Cancel cuts to Graduate Research Fellowships.

Abstract

The National Science Foundation plans to decrease its Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awards, which support graduate students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and STEM education fields, to only 1600 in upcoming competitions ([ 1 ][1]). No supporting evidence or rationale has been provided. Such cuts would likely have a disproportionate effect on women and underrepresented minorities. After the doubling of fellowships to 2000 awards in 2010, women and underrepresented minorities made substantial and sustainable gains that have grown over time ([ 2 ][2]). In the 2018 GRFP competition, nearly 58% of awardees were women, and 23% (461 individuals) identified as underrepresented minorities ([ 3 ][3]). A 20% cut in new fellowships risks narrowing the participation of these groups in the U.S. scientific workforce, especially in STEM leadership roles. Cutting the number of GRFP awards poses a threat to U.S. leadership in science and innovation. It signals to the “best and brightest” ([ 4 ][4]) U.S. citizens that their talents are valued less in the STEM workforce than in lucrative fields such as management or finance. Although the U.S. population grew by 5.8% between 2010 and 2018 ([ 5 ][5]), the number of awards has remained at 2000 for the past 10 years. This would be defensible from a policy standpoint if employment in science and engineering sectors were flat; however, such employment is steadily rising ([ 6 ][6]). The United States should be increasing federal fellowships for its citizens, not decreasing them. We urge NSF and elected leaders to cancel the cuts. GRFP recruits a diverse pool of talented early-career STEM students from a broad range of scientific fields, educational institutions, geographic regions, and economic circumstances. However, sustaining this public good demands publicly available data and a thoughtful approach to the mix of federal funding mechanisms used to support graduate students. We call for experts in graduate education and STEM workforce development to convene and consider evidence-based policies for nurturing student-centered research and innovation in the United States ([ 7 ][7]). 1. [↵][8]NSF, Graduate Research Fellowship Program Solicitation: NSF 19-590 (2019); [www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19590/nsf19590.pdf][9]. 2. [↵][10]1. G. Muller-Parker, 2. S. E. Brennan, 3. E. C. Jones , GradEdge: Insights Grad Educ Res. 9, 4 (2020). [OpenUrl][11] 3. [↵][12]NSF, “NSF announces Graduate Research Fellowships for 2018,” News Release 18-022 (2018); [www.nsf.gov/news/news\_summ.jsp?cntn\_id=245024][13]. 4. [↵][14]1. R. B. Freeman , “Investing in the best and brightest: Increased fellowship support for American scientists and engineers” (Brookings Discussion Paper 2006-09, 2006). 5. [↵][15]U.S. Census Bureau, “Monthly population estimates for the United States: April 1, 2010 to December 1, 2020 (NA-EST2019-01)” (2019); [www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-national-total.html#par\_textimage\_2011805803][16]. 6. [↵][17]National Science Board Science and Engineering Indicators, U.S. S&E workforce: Definition, size, and growth (2018). 7. [↵][18]National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century (The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2018). [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #ref-4 [5]: #ref-5 [6]: #ref-6 [7]: #ref-7 [8]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [9]: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19590/nsf19590.pdf [10]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [11]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DGradEdge%253A%2BInsights%2BGrad%2BEduc%2BRes.%26rft.volume%253D9%26rft.spage%253D4%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [12]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3 in text [13]: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=245024 [14]: #xref-ref-4-1 View reference 4 in text [15]: #xref-ref-5-1 View reference 5 in text [16]: http://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-national-total.html#par_textimage_2011805803 [17]: #xref-ref-6-1 View reference 6 in text [18]: #xref-ref-7-1 View reference 7 in text