EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP): Fueling the Research Pathway: Fellowships for High-Impact Training at the University of Nebraska

The National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) supports EGFP designated institutions/programs in EPSCoR jurisdictions by providing funding for graduate fellowships for eligible applicants. Institutions receive a total of three years of stipend and associated cost-of-education (COE) allowance for each NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellow. This award at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) seeks to enhance research competitiveness and capacity through an investment in talent development. Fellow research topics will align with goals and programs supported by the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), Directorate for STEM Education (EDU), Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE). Research topics and activities will focus on cutting-edge research with support from the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) and the respective discipline-specific graduate programs. As a member of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, a consortium of 18 leading research universities, UNL will leverage shared resources, expertise, and infrastructure to support these Graduate Fellows while enhancing institutional capacity and competitiveness. EGFP fellows will be embedded within highly active research environments at UNL and will be supported through intentional mentoring and cohort-based professional development. The integration of these fellows into each program’s research environment and opportunities to engage with their cohort are expected to result in innovative and impactful contributions to ongoing projects, while also catalyzing new discoveries that advance scientific knowledge. The program will strengthen Nebraska’s research capacity by developing a highly skilled STEM workforce. Fellows will participate in outreach and knowledge translation activities that enhance public understanding of science. Collectively, the program will produce graduates who are well-prepared to contribute across a range of industries, generating societal benefits through innovation, workforce development, and community engagement. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.