While some of the fellowship's most frequently asked questions are addressed below, one should refer to the comprehensive FAQ within the online system — accessible during the October-through-January open period — for a more extensive review of topics related to the DOE CSGF application and its various components.
Eligibility
No. You must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to apply for the DOE CSGF.
Your department must certify that no more than one term of teaching, grading or other departmental support activity is required of you, or that any requirements beyond one term will be waived. If offered a DOE CSGF award, your department chairperson will be contacted and required to certify adherence to this DOE CSGF policy ahead of the start of the fellowship period.
No. You must be a full-time student working toward your Ph.D. at a U.S. university (by fall 2025) in order to be eligible for the DOE CSGF.
Undergraduate seniors, first year graduate students and those matriculating into a Ph.D. program (by fall 2025) are eligible for this fellowship. If you have a question as to whether this applies to you, review DOE CSGF eligibility criteria and additional FAQs on this subject, or contact us.
At time of application, you cannot have completed more than one year of full-time graduate work towards your Ph.D. Please review DOE CSGF eligibility criteria and additional FAQs on this subject, or contact us with specific questions.
You can apply, but you may have to give up your current fellowship if you receive a DOE CSGF offer. The DOE CSGF cannot be accepted concurrently with another federal fellowship.
Having a master's degree does not affect your application to the fellowship as long as you plan to attend a different university for your doctoral studies.
You are eligible as long as you will start a Ph.D. program by the time the fellowship would begin (fall 2025).
Yes, you are eligible as long as it has been at least two years since you earned you earned your master's degree.
Students in the physical, engineering, computer, mathematical or life sciences are eligible. If you feel your area of study doesn’t fit these categories but does emphasize high-performance computing, we encourage you to apply and convince reviewers that your work can be properly represented as computational science. Read more about DOE CSGF-supported fields of study.
Program of Study
You can attend any accredited U.S. university offering a Ph.D. during the fellowship period. Read about the program of study requirement.
If awarded the fellowship, you will be asked to provide a new POS with your selected university that must be approved as a condition of acceptance. Please contact the DOE CSGF to provide an update to university selections after your application has been submitted.
Please assemble a POS for your top-choice institution. If you are offered a DOE CSGF award and ultimately enroll at a different institution, you will be required to submit a new POS at that time.
Ideally, the graduate advisor at your preferred university will review your POS. If this is not feasible, please have your current undergraduate advisor review your proposed POS.
Application Status & Submission
Yes, you can save your application and work on it any time. Your application is considered final — and no further changes can be made — once you click “Final Submission" within the "Review for Final Submission" section of the system. You can, however, continue using the online system to prompt listed references to submit their letters and/or to check your application’s status.
The application deadline is Thursday, January 16, 2025. Krell Institute will continue to accept reference letters through January 23, 2025 and transcripts until January 31, 2025. Log into your application at any time to check the status of received/outstanding documents.
For studies beginning in fall 2025, we will notify you by late April 2025.
For those considering whether to apply for this next class of awards, the fellowship start date will be September 1, 2025. Remember, funding is renewable for up to four total years.
Transcripts
We need an official transcript from all universities listed on your application, including the current fall term (if you are enrolled). If the fall term report isn’t available until after the January 31, 2025 transcript deadline, we will still accept your application and consider it complete.
Official transcripts must be sent directly from the university, either by mail or through an e-transcript system (the latter is preferred when the option exists). Transcripts sent by an applicant will not be accepted regardless of delivery method. All transcripts should be received by Krell no later than Friday, January 31, 2025.
Reference Letters
Your required three letters should be received by Krell no later than Friday, January 24, 2025. For additional information on this subject, review the FAQ within the online application system.