FAQ Undergraduate Research Scholarship Program
1. Do I have to be a US citizen to apply?
2. Am I eligible to apply if I currently hold or plan to hold another federally funded award?
3. Why is my university not listed as an eligible institution?
4. Is my university a member of NC Space Grant?
5. What type of supporting documentation is required?
6. Where do I mail my supporting documentation?
7. Which transcripts are required?
8. What type of transcripts must I submit?
9. How many letters of recommendation do I need?
Award Questions
1. When will the awards be announced?
2. If I receive the award when will I receive the check?
3. What is required for the final report?
Program Specific Questions
1. (Fellowships) Am I required to have a half-time appointment at my home institution to receive this fellowship?
2. (Fellowships) What sources of funding qualify as half-time appointments?
3. What is the profile of the average fellowship and scholarship recipient?
4. On what scale is GPA ranked?
ANSWERS
Application Questions
Do I have to be a US citizen to apply? Yes. Federal law requires that we only give fellowships and/or scholarships to permanent United States citizens
Am I eligible to apply if I currently hold or plan to hold another federally funded award? NC Space Grant awards are funded by the federal government. As a result, you can not receive scholarship and/or fellowship funds from two federally funded programs at the same time. Federal law prohibits a person from receiving fellowship and/or scholarships though multiple federally funded programs. If you receive an award offer from multiple federally funded sources you must choose which one award you will accept. If you receive another federally funded scholarship and/or fellowship and choose not to accept NC Space Grant’s offer you will be allowed to keep the NC Space Grant scholarship and/or fellowship designation but not the funding.
Why is my university not listed as an eligible institution? There are two possible reasons that you university is not listed as an eligible NC Space Grant institution.
Your institution is not a member of NC Space Grant. Only students from NC Space Grant member institutions are eligible to participate in this program.
Your institution is a member of NC Space Grant but not a member in good standing. When a current member of NC Space Grant does not fulfill its membership obligations they lose their privileges of participating in NC Space Grant programs. If the situation is not rectified they are removed from NC Space Grant membership.
Is my university a member of NC Space Grant? You can check our membership list to see if your university is a member of our organization.
What type of supporting documentation is required? NC Space Grant requires that a letter of recommendation and unofficial transcripts from the institutions that the applicant has attended be submitted through the online application system. Transcripts must include course name, credit hours, grades for all work completed or attempted though the Fall semester of the current academic year.
Where do I mail my supporting documentation? All supporting documentation is submitted through the online application system. If selected for an award, you will be required to submit official transcripts by mail to:
Express Mail
NC Space Grant (Program Name)
NCSU – Research Building II
1009 Capability Drive, Suite 210
Raleigh, NC 27695
Postal Mail
NC Space Grant (Program Name)
NCSU Box 7515
Raleigh, NC 27695
Which transcripts are required? NC Space Grant requires that all applicants submit transcripts so that the applicant can be properly evaluated. Which transcripts that are required differ based upon the applicant’s current standing and the program to which they are applying.
Graduate Student Fellowship Program: A transcript from the applicants current instituion as well as transcripts from institutions that will award or did award the applicant a degree.
Scholarship Program:
University sophomore, junior, senior current standing: Transcript from the university that the applicant is currently attending and any other that the applicant received 10 or more credits from.
University freshman or high school senior current standing: Transcript from the applicant’s high school as well as transcripts from all universities, junior colleges, and community colleges that the applicant has attended.
What type of transcripts must I submit? Applicants are required to upload PDF versions of transcripts into their application. These may be unofficial transcripts. If you do not have a PDF conversion tool you can use one of these free on-line PDF converters PDF Online – Neevia Technology.
How many letters of recommendation do I need? One. Only one letter of recommendation is allowed per application. If more than one letter is submitted using our on-line application program the one that was received last will be used in your application packet.
Award Questions
When will the awards be announced? Awards will be announced in April. All applicants will be mailed a letter notifying them if they received the award or not. If you do not receive a letter by the end of April please contact scholarships@ncspacegrant.org or fellowships@ncspacegrant.org.
If I receive the award when will I receive the check? Funds are administered as stipends directly to the student. Once enrollment and academic status has been verified by your university’s Office of Financial Aid, NC Space Grant processes the awards. Summer awardees receive funds at the beginning of the first summer session. Academic year awardees receive funds in two installments (at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters).
What is required for the final report? Final report guidelines will be released as part of the funding announcement in Spring 2019.
Program Specific Questions
(Fellowships) Am I required to have a half-time appointment at my home institution to receive this fellowship? Yes. The NC Space Grant fellowship awards are designed to serve as supplemental awards to existing half-time support provided by your home institution.
(Fellowships) What sources of funding qualify as half-time appointments? Any half-time salary appointment provided by your home institution is eligible. These can include but are not limited to: research grants, teaching assistant appointments, departmental appointments, federally funded research grants, and non-federally funded fellowships administered by your institution. The following do not qualify: self-funded students, federal student loans, federal student grants and federally funded fellowships. If you have any questions concerning the eligibility of your half-time support please contact us at fellowships@ncspacegrant.org.
What is the profile of the average fellowship and scholarship recipient? Typically NC Space Grant makes 30-40 awards each year to students from a variety of majors. GPA: 3.79 average – 4.00 high – 3.20 low
On what scale is GPA ranked? GPA is based on an unweighted scale where A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 and F=0 points. No additional points are given for advanced classes.