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Simpler Grants

No. 22-621 · U.S. National Science Foundation

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NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships

grants.gov listing Full announcement (NOFO)
Dealbreakers No cost share required Audit: not stated
Not reimbursement-only
“An annual stipend of $75,000, paid directly to the Fellow on a monthly schedule.” — From the announcement
Award range
From $110,000
Expected awards
~9
Application deadline
Oct 15, 2026
Posted
Jul 27, 2022
Last verified
7 days ago

At a glance

AI summary

This program funds astronomy and astrophysics postdoctoral fellowships for individuals, with research and educational plans that show an astronomical context. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents who earned their doctorate within the last five years or will finish it by October 1 after the deadline. Fellows may hold the award at U.S. colleges, NSF-funded centers or institutes, U.S. nonprofit research and education organizations, or certain international sites run by eligible U.S. organizations; national centers funded by NASA or the Department of Energy are not eligible hosts, and work directly supporting NASA instruments or missions is returned without review. NSF expects about 8 to 9 fellowships a year, with support for up to 36 months at $110,000 per year, made up of a $75,000 annual stipend and a $35,000 annual allowance. No cost share is mentioned, and each proposer may submit only one proposal per annual competition and participate in no more than two competitions.

AI-generated summary — verify against the announcement

What it funds

  • Science and Technology and other Research and Development
  • Training, Fellowship & Career Development
  • Researchers & Scholars
  • Engineering, Physical & Mathematical Sciences
  • STEM Education & Research Training
Official description from grants.gov

NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships provide an opportunity for highly qualified, recent doctoral scientists to carry out an integrated program of independent research and education. Fellows may engage in observational, instrumental, theoretical, laboratory or archival data research in any area of astronomy or astrophysics, in combination with a coherent educational plan for the duration of the fellowship. The program supports researchers for a period of up to three years with fellowships that may be taken to eligible host institutions of their choice. The program is intended to recognize early-career investigators of significant potential and to provide them with experience in research and education that will establish them in positions of distinction and leadership in the scientific community.

Who can apply

  • Others
Geographic restriction None found in the announcement — likely nationwide

Program history

USASpending.gov

Assistance listing 47.049 · Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Real awards this federal program has made — the whole assistance listing (47.049), not just this notice.

Fiscal year Awards Median award Middle half
FY 2026 (so far) 762 $299,931 $121,337 – $500,000
FY 2025 2,247 $482,485 $249,935 – $627,333
FY 2024 2,571 — —
FY 2023 2,745 — —
FY 2022 2,640 — —
FY 2021 2,567 — —

For comparison, this notice advertises From $110,000.

Dollar figures are based on the 1,000 most recent awards we store, not all 13,532 — award counts are complete.

Who wins it Higher education (12,621), Individuals (465), Business (248) of 13,532 awards — categories can overlap.
Top states CA (138) · NY (88) · MA (64) · TX (52) · PA (44)
Largest recent awards
  1. ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY, INC. $19,041,217 · FY 2025
  2. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES $7,039,283 · FY 2026
  3. WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATION $5,950,041 · FY 2026
  4. MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY $4,980,000 · FY 2026
  5. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM $4,950,000 · FY 2026

Source: USASpending.gov · refreshed Aug 21, 2026

Change history

Since we first indexed it
  1. Jul 25, 2026 Grant announcement document replaced