The mission of The National GEM Consortium is to enhance the value of the nation’s human capital by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups (African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans) at the master’s and doctoral levels in engineering and science.

GEM’s fellowship programs span the entire recruitment, retention, and professional development spectrum. GEM’s principal activity is the provision of graduate fellowships at the MS and PhD levels coupled with paid summer internships . GEM also offers fellowships without paid summer internships through  GEM University and Associate Fellowship programs.

Fellowships are for master's and doctoral programs in a number of engineering and science fields.