For students deciding whether to apply
NSF GRFP Eligibility Checker for Your Topic
Paste your research idea or drop a draft. See each NSF eligibility rule quoted, a plain status beside it, and your best-fit field and deadline.
Free to start. No card needed.
Check these points first
Example · senior · how coral microbes handle marine heat
- Applicant stage
- Clear. Seniors "can apply unlimited times before enrolling in a graduate degree program."
- Conservation practice
- Check. "so reef restoration projects can pick heat-tolerant corals" reads as restoration, which NSF excludes.
- Best-fit field
- Life Sciences · Microbial Biology, Ecology
- Deadline
- Monday, October 19, 2026, 8:00 p.m. Eastern
- Confirm yourself
- Citizenship, national or permanent resident status by the deadline
What you'll get
Your research idea checked against NSF's 2026–27 eligibility rules
- A one-line verdict, then each NSF rule quoted with Clear, Check or Not eligible
- Your best-fit Major Field of Study, two subfields and that field's 2026 deadline
- Honest ways to reframe a risky idea, and the facts only you can confirm
Before and after
Your idea in. A rule-by-rule check back.
I'm a senior in marine biology. I want to find which microbes help corals survive marine heatwaves, so reef restoration projects can pick heat-tolerant corals to plant. I spent two summers sampling reefs in the Florida Keys.
Check these points first Applicant stage · Clear. You say you are a senior. Degree program · Check. Confirm your graduate program is research-based with a thesis. Conservation practice · Check. "so reef restoration projects can pick heat-tolerant corals" makes restoration the goal. Best fit: Life Sciences · Microbial Biology, Ecology. Due Monday, October 19, 2026, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Reframe: lead with how coral microbes change a coral's heat tolerance, and drop restoration as the goal.
River checks your words against NSF's published rules. It is not an official answer, and NSF makes the final call.
Why it works
Is my research idea eligible for the GRFP this year?
The NSF GRFP eligibility checker reads your research idea against the written rules in the 2026–27 solicitation. Paste a few sentences or drop a draft. River checks your stage, your degree program, your area of study and your proposed research. Each rule is quoted word for word with a plain status beside it. Then it names the Major Field of Study and two subfields that fit best, and that field's deadline. NSF decides eligibility; this shows you where your idea stands first.
A mistake here ends an application before anyone reads it. NSF says that each year "hundreds of applications are determined to be ineligible" and returned without review (NSF). The rules also moved this cycle. STEM Education and Learning Research is no longer a major field. Counseling psychology joined the ineligible programs, and research on conservation practice or natural resource management is now excluded. The solicitation also says outright: "Second-year graduate students are not eligible to apply" (NSF 26-526).
Run it before you draft, or before you choose a field in Research.gov. If your idea comes back clear, the research proposal writer turns it into a two-page plan, and the personal statement writer builds the other statement from your CV. Letters are due first, on October 16, so ask your writers early with the letter request tool. The GRFP checklist counts every task back from your deadline, and the NSF GRFP hub has every tool in the kit.
What lands in your doc
What's in your eligibility check
- A one-line verdict on top: Looks eligible, Check these points first, or Not eligible as written
- Each NSF rule quoted word for word, with Clear, Check or Not eligible and one line why
- Your stage checked against the option you tap, or listed as something to confirm
- The best-fit Major Field of Study and two subfields, taken only from NSF's current list
- That field's 2026 deadline, and why the first field you pick decides your reviewers
- Honest ways to reframe a risky idea toward fundamental research, or a field that fits better
- Facts River can't see, like citizenship or enrollment dates, listed for you to confirm
How it works
From research idea to eligibility check
Paste your idea
Paste a few sentences about your research, or drop a draft statement as a PDF or Word file.
Tap your stage
Optionally tap where you are now, from senior to first-year graduate student, so your stage gets checked.
Get your check
The verdict, each rule with its status, and your best-fit field and deadline land in your doc.
Reframe or draft
If a point needs work, ask River for an honest reframe, or go straight to drafting your plan.
How to check GRFP eligibility yourself
Start with your stage on the deadline day. Seniors and bachelor's holders who have never enrolled in a graduate degree program "can apply unlimited times before enrolling in a graduate degree program." First-year graduate students get one try, in their first graduate program, with less than one academic year completed. Joint bachelor's-master's students also get one try. Then check the program you plan to attend. Only research-based master's and doctoral degrees in STEM that include a thesis qualify, so MBA, medicine and clinical psychology programs do not.
Next, find the sentence that says why your work matters; it carries your goal. Compare it with NSF's four exclusions: goals directly about human disease or health, applied crop production or food safety, advocacy for specific policies, and conservation practice or natural resource management. Then check the narrow exceptions. Bioengineering aimed at medical use can qualify, but only under Engineering and only when it mainly advances engineering knowledge. Biomaterials work qualifies when it furthers fundamental materials research. So can health-related goals that advance fundamental engineering, math, physical, computer or information sciences.
Last, choose your field from NSF's list, not your department's name. Find a subfield in the solicitation's appendix that names your work, because "Only the Major Fields of Study and the listed subfields are eligible." The first Major Field of Study you select sets your deadline and the reviewers who read you. An application filed under a field that doesn't match its research plan is "deemed ineligible and returned without review." If your work spans two fields, ask a faculty member which panel would judge it best.
Questions GRFP applicants ask
Common questions
Can second-year graduate students apply to the GRFP?
No. The 2026–27 solicitation states that "Second-year graduate students are not eligible to apply" (NSF 26-526). Graduate students may apply once, in the first year of their first graduate degree program, with less than one academic year completed. If you are a senior, or hold a bachelor's and have never enrolled in a graduate program, you can apply in any year before you start.
What research is not eligible for the GRFP?
NSF 26-526 excludes four kinds. The first is research whose goals are directly about human disease or health. The others are applied studies to maximize crop production or food safety, research meant to influence or advocate for specific policies, and research on conservation practice or natural resource management. Narrow exceptions cover bioengineering filed under Engineering, fundamental materials research, and work that advances fundamental engineering, math, physical, computer or information sciences.
Which fields of study are eligible for 2026–27?
Ten Major Fields of Study: Chemistry; Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering; Engineering; Geosciences; Life Sciences; Materials Research; Mathematical Sciences; Physics and Astronomy; Psychology; and Social Sciences. STEM Education and Learning Research was removed this cycle. Only the subfields on NSF's list count, and every field now includes Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Information Science and Computationally Intensive Research.
Does the field I pick change my GRFP deadline?
Yes. The first Major Field of Study you select sets your deadline and the panel that reviews you. Life Sciences is due Monday, October 19, 2026. Engineering is due Thursday, October 22. Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics and Astronomy are due Friday, October 23. The other four fields are due Tuesday, October 20. Every deadline is 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Is River's check an official eligibility decision?
No. River compares your words with the rules NSF publishes and shows where your idea stands, so you can fix it or ask early. NSF makes every eligibility decision. For a question about your own case, use NSF's GRFP contact page, and talk to a faculty member or advisor, which the solicitation itself recommends.
Is my research idea used to train AI?
No. River's privacy policy says nothing you type or upload is used to train AI models, and River's contracts with its AI providers stop them from training on it as well. Your idea and your eligibility check stay in your private workspace, and you can edit or delete either one whenever you like.
Your next step
More for your GRFP application
Know where your idea stands before you write two pages
Paste your idea or drop a draft. Every check quotes NSF's own rule, so you can read exactly what it says.