e).

The annual activities report (NSF Form 1080) can be completed at the same time and returned with the termination certificate (see section 14b).

In addition to satisfactory institutional affiliation, a Fellow must be enrolled at all times during tenure in a full-time program leading to an advanced degree in one of the fields supported by the Foundation. However, the requirement of formal registration may be waived during part of this tenure, when appropriate, if permitted by the policy of the fellowship institution, provided that the Fellow otherwise remains engaged in appropriate full-time fellowship activities. The Fellow must submit a written request for waiver of registration to the Foundation accompanied by a statement from the Coordinating Official or Science Adviser indicating their recommendation for approval.

As a Fellow, you will be required to devote full time to advanced scientific study or research during your tenure, including a reasonable amount of such teaching or similar activities as are in the opinion of the faculty of your institution contributory to your academic progress. You may, therefore, engage in teaching or comparable activities at only your affiliated institution without having to obtain the Foundation's approval. From the Foundation's point of view, furtherance of your educational objectives and the gain of substantive teaching experience, not service to your institution as such, should be the purpose of these activities. If you teach or engage in similar activities, all decisions regarding augmentation of your stipend within the limits outlined in section 8 will be made by your affiliated institution.

NSF permits institutions to require appropriate service of Fellows by appointment to positions that can generate additional income to cover any difference between the cost-of-education allowance and tuition. Any such required service must be contributory to the progress of the Fellow toward an advanced degree and must not be expected to delay that progress. Any such required work must not adversely affect a Fellow's full-time study. Fellows are strongly encouraged to determine the plans regarding any such required service of their proposed fellowship institutions before committing to enroll in any particular school.

If, in the opinion of the faculty of your affiliated institution, it is desirable for you to study or to engage in research at another institution or laboratory during any part of your tenure, you may do so without having to obtain the Foundation's approval. It should be noted, however, that the Foundation's responsibility with respect to any Graduate Fellow is to the Fellow's affiliated institution only, and not to the "visited" institution or laboratory. The Foundation specifically cannot assume responsibility for educational costs assessed by another institution at which a Fellow may be studying temporarily. Regardless of your physical location, you will be considered by the Foundation as being identified with your affiliated institution only.

Plans for field work or study at another institution must be approved either by your Coordinating Official (if at a U.S. institution) or by your Science Adviser (if at a foreign institution).

Formal study of a foreign language, constituting a portion of your studies as a Fellow, would be appropriate in those cases in which such study is required in your degree program and is recommended by your faculty advisers.

Minor changes in your program may be made subject to the approval of your affiliated institution. A major change in your program--one that alters your program to the extent that it is significantly different from that originally submitted with your application (e.g., a change of field)--must receive the prior approval of your Coordinating Official or Science Adviser. In addition, you must submit a revised proposed plan of study or research for NSF approval.

NSF fellowships do not provide a vacation period, as such, during fellowship tenure. You are entitled to the normal, short holiday periods observed by your fellowship institution, such as winter or spring holidays, and short between-term periods. "Vacation time" may not be accumulated for later use. There is considerable variation in institutional practices in the matter of vacations, but, if your institution should close for a long period of time, you will be expected to have made prior arrangements for the use of necessary facilities and resources to carry out your program. If it is not possible for you to make these arrangements at your affiliated institution, you should make other satisfactory arrangements, with Foundation approval, to carry on your work.

You may not receive funds from another major fellowship, scholarship, assistantship or similar award, except as permitted under the provisions of section 8. However, you are permitted to solicit and accept support from any appropriate sources for research expenses connected with your fellowship activities. The Foundation is not concerned with gifts or loans of any kind that you may receive.

During the tenure of your fellowship (except for scheduled short vacation periods) you will be expected to devote full time to the advancement of your graduate education. Employment at an on- or off-campus site that does not jeopardize a Fellow's full-time commitment to graduate study and is consistent with university policy is usually permitted. However, before a Fellow engages in such work, permission of the NSF and the Coordinating Official must be obtained. Requests for approval of employment during tenure are reviewed by NSF on a case-by-case basis. Such requests should include the following information: nature of employment, relation to graduate degree program, number of hours per week or month, permission from a Coordinating Official (U.S. Institutions) or faculty or Science Advisor (Foreign Institutions).

