Fellowship Program Objectives

The primary objective is to support fellowships for nuclear science, engineering, technology and related disciplines to develop a workforce capable of supporting the design, construction, operation, and regulation of nuclear facilities and the safe handling of nuclear materials. The nuclear related discipline supported by this funding is intended to benefit the nuclear sector broadly.

Eligibility Requirements

The Fellowship Program provides funding to colleges and universities to award fellowships to individuals pursuing nuclear science, engineering and other disciplines which may be beneficial in developing and maintaining a nuclear workforce. NRC provides funds for fellowships in the fields of Nuclear Engineering, Health Physics, Radiochemistry, Probabilistic Risk Assessment (Levels 2 or 3), Seismology, and related disciplines. Students need to be enrolled in a graduate degree program offered by an accredited institution of higher education in the United States. Institutions receiving NRC grants must establish programs to monitor the academic progress of the fellowship students. Student applicants must meet the following criteria to receive a fellowship:

1. Have at the time of application, and maintain a 3.3 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) overall and within major.
2. Maintain a course load of at least 12 credit hours per semester or be classified as a full-time student, in accordance with the university’s policies and practices.
3. Be matriculated in a graduate degree program in a nuclear-related area, including the fields of Nuclear Engineering, Health Physics, Radiochemistry and related disciplines as determined by the NRC.

Citizenship Requirement

All fellowship students must be United States citizens or a noncitizen national of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or other legal verification of such status). Noncitizen nationals are persons born in outlying possessions of the United States (i.e., American Samoa and Swains Island). Students must have full-time status at the recipient institution. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

Service Agreements

Service agreements must be signed by the student (including contact information) and by the NRC Program Manager, prior to the student receiving financial support. The recipient shall facilitate the distribution of the service agreement to the students and submitting the signed copies to the NRC Program Manager.

NRC requires scholarship, fellowship, and trade school and community college scholarship grant students receiving funds under the NRC Scholarship, Fellowship, and Trade School and Community College Scholarship grant program serve six (6) months in nuclear-related employment for each full or partial year of academic support. The employment may be with NRC, other Federal agencies, State agencies, Department of Energy laboratories, nuclear-related industry, or academia in the students sponsored fields of study.

Scholarship, Fellowship, and Trade School and Community College Scholarship students who fail to satisfy the service agreement requirements of the program must immediately request a waiver from the NRC or reimburse the United States Government for the entire amount of the assistance provided them under the programs plus interest (at a rate consistent with the U.S. Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate and 10 CFR Part 15, Debt Collection Procedures). (http:/www.nrc.govabout-nrc/grants.html) Recipients cannot impose additional requirements to scholarship, fellowship, and trade school and community college scholarship students beyond the NRC Service Agreement.

If a waiver is submitted by a student, NRC may waive, in whole or in part, the service obligation, upon determining that compliance by the student is impractical. If the requested waiver is denied, a written request for payment may be issued to the student by the NRC under the provisions found in 10 CFR 15.21, which shall be due 30 days after the date of receipt of the letter. Any repayment of funds due to non-compliance with the service agreement terms is solely the responsibility of the student and not the university. The NRCs determination of a waiver request is final and not appealable.

How to Apply

Interested students should contact Dr. Konstantinos Kavallieratos at the Department of Chemistry.