UPDATED FEBRUARY 2021
The Astronaut Scholarship Selection Committee is seeking nominations of outstanding students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the fields of engineering, mathematics, technology, and natural or applied sciences. The award is for up to $10,000 for the academic year.
Students must be nominated by a faculty member who knows them well enough to identify a special drive or talent that foreshadows a creative career leading to the advancement of scientific knowledge and technology. Ideal candidates will also possess intellectual daring and a genuine desire to positively change the world around them, both in and out of the classroom.
Nominee Requirements/Eligibility:
- Be a U.S. citizen (birth certificate, U.S. passport or naturalization papers required)
- Be a junior or senior at the time the scholarship begins (Fall 2021)
- Have completed two years full-time study at CSU
- Be majoring in Natural or Applied Science, Engineering, or Mathematics
- Be a full-time student during both terms of the ASF-supported academic year
- Have conducted a considerable amount of research in their field (Astronaut Scholarships are not awarded for pre-medical studies, so clinical medical research is not considered in the research selection criteria. However, biomedical research is included.)
All 2021 Astronaut Scholars will be invited to attend the Innovators Gala in Washington, D.C. where they will be presented with their scholarship award on stage during the event. ASF will fund the travel, hotel, and event costs for each scholar able to attend.
To Nominate a Student
Please submit the following materials to the Astronaut Scholarship Liaison (asf_scholarship@mail.colostate.edu) at Colorado State University no later than 11:59 pm on Monday, March 8, 2021.
- The nominating faculty member should complete the scholarship nomination form (link coming) with assistance from the nominee.
- Two nomination letters from faculty members or research professors (one from the nominating professor at the student’s institution) must be submitted, including details on research achievements/endeavors.
- Students must compose and submit a short statement of personal interests, activities, hobbies and goals, not to exceed one page of 12-point type. The narrative letter supporting the nomination form should give examples of the involvement and commitment of the student to their studies beyond the formal classroom setting as shown on the transcript. Creativity is an important attribute, and should be documented.
- Students must submit a personal resume.
- Completed nominations should be submitted to the Astronaut Scholarship Liaison (asf_scholarship@mail.colostate.edu) at the applying school in one .pdf document to no later than Monday, March 8, 2021 at 11:59 PM.
For more information about the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, please visit their website: https://astronautscholarship.org/
Please direct all questions about the scholarship and/or scholarship process at CSU to Mary Swanson (mary.swanson@colostate.edu).
Major Fields of Study Eligible for the Astronaut Scholarship
This list is based upon the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program listing of approved fields of study with the exception of Psychology, Social Sciences, and STEM Education and Learning Research which are specifically excluded from ASF Scholarship eligibility. Special consideration is NOT given to aeronautical/astronautical engineering students nor to those intending to pursue careers as astronauts.
Chemical Analysis
Chemical Measurement and Imaging
Chemical Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanism
Chemical Synthesis
Chemical Theory, Models, and Computational Methods
Chemistry of Life Processes
Environmental Chemical Systems
Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry
Sustainable Chemistry
Chemistry, other
Algorithms and Theoretical Foundations
Bioinformatics and other Informatics
Communication and Information Theory
Computational Science and Engineering
Computer Architecture
Computer Networks
Computer Security and Privacy
Computer Systems and Embedded Systems
Data Mining and information Retrieval
Databases
Formal Methods, Verification, and Programming Languages
Graphics and Visualization
Human Computer Interaction
Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Robotics and Computer Vision
Software Engineering
CISE, other
Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering
Bioengineering
Biomedical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
Materials Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Ocean Engineering
Optical Engineering
Polymer Engineering
Systems Engineering
Engineering, other
Aeronomy
Atmospheric Chemistry
Biogeochemistry
Biological Oceanography
Chemical Oceanography
Climate and Large-Scale Atmospheric Dynamics
Geobiology
Geochemistry
Geomorphology
Geophysics
Glaciology
Hydrology
Magnetospheric Physics
Marine Biology
Marine Geology and Geophysics
Paleoclimate
Paleontology and Paleobiology
Petrology
Physical and Dynamic Meteorology
Physical Oceanography
Sedimentary Geology
Solar Physics
Tectonics
Geosciences, other
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Biophysics
Cell Biology
Developmental Biology
Ecology
Environmental Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics
Genomics
Microbial Biology
Neurosciences
Organismal Biology
Physiology
Proteomics
Structural Biology
Systematics and Biodiversity
Systems and Molecular Biology
Life Sciences, other
Biomaterials
Ceramics
Chemistry of Materials
Electronic Materials
Materials Theory
Metallic Materials
Photonic Materials
Physics of Materials
Polymers
Materials Research, other
Algebra, Number Theory, and Combinatorics
Analysis
Applied Mathematics
Biostatistics
Computational and Data-enabled Science
Computational Mathematics
Computational Statistics
Geometric Analysis
Logic or Foundations of Mathematics
Mathematical Biology
Probability Statistics
Topology
Mathematics, other
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Condensed Matter Physics
Nuclear Physics
Particle Physics
Physics of Living Systems
Plasma Physics
Solid State
Theoretical Physics
Physics, other