For those Fellows who plan to study or do research full-time at a foreign site for at least three continuous months, the Foundation will provide a one-time International Research Travel Allowance of $1,000 to assist the Fellow to travel to and from the foreign site. The activities proposed must be expected to contribute to the Fellow's advanced degree objectives. The period abroad may include any combination of tenure and reserve years otherwise permitted under the program guidelines. The allowance may be used at any appropriate time once tenure has begun and within the five years during which fellowship tenure may be utilized. Fellows may request this allowance on the Acceptance/Declination form (NSF Form 179) or the annual Declaration/Utilization form (NSF Form 719) or by submitting a written request, approved by the Coordinating Official, to the program office. Each request must describe the proposed activities as well as the proposed schedule.

Travel in the U.S., its possessions, and Puerto Rico is considered domestic travel. Travel outside the areas specified above is considered foreign travel. The International Research Travel Allowance falls under the foreign travel classification.

Once tenure begins, a Fellow attending a foreign institution can request the one-time $1000 International Research Travel Allowance to assist in getting to the institution abroad. The Fellowship Travel Certificate (NSF Form 524) should be completed and returned to the Graduate Fellowship Program office at NSF. Once approved, the allowance will be direct deposited or sent as a U.S. Treasury Check, as explained in section 10c (2).

Use of U.S. flag air carriers by international travel allowance recipients is required by the International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act of 1974 known as the "Fly America Act".

Fellows as well as Honorable Mention recipients may request use of up to 10 CPU hours at one of the Foundation-supported Supercomputer Centers, pending availability. The Centers will consider requests for supercomputer use in support of the research project that is or will be part of your full-time advanced degree work. Unless precluded by future events, requests must be submitted within five years from announcement of Honorable Mention or from the date of the start of your fellowship period for Fellows. A form for requesting supercomputer time is included in the fellowship award packet and with the notification letter to Honorable Mention recipients. Individuals should contact the program office to initiate a request.

All fellowship awardees and Honorable Mention recipients who have disabilities may apply for funding through the Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) program for special assistance or equipment. See the FASED program announcement or contact the program coordinator at (703) 292-8694 for more information.

If you attain your doctoral degree before completion of your fellowship tenure year, you may either resign at the time you complete the requirements for your doctoral degree or continue to engage in appropriate fellowship activities at your affiliated institution for a brief period not to extend beyond the normal termination date of the fellowship year involved. You should seek the advice of either your Coordinating Official or your Science Adviser.

(1) General conditions. University policies regarding withholding of taxes from stipend payments vary, and Fellows must bear the responsibility of paying any tax, domestic or foreign, when due. Specific questions regarding taxation of fellowship funding should be referred to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Fellows are not in any sense salaried employees of the National Science Foundation nor of their affiliated institution. The NSF and most institutions will not deduct income taxes or Social Security taxes from the stipend, and no W-2 forms will be issued. However, some universities do withhold taxes. The Fellow must make provision for the filing of all income taxes that may become due. It is the Fellow's responsibility to learn the university's policy.

(2) Foreign affiliation. A statement of funds received (including travel allowance) will be issued by the NSF Division of Financial Management upon request by those Fellows who are attending a foreign institution.

The Foundation is unable to supply information concerning the income tax or other tax provisions of any foreign country. Inquiries should be directed to the authorities in the appropriate countries.

Fellows going abroad may find it helpful to consult Internal Revenue Service Publication No. 54, Tax Guide For U.S. Citizens And Resident Aliens Abroad, and Publication No. 520, Scholarships And Fellowships. These are available at all IRS district offices. You can download these publications from the IRS Home Page at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/forms_pubs/pubs.html.

NSF advocates and encourages open scientific communication. NSF expects significant research results and educational activities to be promptly made public without restriction. It also encourages Fellows to share software and inventions, once appropriate protection for them has been secured, and otherwise act to make the innovations they embody widely useful and usable. The Fellowship Program would appreciate receiving notice of Fellows' publications, but it is not necessary to send a copy of the publications, paper, thesis, or dissertation.

An acknowledgment of NSF support and a disclaimer must appear in publications including World Wide Web pages of any material, whether copyrighted or not, based on or developed under the project being reported, in the following terms:

The National Science Foundation normally allows Fellows to retain principal legal rights to intellectual property developed under a fellowship award. This policy provides incentive for development and dissemination of inventions, software, and publications that can enhance their usefulness, accessibility, and upkeep. It does not, however, reduce the responsibility of Fellows and their affiliated institutions to make results, data, and collections available to the research community.

The offer and acceptance of this fellowship does not obligate you, the Foundation or the United States Government in any way with regard to future employment or service of any kind.

Fellows are obliged to report promptly to the Foundation, prior to disclosure to others, any discoveries that are made or data that are developed that could reasonably be considered as likely to affect the national security or the national defense. Doubtful cases should be referred to the Foundation prior to disclosure of any information concerning them.

