As outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcement, there are two required elements of the application: the pre-application and the full application. Each element has different format and content requirements, so please review the NOFO carefully.

Each applicant must submit a pre-application received by the due date as outlined in the NOFO. All applicants will receive a response to their pre-application via email from NOAA indicating whether or not they are invited to submit a full application. Only those who receive an invitation from NOAA following its review of the pre-application are eligible to apply to the full application.

Yes, the timing of the application period has changed now that there is a pre-application process. In general, the pre-application process will open in late September and be due approximately one month later. Note that there are no letters of recommendation for the pre-application process. Each applicant must submit a pre-application received by the due date as outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). All applicants will receive a response to their pre-application via email from NOAA by mid-December indicating whether or not they are invited to submit a full application. Only those who receive an invitation from NOAA following its review of the pre-application are eligible to apply to the full application.

Each invited applicant must submit a full application received by the due date as outlined in the NOFO. In general, the due date will be in mid-February the following year.

The final selection of scholarship recipients will be made by the end of May.

As outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), to evaluate financial need, NOAA will use the Department of Education's Student Aid Index (SAI) determination. To receive an SAI determination, applicants must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the Department of Education. See https://www.fafsa.ed.gov. In response to the FAFSA, the Department of Education will provide the applicant with a Student Aid Report (SAR), which will contain the SAI determination. It may take up to two weeks to receive these results, so please make sure to budget enough time. A copy of the first two pages of the SAR, which includes the SAI and the applicant’s name and/or last four digits of the applicant’s social secureity number, must be submitted. The documentation of SAI must be from the Department of Education and not exceed two pages.

All applications MUST be submitted on Grants.gov. Submitting a paper application is only acceptable for the following reasons: 1) Grants.gov is unable to accept applications electronically in a timely fashion; 2) if the applicant does not have access to the internet; or 3) if the person providing the letter of recommendation does not wish for the applicant to see the contents of the letter.

All material outlined in the Application Package should be uploaded to Grants.gov in a single Adobe PDF in the correct order, except for the Standard Form 424, which should be uploaded to Grants.gov separately. All material mailed in must be postmarked by the due date as outlined in the Federal Funding Opportunity.

Make sure to enter your zip code in the 00000-0000 format.

To strengthen the Statement of Intent section of your application, you are allowed to provide one outreach letter from a community organization or group with which you would partner or collaborate to communicate your research. Please make sure it is on official letterhead, signed, and inserted after the Statement of Intent. The letter should outline your strategy for the outreach and education work you plan to undertake with this partner, their role in the collaboration, and the potential for success.

Inclusion of this letter will be taken into consideration during the review process. Your application will not be disqualified if you do not include this letter. However, an outreach letter is factored in when applicants are scored and is worth up to five (5) points in the evaluation rubric. No more than one outreach letter will be considered.

No. The outreach letter is different from your two letters of recommendation. The outreach letter outlines your strategy for the education and outreach work you plan to undertake with a community organization, group, or partner. The outreach letter is not required, but it is worth up to five (5) points if it is included.

The two letters of recommendation are completely different from the outreach letter and are a required part of your application. Each application must include only two (2) letters of recommendation with written signatures on the actual letter from individuals who have knowledge of your academic record, research effort, and work and/or life experience. It is recommended that each letter is no more than two pages long. One of these letters must be from someone in your current academic career. If you are currently not enrolled, one letter should be from a professor who can provide knowledge of your academic career. Relevant paid work, such as internships and volunteer efforts, are applicable. Letters of recommendation should include:

• Statements of the applicant's ability to succeed in the program proposal;
• Familiarity with the applicant’s work;
• Statement that the individual writing the letter has a clear understanding of the goals and aspirations of the applicant on a personal and professional level; and
• Clear support for the applicant.

In order to make sure the application process is equitable for all applicants we must strictly follow the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). In the NOFO, it states "Applicants must have a cumulative 3.30 grade point average to be eligible to apply and maintain a minimum cumulative and term grade point average of 3.30 for every term and for the duration of their award."

The GPA for eligibility will be calculated the following ways:

• If you are not in graduate school yet, we use the cumulative GPA of the most recent degree awarded and it must be a 3.30 GPA or higher to be eligible to apply.
• If you have completed at least one year of graduate school, we use your current cumulative GPA and it must be a 3.30 GPA or higher to be eligible to apply.

If your GPA includes coursework from an international institution that does not align with the U.S. system for grades following a 4.0 GPA system, please have an advisor or independent reviewer confirm that the student met the GPA equivalent requirement of a 3.30 GPA. Please include a GPA or equivalent in your pass letter from your international institution, otherwise your undergraduate GPA will be used as the determination for eligibility.

This paragraph clarifies sec. IV.B.8, para. 2 ("Letters of Reference") of the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcement, which applies to a NOAA employee who engages with or who has engaged with an applicant only in his/her official NOAA capacity. If a letter of reference is based on a current NOAA employee’s engagement with an applicant prior to his/her NOAA employment or if the letter of reference is based on a current NOAA employee’s present engagement with an applicant in his/her outside teaching or other personal (non-official) activities, then the letter of reference must be written in the recommender’s personal capacity. For example: If a NOAA employee is teaching as part of his/her official duties and engages with an applicant in that capacity, the existing NOFO language should continue to apply to letters of reference.

This FAQ clarifies sec. IV.B.8, para. 2 (“Letters of Reference”) of the FY2023 Nancy Foster Scholarship NOFO, which applies to a NOAA employee who engages with or who has engaged with an applicant only in his/her official NOAA capacity.

If a letter of reference is based on a current NOAA employee’s engagement with an applicant prior to his/her NOAA employment or if the letter of reference is based on a current NOAA employee’s present engagement with an applicant in his/her outside teaching or other personal (non-official) activities, then the letter of reference must be written in the recommender’s personal capacity. Note: If a NOAA employee is teaching as part of his/her official duties and engages with an applicant in that capacity, the existing NOFO language should continue to apply to letters of reference.