UW Studentships: Application, Interviews, Selection

Incoming First Year Students

Incoming First Year students complete an online application via the Space Grant website by the end of January.  The essays from those applications are reviewed by Space Grant staff and scored.  The advisor and deputy director take about 50 of the top applicants, ensuring diverse identities, majors, locations, etc., and invite them to a virtual interview day.  All other applicants are notified that they were not selected.

Interview Day

A virtual interview day is hosted by Space Grant Staff in early March including, an opening session and welcome to overview the day, group interview sessions with all applicants, and virtual lab tours.  Students are sent the questions for their interviews in advance.  Group interviews consists of 4-5 students and 3 UW staff or faculty members.  All students in the interviews are scored by the faculty and staff.  Top scoring students are awarded the scholarship, again ensuring that the pool is diverse in representation.  Students who were close to the top will be placed on the waitlist.  All other students can be notified that they did not receive the scholarship.

Awarded Students

Awarded students receive an email letter notifying them of their award, as well as the award agreement form to complete. Over the Summer, the students will need to submit their transcripts, as well as complete the NASA profile form and media release.

NASA Aligned areas:

Specific areas of supported student interests will include but not be limited to:

• Biology and astrobiology: Understanding life on Earth and in space (SMD: Ames, JPL);

• Exoplanets: Finding worlds beyond our own (SMD: Ames, JPL);

• Autonomy and robotics: Complementing humans in space (HEOMD: Ames);

• Lunar science: Rediscovering our moon (SMD: Ames, JPL);

• Planetary atmospheres and geology: Solar system characteristics and origin of life (SMD: Ames, JPL);

• Primitive solar systems bodies: Lunar science; Preparing for returned sample investigations (SMD: Ames, JPL);

• Atmospheric composition and dynamics: Land and solid earth processes; water and carbon cycles and climate science (SMD: JPL, MSFC);

• Astronomy: Origin, evolution, and structure of the universe; gravitational astrophysics (SMD: JPL);

• Extra-solar planets and star and planetary formation (JPL);

• Solar and space physics and spacecraft charging (SMD: MSFC, JPL, GSFC);

• In-space propulsion (STMD: GRC, MSFC);

• Space biology (HEOMD: KSC).