Navigating the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship: A Comprehensive Guide to Requirements and Application

The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program, administered through the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, offers crucial support for aspiring marine scientists and researchers. This scholarship aims to bolster master's and doctoral studies in various fields related to oceanography, marine biology, maritime archaeology, and other science, engineering, social science, and resource management disciplines involving ocean and coastal areas. It particularly encourages applications from women and members of minority groups. This article provides a detailed overview of the scholarship requirements, application process, and key considerations for prospective applicants.

Scholarship Overview

The NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program is subject to appropriations, and it provides substantial financial support to selected scholars. This support includes yearly funding of up to $47,000 per student, encompassing a 12-month stipend of $35,000 and an education allowance of up to $12,000. Additionally, the scholarship offers up to $10,000 for a 4-6 week program collaboration at a NOAA facility. Master's students can receive support for up to two years, while doctoral students may be supported for up to four years.

Eligibility

Prospective scholars do not need to be enrolled in a graduate program at the time of application, but must be admitted to a graduate level program in order to be awarded this scholarship. Students in all stages of their Masters or Ph.D. studies are eligible to apply. However, if you are in the last year of your Masters or Ph.D., you are NOT eligible to apply for the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship.

Funding Details

Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarships may provide, subject to appropriations, yearly support of up to $47,000 per student (a 12-month stipend of $35,000 in addition to an education allowance of up to $12,000), and up to $10,000 of support for a 4-6 week program collaboration at a NOAA facility. Masters students may be supported for up to two years, and doctoral students for up to four years.

Key Components of the Application Process

The application process for the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship involves several critical steps, as outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

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Pre-Application

Each applicant must submit a pre-application received by the due date as outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The pre-application process typically opens in late September and is due approximately one month later. Note that there are no letters of recommendation for the pre-application process.

Full Application

Each invited applicant must submit a full application received by the due date as outlined in the NOFO.

Financial Need Evaluation

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. 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. 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 security number, must be submitted. It may take up to two weeks to receive these results, so please make sure to budget enough time.

Required Documents

All application items should be uploaded to Grants.gov separately. Each application package must be included within the single Adobe PDF document in the correct order as outlined in the official Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Failure to submit any items as described in the NOFO will disqualify the application from consideration. All detailed information is included in the NOFO, yet a summary of what is required to be considered a complete application package is briefly listed below. The NOFO contains the official instructions for applying to the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship.

Standard Form 424 (SF-424)

Detailed instructions on how to complete the SF-424 form can be downloaded from Grants.gov.

Recommendations and Outreach

Letters of Recommendation

May I upload more than two letters of recommendation? No. Doing so will get you disqualified. Each letter should be no more than two pages long. The letters should focus on your current academic career. The recommendations should come from individuals who can provide knowledge of your academic career. References to volunteer efforts are applicable.

Outreach Letter

An outreach letter is a letter written by an organization, group, or partner to communicate your research. While inclusion of this letter will be taken into consideration during the review process and can reflect your potential for success, the application will not be disqualified if you do not include this letter. Only one outreach letter will be considered. The outreach letter is different from your two letters of recommendation and is not a required part of your application.

Program Collaboration and Reporting

Program Collaboration

Completion of one (1) program collaboration is required for every doctoral scholarship award, with a second recommended, but not required. Scholars may opt out of a program collaboration if there are unforeseen circumstances that prevent them from completing this requirement. But this discussion must happen with the Program Collaboration Coordinator and the Federal Program Officer before a decision is made. For master's degree level scholars, completion of a program collaboration is strongly recommended, but is not required.

Reporting Requirements

Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program recipients are required to provide annual reports documenting the scholar's activities, accomplishments, academic progress, research progress, and education and outreach progress. The report must include copies of receipts indicating disbursement of the education allowance and copies of receipts for allowable expenses under the program collaboration. The report must include a certification from the scholar's academic advisor indicating that the student's work is on track and a copy of the official transcript indicating the scholar has a minimum term and cumulative GPA of 3.30. At the conclusion of the program collaboration, recipients are required to submit a trip report documenting their accomplishments and including a summary testimonial of their experience. At the conclusion of the award, recipients are required to submit a final report encompassing their accomplishments during the award period and their post scholarship plans, especially regarding NOAA interactions and the "National Marine Sanctuary Ambassador" requirement. The final report should include a copy of the final transcript indicating degree earned, if applicable.

NOAA Orientation Training

All Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program recipients will be required to participate in a mandatory NOAA Orientation Training.

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Presentation Requirements

Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program recipients must give at least one presentation about the Dr.

Submission Guidelines and Deadlines

Application Submission

All applications must be submitted via Grants.gov. Paper applications are only allowable 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.

Submission Timeline

We encourage all Grants.gov applicants to begin the application process at least several days before the application deadline. All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into applicant schedules for delivery of the application. It may take Grants.gov up to two (2) business days to validate or reject the application. Please keep this in mind in developing your submission timeline. You will receive an official notice from Grants.gov if you have uploaded your application correctly. It is not the responsibility of the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries to verify receipt of any application.

Application Deadline

Applications received after the due date will be disqualified. Adequate time must be factored into applicant schedules for delivery of the application.

Grants.gov Troubleshooting

Make sure to enter your zip code in the 00000-0000 format. If you are trying to upload your application onto Grants.gov, but you can't, remember that volume on Grants.gov can be extremely heavy resulting in further delays. Contact the help desk for the relevant system (e.g. Grants.gov) if you encounter technical issues.

Evaluation Criteria

Masters and doctoral applications will be evaluated based on the same criteria; however masters and doctoral scores will be ranked and considered separately. All applications that pass the administrative review will be evaluated and scored individually in accordance with the assigned weights of the above evaluation criteria by a review panel. The panel will be composed of three or more individuals, having expertise in NOAA-related science and knowledge of the program priorities of the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. The reviewers will rate the proposals using the evaluation criteria and weighting provided above. The panel will then meet to discuss proposals. The review panel will not come to a consensus regarding applicants' scores. The individual panelist scores will be averaged for each application and placed in a ranking order of all applications. The Program Officer will transmit the review information to the Selection Official and may make a recommendation to the Selection Official about applying the selection factors below. The merit review ratings shall provide a rank order to the Selecting Official for final funding recommendation.

Competitive Application Factors

To have a competitive application for the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship, consider the following:

Your research proposal aligns closely with NOAA's mission, with particular emphasis on meeting the science priorities of the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
Your financial need statement documents a strong financial need due to challenges, hardships, or other information through a compelling personal narrative.
You have exceptional letters of recommendation.

Historically, proposals that do not support the science or education priorities of NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary System do not rank as high.

Additional Considerations

Scholarship Distribution

Scholarships are distributed by disciplines, institutions and geography, and by degree sought, with selections within distributions based on financial need, the potential for success in a graduate level studies program (academic achievement), and the potential for achieving research and career goals.

Program Administration

The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program is administered through the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and subject to appropriations.

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