If during the tenure of your fellowship you will be a member of the Armed Forces (other than as a participant of an ROTC program) or on leave from a position in the Federal Service, it is your responsibility to so inform the Foundation and have a cognizant official of the Government organization involved file a statement with the Foundation outlining the funds that will be made available by your employer and the specific purpose for which they are provided to you. The Foundation and your organization must reach a mutually satisfactory agreement regarding your support during tenure before any funds can be provided under your fellowship. Normally, if you will be receiving active duty military pay, the fellowship stipend is forfeited; however, the institution can utilize the cost-of-education allowance.

NSF Form 719, Declaration To Utilize, Reserve Or Terminate A Subsequent Year Of A 3-Year Graduate Fellowship Award, which is sent to you in January through your Coordinating Official or directly if you are abroad, is for the purpose of declaring whether you will utilize or reserve your fellowship for the following year. Failure to declare your intent at this time results in your fellowship being considered as resigned. If you are in the first or second year of the three-year award and have not already reserved your fellowship for the maximum period of two years, you are eligible to utilize or reserve your fellowship during the next academic year. The utilization or reservation of your fellowship is contingent upon certification by your affiliated institution of satisfactory progress toward an advanced degree and your institution's approval of any alternate plans. If, before beginning tenure in a subsequent year of the award your institution withdraws its certification, all remaining years of tenure will be canceled.

The utilization of a fellowship awarded to you in a prior year is contingent upon the availability of funds.

In April of each year of tenure, a letter will be sent to you through your Coordinating Official, requesting a brief report on your experiences and accomplishments during the past year. Within 30 days after the end of that year, you are expected to submit NSF Form 1080, Activities Report for Graduate Fellowship Year 200_-0_, directly to the Foundation. The Foundation is always interested in receiving captioned photographs and learning of noteworthy accomplishments that merit public attention. Also, you may wish to offer suggestions regarding the administration of the award.

If you are studying at an institution abroad, NSF Form 349, Fellowship Starting Certificate serves as authority to begin your stipend payments. Each year after you have begun tenure, complete a Starting Certificate form, obtain your Science Adviser's original signature, and submit the form to the Graduate Fellowship Program at NSF.

The ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form (SF 3881) should be submitted to the Division of Financial Management at NSF in order for the U.S. Treasury Department to transmit payment data by electronic means to the Fellow's U.S. bank account.

If you are studying at an institution abroad, NSF Form 453, Fellowship Termination Certificate and Grant Fiscal Report, will be mailed to you each year to complete and return to the Foundation immediately upon completion of your tenure period. This form is to be signed by your Science Adviser (or an appropriate official of your affiliated institution), and must show the date you actually completed your fellowship activities, but must not be submitted in advance of your termination date. The annual submission of this form is required to satisfy minimum accounting regulations of the Federal Government and to verify that you have fulfilled the obligation of your fellowship tenure for which Federal funds were provided.

The majority of forms and publications for the Graduate Fellowship Program are available electronically on the NSF Home Page via the World Wide Web at: https://www.nsf.gov/. In addition, documents can be accessed from the Graduate Research Fellowship Home Page or may be requested by e-mail. We recommend that you use these electronic methods for fast, easy access.

Fellowship forms and publications are accessible from the GRFP Home Page at: https://www.nsf.gov/grfp

With Internet access, you can pull up fellowship forms in either a PDF printable blank form or a MS Word online form. Once on the NSF Home Page, scroll down to the options bar and click on Documents. Then click on Search by Document Number. Then enter the file name. The following forms are available.

The Information for Graduate Research Fellows booklet and the Directory of Coordinating Officials are also available.

With access only to Internet electronic mail, you can have the forms sent to you via e-mail. Each form is available in two versions: a PDF printable blank form and a MS Word online form. You can send a GET message to the NSF database and each form requested will be automatically sent to your e-mail address in a separate return e-mail message. Save the file to a directory and pull it into Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf).

Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message enter the GET command followed by the file name. You must specify .pdf or .doc file. Example:

Use of U.S.-Flag Air Carriers and Foreign-Flag Air Carriers
(Reprinted from GC-1, NSF Grant General Conditions)

Short Distance Travel. For all short distance travel, regardless of origin and destination, use of a foreign-flag air carrier is permissible if the elapsed travel time on a scheduled flight from origin to destination airport by a foreign-flag air carrier is 3 hours or less and service by a U.S.-flag air carrier would double the travel time.

The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants for research and education in the sciences, mathematics and engineering.

To get the latest information about program deadlines, to download copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of awards, visit the NSF Web site at: