“For my research, I developed a new computer model that can rapidly and accurately predict the peak water level caused by tropical cyclones and hurricanes to improve coastal resilience.”
– JUN-WHAN L.
Virginia Tech
Information for Applicants
Fostering a Safe and Welcome Community
Virginia Sea Grant is committed to building research, extension, communication, and education programs that serve people from various backgrounds, circumstances, needs, perspectives, and ways of thinking. The program does not tolerate any form of misconduct, discrimination, or harassment, including sexual harassment, or sexual misconduct (e.g. sexual assault within its organization, at awardee organizations, field sites, meetings, or anywhere Virginia Sea Grant-funded research, outreach, and education are conducted).
Eligibility
Applicants must be enrolled in a full-time Ph.D., Master’s, or professional degree program at a Virginia academic institution prior to the award of the fellowship, no later than Fall 2027. Students from all disciplines are welcome to apply. This includes natural and social sciences, engineering and design, policy and legal analysis, architecture, business, education, arts and humanities, etc.
All applicants must remain in good standing at their academic institution and in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Virginia Sea Grant award. Failure to stay in good standing with the applicant’s academic institution may lead to termination of the fellowship.
Previous recipients of a Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellowship are ineligible to apply.
Fellowship Responsibilites
Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research fellows are expected to:
- Submit all deliverables in a timely manner including quarterly updates and regular reports.
- Collaborate with a Professional Mentor: Select and work with a professional end-user mentor, including identifying opportunities to execute their professional development plan (see Virginia Sea Grant’s Guidance on Fellow-Mentor Relationships).
- Collaborate with Virginia Sea Grant’s Communication Center to publicize their scholarship and fellowship activities, including creating communication products and sharing story ideas. Fellows are required to work with VASG Communications to create one product that demonstrates their project’s value to Virginia Sea Grant and the state of Virginia. This may include research posters, infographics, fact sheets, blog posts, web story articles, PowerPoint presentations, or other products to be determined.
- Attend and participate in Virginia Sea Grant events as applicable. Examples of Virginia Sea Grant events include the fellowship orientation meeting, Virginia Sea Grant’s Coastal Leadership Conference, presentation of study findings, community engagement activities, and appropriate professional development offerings.
- Remain in communication with Virginia Sea Grant after the conclusion of their fellowship award to pass along information about graduation dates and career updates following graduation. Fellows are required to notify Virginia Sea Grant upon completion of their degree and submit a digital copy of the final project, thesis, or dissertation, as well as any other relevant deliverables listed in the graduate fellowship proposal.
The above responsibilities are non-negotiable. Failure to comply with these responsibilities may lead to the termination of the fellowship.
Upcoming Events
September 20, 3:00PM ET – Informational Webinar – Register Now
Application Process
- Applicants must submit their applications through Virginia Sea Grant’s online application portal on InfoReady.
- Advisors and Mentors must request and submit recommendation and mentor forms through VASG’s InfoReady portal.
- Advisors and Mentors submit their forms separately from the student application
Related Documents
- Fellowship Announcement
- Professional Recommendation Form
- Guidance on Fellow-Mentor Relationships
- VASG 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
- Title Page Template
- 90-4 Budget Form (zip file)
- VASG Budget Justification Guidance
- Sample Budget Justification
- Sample Travel Budget (zip file)
- NEPA Questionnaire Document
- NEPA Form Step-by-Step Guide
- Guidelines for Data Management Plans
Note: NEPA Questionnaire and Data Management Plan are only required for accepted applications.
Contact
INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR
December 1, 2027 at 3pm EDT. Check back for a link to register.
how to apply
Applicants must submit their applications through Virginia Sea Grant’s online application portal on InfoReady (https://vaseagrant.infoready4.com). Full applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST on January 5, 2027.
Application Guidelines
Students are expected to take the lead in developing their application and collaborating with their faculty advisors in preparation of the budget, routing the application through their institution’s sponsored programs office and obtaining all required institutional endorsements before submitting to Virginia Sea Grant.
Adherence to the format requirements is mandatory and ensures fairness across all applications. Applications not meeting the format requirements may be rejected without review. Several application elements have specific page limits or word limits. Excess pages will not be reviewed. Only the requested materials should be submitted; additional documents (e.g., appendices, letters of support, resumes/CVs longer than two pages, etc.) will not be reviewed.
Recommendation Forms
A complete GRFP application requires two (2) recommendation letters.
Academic Recommendation. The student’s primary faculty advisor or appropriate faculty member (PI on the research award the applicant will be working on during the fellowship) must provide the recommendation. If a student has multiple advisors, only one has to fill out the recommendation form.
Professional Mentor Recommendation: Forms must be requested and submitted through VASG’s InfoReady portal. The form must be submitted before the application deadline.
Identifying Potential Mentors
A mentor can be from the public, private, or non-profit sector. Students are encouraged to review the examples of past fellow-mentor partnerships below, and review the VASG website to learn about our extension partners. VASG encourages applicants to reach out to potential mentors early in the application process to discuss your mutual goals, develop a rapport, and identify emerging opportunities.
Katherine L.
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Maura B.
Old Dominion University
Jennifer B.
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Arslaan K.
George Mason University
Mentors do not need to be extension agents, educators, or communicators with Sea Grant or the Cooperative Extension program. However, they can be a great resource for connections to potential mentors.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND CONTACT
Applicants are strongly encouraged to register and attend an informational webinar in December.
- For questions related to this Request for Applications, please contact Virginia Sea Grant Director Dr. Mona Behl at mbehl@vims.edu
- For questions related to budget including match requirements, please contact Virginia Sea Grant Financial Officer, Sherry House, slhouse@vims.edu
- For questions related to outreach plans and communications, please contact Virginia Sea Grant Assistant Director of Communications, Jay Clark, jtclark@vims.edu
“It was very interesting to see the reception of the feedback from local communities. Talking with local organizations was very meaningful. What we are studying and what we are asking may impact their lives and the quality of local waterways that local communities really value.”
– MIGUEL S.
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Tentative Fellowship Completion Timeline
- Announcement Released – November 13, 2026
- Informational Webinar – December 1, 2027 at 3pm EDT
- Applications due to VASG by 11:59 p.m. EST – January 5, 2027
- Stage 1 – Administrative Review – January 2027
- Stage 2 – Peer and Relevancy Review – February/March 2027
- Stage 3 – Technical Review Panel – April 2027
- Stage 4 – Candidate Interviews – May 2027
- Notification of decisions – July 2027
- Fellowship Awards begin – August 1, 2027
- Fellowship Awards end – July 31, 2028
Award Information
The fellowship provides an award of up to $40,000 per year, and the length of the award is one year. The start date for the fellowship is August 1, 2027. The fellowship ends on July 31, 2028.
All VASG awards require a 50% funding in matching costs (i.e., budgets must show $1 of match for every $2 of Sea Grant funding requested). Only non-federal funds may be committed as a matching contribution.
Virginia Sea Grant will make all awards to the student’s primary faculty advisor, who must be listed as the principal investigator (PI) on the fellowship application. Please refer to the budget and budget justification section below for additional information.
