NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Offering Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship for Advanced Scientific Degrees

be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or a citizen of a U.S. territory (as defined by 16 U.S.C. 6602(9));
pursue or intend to pursue a masters or doctoral level degree in oceanography, maritime archaeology or marine biology, including all science, engineering and resource management of ocean and coastal areas (or related areas), at a U.S. accredited graduate institution;
have and maintain a minimum cumulative and term grade point average of 3.30 or higher*; and
maintain full-time student status, as defined by the university that the scholar is attending, for the duration of the scholarship award.

*Scholars must maintain a minimum cumulative and term GPA of 3.30 for every term and for the duration of their award. If an applicant does not maintain this GPA, they will be placed on probation for one term following the term in which the 3.3 GPA was not maintained. If the GPA is not brought up within the probationary term, the recipient’s scholarship may be terminated. In addition, satisfactory progress must be made toward the completion of a thesis or dissertation. If it is determined that the scholar will not complete their thesis or dissertation prior to the end of the award, funding may be withdrawn.

Individuals who already receive NOAA or federal funding from grants or scholarships for graduate school are not eligible to receive the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship. If a student is willing to turn down the other federal funding, then they are eligible to receive the award.

Universities or other organizations may not apply on behalf of an individual. Prospective scholars do not need to be enrolled in a graduate program at the time of application, but must be admitted to a graduate-level program in order to be awarded this scholarship. Eligibility must be maintained for each succeeding year of support, and annual reporting requirements, to be specified at a later date, will apply. Individuals who are in their last year of graduate school are unlikely to receive this award.

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is seeking applications for the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program from individuals, particularly women and members of minority groups, who, due to financial constraints, may otherwise not be able to pursue an advanced degree in the scientific disciplines supported by this program.

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries conducts, sponsors, and facilitates research to better understand ecosystems and cultural resources in national marine sanctuaries, their changing condition, and the significance of threats. The National Marine Sanctuary System uses conservation science to support policy decisions, develop effective response capabilities, evaluate management practices, and support broader, NOAA-wide responsibilities for marine conservation and management. Science priorities are identified through assessments of threats and resource conditions within national marine sanctuaries and management plans and are necessary to protect and conserve sanctuary resources, manage risks, reduce threats and respond to unexpected events. Strong partnerships, expert scientific content and judgment, and peer review enhances the accuracy and credibility of monitoring and research. In addition, science, education, outreach, and policy development work together to raise awareness and prompt effective action that will address ocean problems. More information on the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries conservation science can be found at https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science. 

NOAA recognizes the student’s need to ensure that scholarly research, which is often hypothesis based, addresses critical gaps in knowledge about ecological processes, physiological mechanisms, evolutionary underpinnings, human behaviors, preferences and values, and related areas. The nature of the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries’ research, as well as interactions with sanctuary staff and partners with similar goals, can help students fulfill their degree requirements through work benefiting not only national marine sanctuaries, but marine conservation more broadly and ecosystem science as a whole. In addition to natural resource studies, scholars may investigate socioeconomic, maritime archaeological and maritime heritage resource studies in national marine sanctuaries.

General science priorities for the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries are stated below. Applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the Science Needs Assessment page (https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/assessment/) to determine if your research proposal aligns with science needs of one or more sites within the National Marine Sanctuary System. If you feel the need to discuss your research proposal with a site Research Coordinator, contact information is available at https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/assessment/research_coordinators.html. For questions on project proposals that address the entirety of the National Marine Sanctuary System, you can contact FosterScholars@noaa.gov with a snapshot of your proposed research.