The DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program provides supplemental awards to graduate students to conduct part of their PhD thesis research at a DOE national laboratory, working with a laboratory scientist for three to twelve consecutive months. The program is designed to advance the student's dissertation while providing access to expertise, resources, and facilities not available on campus. Approximately 75 awards are expected in this solicitation.

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The application requires a letter of support from a collaborating DOE national laboratory scientist, and applicants must have an established collaboration with that scientist before applying. If you have not yet identified a collaborator, begin there. DOE maintains a searchable database of more than 200 national laboratory scientists open to working with PhD students through SCGSR, and you can request additional contacts by emailing sc.scgsr@doe.gov.

What the award provides

• Stipend of up to $3,600 per month for the duration of the award period. 
• Reimbursement of inbound and outbound travel up to $3,000. 
• Option to apply for additional SCGSR funding for a six-week research visit to CERN in Switzerland or RIKEN-CCS in Japan during the award period.

Eligibility

• Must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
• Must be a current PhD student at an accredited U.S. institution with established PhD candidacy.
• Thesis research must align with one of the 56 SCGSR priority research areas, spanning advanced scientific computing, biological and environmental research, basic energy sciences, fusion energy sciences, high energy and nuclear physics, and isotope research and production.
• Must have an established collaboration with a scientist at a DOE national laboratory.

Application requirements

• All required fields of the online application system.
• Official graduate transcripts and explicit proof of PhD candidacy. 
  • Remove Social Security numbers and dates of birth from transcripts before uploading — applications containing them are eliminated from the system and deemed non-compliant.
• Research proposal, three pages maximum.
• Letters of support from both your thesis advisor and your collaborating DOE national laboratory scientist.

Only complete applications submitted by the deadline will be considered. Applications proposing to use an Office of Science user facility must apply for user facility time separately.

Application assistance

Workshop: October 1, 2026, 2:00–4:30 p.m. ET. Covers the application process, proposal writing guidance, and discussion with current and former awardees and national laboratory scientists. Registration required.

Office hours: Every Friday, 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET, by Zoom.

Timeline

• November 4, 2026 — Applications due, 5:00 p.m. ET
• April 1–16, 2027 — Offer notification period
• June 7, 2027 — Earliest project start date
• October 4, 2027 — Latest project start date

Program details, priority research areas, and the application system are at science.osti.gov/wdts/scgsr. Questions may be directed to the SCGSR Program Manager, Dr. Igor I. Slowing, at Igor.Slowing@doe.gov.