FY23 Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program | NOAA NOS ONMS 2023 2007653

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS ONMS 2023 2007653

The FY23 Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program is a NOAA (Department of Commerce) graduate scholarship opportunity run through the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. It is designed to support students pursuing masters or doctoral degrees in fields tied to ocean and coastal science, management, and heritage, including oceanography, marine biology, and maritime archaeology, as well as related disciplines such as coastal or ocean engineering, social science, marine education, marine stewardship, cultural anthropology, and natural resource management. A central theme of the program is building a stronger, more inclusive future workforce in marine and sanctuary-related fields, and the program explicitly encourages applications from women and members of minority groups as part of a broader commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Eligibility is focused on individuals (not institutions) who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or citizens of U.S. territories, and who are applying to or have been accepted by a graduate program at a U.S. accredited institution. Applicants do not have to already be enrolled at the time they apply, but they must be admitted to a graduate program before NOAA will make an award. Academic performance is a firm baseline requirement: applicants must have at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA to apply, and awardees must maintain a minimum 3.30 cumulative and term GPA for every term throughout the scholarship period.

The scholarship is structured as a cooperative agreement and, subject to available appropriations, typically provides about 42,000 per year per student, made up of a 30,000 twelve-month stipend plus a 12,000 education allowance. In addition, scholars may receive up to 10,000 to support a 4 to 6 week “program collaboration” at a NOAA facility (often within the National Marine Sanctuary System or another NOAA office). This collaboration is meant to immerse scholars in NOAA-related work and connect their academic research to real-world stewardship, science, and management needs. The program collaboration funds can generally cover allowable costs such as travel, housing, per diem, certain laboratory expenses, vessel support, and consumables used while at the NOAA facility, consistent with federal cost principles (2 CFR 200, Subpart E). At the same time, the notice makes clear that these collaboration funds are not meant to pay for the scholar’s broader research costs, and scholars must provide their own health insurance coverage during the collaboration period. Participation logistics are also managed closely: scholars planning a collaboration in a given year must notify the Program Officer by December of that academic year, and NOAA approval is required before starting.

Award length is tied directly to how much time a student has left in their graduate program at the time they apply. In other words, the program does not “reset” your degree clock; it funds only the remaining years you need to finish. The announcement even cautions that if you are in the final year of a masters or PhD program, applying is generally not advised because the program is not designed for near-completion funding. A one-time no-cost extension of up to one year may be requested, but it must be submitted at least 60 days before the award ends and must include a justification and an updated budget.

Selection decisions weigh multiple factors, combining academic merit with the relevance and quality of the proposed work and the applicant’s circumstances. Review elements include academic excellence, the strength of letters of recommendation, the quality and feasibility of the research proposal, relevant experience, and financial need. The opportunity highlights several practical competitiveness tips that also reveal how scoring works: alignment of the research proposal with NOAA’s mission and, especially, the science priorities of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is a major component (identified as 30 points). The financial need statement is also heavily weighted (25 points) and is expected to clearly document need through a compelling personal narrative that explains challenges or hardships. Letters of recommendation are called out as another important contributor (10 points), and the announcement notes that proposals not supporting the National Marine Sanctuary System’s science or education priorities have historically ranked lower.

Beyond funding, the scholarship comes with community and service expectations. Recipients are treated as members of the broader NOAA community and are required to participate in a mandatory NOAA Orientation Training with National Marine Sanctuaries staff in summer 2023 (date and location to be determined). If awards are not finalized before the training occurs, recipients may need to cover travel or other costs up front as pre-award expenses and then seek reimbursement after the scholarship funds are issued. Scholars also have required outreach responsibilities intended to broaden awareness of the program and strengthen future applicant diversity. At minimum, each scholar must give at least one presentation about the scholarship program to a diverse audience (for example, at a minority-serving institution, an HBCU, or a campus organization focused on diversity). In addition, each scholar must develop an outreach product during the scholarship period, such as a video, infographic, lesson plan, or similar educational resource, which can focus on their research or another relevant topic coordinated with the program team.

Doctoral recipients have a stronger collaboration requirement than masters recipients. For PhD scholars, completing one program collaboration is required (with a second encouraged but not mandatory). Masters-level scholars are strongly encouraged to complete a collaboration but are not strictly required to do so. The notice also allows flexibility in rare cases: scholars can potentially opt out of the collaboration requirement if unforeseen circumstances arise, but only after discussion with the Program Collaboration Coordinator and the Federal Program Officer.

From an administrative standpoint, the FY23 opportunity was posted under Funding Opportunity Number NOAA NOS ONMS 2023 2007653, with CFDA 11.429. It was categorized as a discretionary opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism, with an original closing date of December 22, 2022. NOAA anticipated making around four awards, and the listed award ceiling was 196,000, reflecting multi-year support up to the remaining time in a recipient’s degree program.

• The Department of Commerce in the business and commerce, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY23 Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.429.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 24, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 22, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $196,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NOS ONMS 2023 2007653

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