2025-2026 GWIS National Fellowship Application Checklist

Graduate Women In Science (GWIS) uses an online website to conduct the annual National Fellowship Program selection process. Review our online application portal user instructions here.

Important Information and Revision Notes: 

The GWIS application package must be completed by the applicant and submitted by the applicant. Applicants may only submit one application per review cycle.

This application checklist provides instructions for preparing applications for the 2026-2027 GWIS National Fellowship Program. This revision provides further detail related to the proposal and short essay prompts, IRB and permit documentation, letters of recommendation submission process, and the time and date of the application deadline.

Application submitted with missing information will be considered incomplete and will be disqualified. If the proposal does not adhere to the instructions, GWIS may not accept the application or may return it without review. Only one application may be submitted per applicant. Duplicate applications will lead to disqualification.   

The application must be received on or before the deadline date and time of Monday, January 12, 2026 by 5:00:00 pm Eastern Time. We are not responsible for issues associated with increased website traffic. We strongly encourage you to start your application early and to submit before the deadline to avoid connection issues. Late applications will not be accepted.

Application Checklist: (Note: checklist should not be submitted with application)

1. Application Form - Found on the application portal here. The form includes short essays described below.

• Relationship to Degree Program/Career Development. Describe how your research will be relevant to your field and how it relates to your career development. How will this fellowship help you achieve your career goals? (Word Limit: 400)
  
  
• Collaborative and Mentoring Capacity. Describe initiatives you are participating in to promote and empower those in STEM, Life Science, and related Social Science fields, particularly women and girls in your profession or community. Examples include personal experience, service, teaching, and mentoring. Please also describe how you see your involvement continuing and growing in the future, especially as it relates to your career goals. Evidence of collaborative and mentoring capacity will be given special consideration by the selection committee. (Word Limit: 400)
  
  
• Statement of Qualifications. Briefly describe why you are well-suited for your role in this project. Relevant factors may include: aspects of your training, your previous research and technical expertise, and/or your past performance in this or related fields (Word Limit: 400).
  
  
• Project Abstract. Provide a brief abstract of the proposed research project written for non-specialists (Word Limit: 200).

2. Applicants must upload the narrative sections outlined below and all other attachments to their application as files in a read-only Portable Document Format (PDF). Do not upload an interactive or fillable PDF file, and do not password-protect the file. This will result in your application not being considered for funding.

1. Project Description. The description must be sufficient to allow a reviewer familiar with the general area of the work to evaluate the underlying primary hypothesis and the methods to be used in the experimental approach. Project descriptions should include (not in any particular order): a testable hypothesis, specific aims, significance of the project to the applicant's field of study, broad account of experimental techniques and methods to be used (including innovative approaches), a brief account of background and preliminary data, anticipated results, their interpretation, and potential problems.

Formatting Requierements

 

• 4 page limit - excluding references and a one-page appendix

  • A page is defined as a one-sided 8.5" x 11" page with 1" margins on all sides

  • All text must be Times New Roman font in a 12-point font size or larger 

  • No less than single-spacing throughout the entire proposal (approximately 6 lines per inch)

  • Figures and/or tables and their captions within the four pages will count towards the page limit and also need to abide by the font formatting and the 1” margin on all sides

• Figure(s) and/or table(s)

  • May be included within the 4-page proposal but count towards the 4-page limit, OR

  • May be included in the separate one-page appendix 

  • All figures and/or tables must abide by the 1” margin requirement

  • All figure and/or table captions must not exceed 4 lines of text in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1” margins

  • Captions should be typed directly into the document and not copy & pasted as an image in order to adjust the font size of the caption.You may not screenshot or photocopy and shrink down a caption to fit within the formatting guidelines of the project description or appendix. 

• One-page appendix

  • Must only contain figures and/or tables

  • One 8.5" x 11" page with 1" margins on all sides

  • All text must be Times New Roman font in a 12-point font size or larger

  • All figure and/or table captions must not exceed 4 lines of text in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1” margins 

  • If the appendix contains excess text not associated with a figure/table description, this is grounds for disqualification. 

 

If the proposal does not adhere to these outlined instructions, GWIS may not accept the application or may return it without review. Examples include going over the page limit, exceeding more than four lines of 12-point font size text for a figure or table description, using less than a 12-point font size anywhere in the project description, not abiding by 1” page margins, submitting photocopy reductions or screenshots, or including cut-and-paste material to squeeze additional texts.

 

2. Detailed Budget and Budget Justification. The budget justification should include a total requested funding amount that does not exceed the $10,000 (USD) limit. If your budget is presented in an alternative currency, please also include the USD conversion. Please include an itemized list of eligible expenses in table format with the total requested budget displayed at the bottom of the table, as this will provide more context for the use of GWIS Fellowship funds to the Evaluation Committee.

Formatting Requierements

The detailed budget and budget justification must not exceed two pages including references.

Fellowship funds may be used for such things as:

• expendable supplies

• small equipment to be used by the recipient (not for general use)

• publication of research findings

• travel for field studies or collaborative research at another laboratory

• subsistence while traveling to perform research (NOT to exceed $500)

• payment for undergraduate assistants (NOT to exceed 1/3 of the total budget requested)

• study subjects’ compensation

Fellowship funds cannot be used for:

• salaries

• tuition

• child care

• travel to professional meetings or to begin a new appointment

• travel to another institution for coursework

• training or workshops

• administrative overhead or indirect costs

• tablets, laptops, and personal computers

• living allowances

• equipment for general use

Note: Award amounts will not exceed $10,000 (USD) or specified funds requested in the proposed budget. Any application that submits a budget request in excess of $10,000 (even $1.00 over) will be disqualified and returned without review.

3. Recommendation Letters. Two letters, one from an advisor or department head plus one other who is qualified to evaluate the applicant's ability to perform the proposed research are required. Each letter should be no more than two pages with an institutional letterhead and an electronic signature when possible. A form to input the letters can be found within the application portal, and is accessible once you have started the application.  All reference letters must be submitted electronically using the online application portal, and received by the deadline of 5:00 PM Eastern Time Monday, January 12, 2026. You can check the letter submission status anytime by returning to the Letters of Recommendation section, even after you have submitted the application. You also have the option to contact the program (nfp@gwis.org) to confirm the letter submissions. Letters will not be accepted by email. Late letters will not be accepted under any circumstances. Applications missing two reference letters will be disqualified and returned without review.

4. Contact Information for Institutional Official. Please contact your institution’s grants/sponsored research office to identify the administrator that will manage your grant expenses if awarded. If selected for a fellowship, you will be asked to submit an Annual Expense Report in June 2027. 

5. Supplemental Documentation: Animal/Human Subjects Approval or Collecting Permits. If human or animal subjects are used, an in-house animal subjects committee must evaluate the work, and an approval from the committee must be included in the application. If approval is pending at the time of application deadline, documentation of approval must be provided to the Fellowships Committee at the start of the funding period. Research involving field collections must show evidence of the proper collecting permits.

6. Supplemental Documentation: Letter from Host Scientist or Institution. If you are requesting funds to travel to another institution or laboratory for collaborative research, please provide a letter(s) of invitation from the host. A letter of invitation should be written on institutional letterhead and should include information such as the activities for which you are being invited by the host and the description of the applicant’s project and how it will lead to a collaboration. If the letter is not in English, please include an English translation of it, along with the original. An application will not be considered eligible until a letter of invitation is submitted.  

NOTE: The application must be received on or before the deadline date and time. We are not responsible for issues associated with increased website traffic. Late applications will not be accepted.