Sagan Fellowship Program

Sagan Fellowship Program is sponsored by NASA Astrobiology Program. This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

Career Funding | Astrobiology This website is currently being migrated. For the most up-to-date astrobiology news, resources, and community announcements, please visit our new home at science. nasa.

gov/astrobiology NASA Summer Programs, Scholarships, Fellowships, and Special Programs Undergraduate Opportunities Postdoctoral Opportunities Undergraduate Opportunities NASA Astrobiology Early Career Collaboration Award: The Astrobiology Early Career Collaboration Award offers research-related travel support for undergraduate, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior scientists.

Applicants are encouraged to use these resources to circulate among two or more laboratories supported by the NASA Astrobiology Program, however any travel that is critical for the applicant’s research will be considered.

One Stop Shopping Initiative ( OSSI ) Recruiting NASA Interns, Fellows, and Scholars: OSSI is a NASA -wide system for the recruitment, application, selection and career development of undergraduate and graduate students primarily in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. Opportunities for students in other disciplines are available. You can download the OSSI flier here.

NASA ’s Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program: Undergraduates majoring in geology or related fields take part in an 8-week summer internship program, in which qualified students get to work with a NASA -funded planetary scientist at the scientist’s home institution.

SETI Institute Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates ( REU ) Program: A competitively selected program designed to support current sophomore and junior undergraduate students to work with scientists at the SETI Institute and at the nearby NASA Ames Research Center on projects spanning the field of astrobiology from microbiology to observational astronomy.

The Lunar and Planetary Science Summer Intern Program: The Lunar and Planetary Institute invites undergraduates with at least 50 semester hours of credit to experience cutting-edge research working one-on-one with a scientist at the LPI or at the NASA Johnson Space Center on a research project of current interest in lunar and planetary science.

The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project: The project contributes to the nation’s science enterprise by funding research, education, and public service projects through a national network of 52 university-based Space Grant consortia.

The consortia fund graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships for students pursuing careers in science, mathematics, engineering and technology, or STEM , as well as curriculum enhancement and faculty development. NASA Pathways Intern Employment Program ( IEP ) : NASA Pathways Programs provide opportunities for students and recent graduates to be considered for Federal employment.

International Summer School in Astrobiology : The Josep Comas i Solà International Astrobiology Summer School is co-sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Program and the Centro de Astrobiologia.

Held annually in Santander, Spain, the week-long program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows provides lectures from international experts, round-table discussions, student projects, night-sky observations, and a half-day field trip to a nearby site of astrobiological interest.

The Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology : The American Philosophical Society and the NASA Astrobiology Program have partnered to promote the continued exploration of the world around us through a program of research grants in support of astrobiological field studies undertaken by graduate students, postdocs, and early-career scientists and scholars who are affiliated with U.S. institutions.

NASA Astrobiology Early Career Collaboration Award : The Astrobiology Early Career Collaboration Award offers research-related travel support for undergraduate, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior scientists affiliated with U.S. institutions.

Applicants are encouraged to use these resources to circulate among two or more laboratories supported by the NASA Astrobiology Program, however any travel that is critical for the applicant’s research will be considered. NASA Pathways Intern Employment Program ( IEP ): NASA Pathways Programs provide opportunities for students and recent graduates to be considered for Federal employment.

NASA Fellowship Activity: The NASA Fellowship Activity seeks student authored and independently conceived graduate research proposals. The purpose of the NASA Fellowship Activity is to support the vitality and diversity of the STEM workforce of NASA and the United States by training and funding graduate students during their STEM academic endeavors and providing access to NASA , its content, unique facilities, and STEM experts.

NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship ( NESSF ) program: A program that supports graduate students in basic and applied research in Earth and space science. Awards of $30,000 per year are made for up to three years.

NASA Space Technology Research Fellowships ( NSTRF ): U.S. citizen or permanent resident students that have applied to, have been admitted to, or are already enrolled in, a full-time Master’s or Doctoral degree program at accredited U.S. universities are eligible to apply.

The National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. Fellowship: GEM assists underrepresented minority students in obtaining M. S. degrees in engineering and the natural and physical sciences.

The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project: The project contributes to the nation’s science enterprise by funding research, education, and public service projects through a national network of 52 university-based Space Grant consortia.

The consortia fund graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships for students pursuing careers in science, mathematics, engineering and technology, or STEM , as well as curriculum enhancement and faculty development.

International Space University: The International Space University provides graduate-level training to the future leaders of the emerging global space community at its Central Campus in Strasbourg, France, and at locations around the world.

Postdoctoral Opportunities: International Summer School in Astrobiology : The Josep Comas i Solà International Astrobiology Summer School is co-sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Program and the Centro de Astrobiologia.

Held annually in Santander, Spain, the week-long program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows provides lectures from international experts, round-table discussions, student projects, night-sky observations, and a half-day field trip to a nearby site of astrobiological interest.

The NASA Postdoctoral Program ( NPP ): One to three year post-doctoral fellowships for highly talented national and international individuals to engage in research at NASA Centers, or at a NASA -affiliated research institution. There are also opportunities via this program to perform science administration work at NASA Headquarters.

Although primarily for recent doctoral graduates, ‘senior’ NPP fellowships can also be awarded to researchers who have been active in their field for a substantial amount of time. Hubble Fellowships: The Hubble Postdoctoral Fellowship Program supports outstanding postdoctoral scientists whose research is broadly related to NASA Cosmic Origins scientific goals as addressed by any of the missions in that program.

The research supported by the Hubble Fellowship Program may be theoretical, observational, or instrumental. The fellowships are tenable at U.S. host institutions of the fellows’ choice, subject to a maximum of one new fellow per host institution per year. The duration of the fellowship is up to three years: an initial one-year appointment, and two annual renewals contingent on satisfactory performance and availability of NASA funds.

Sagan Fellowship Program: The Sagan Fellowship Program supports outstanding recent postdoctoral scientists to conduct independent research that is broadly related to the science goals of the NASA Exoplanet Exploration area. The primary goal of missions within this program is to discover and characterize planetary systems and Earth-like planets around nearby stars.

Fellowship recipients receive financial support to conduct research at a host institution in the US for a period of up to three years (subject to annual review and availability of funds from NASA ). Einstein Fellowship: The Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship program awards Fellowships to recent Ph. D.

s in astronomy, physics, and related disciplines. Einstein Fellows hold their appointments at a Host Institution in the U.S. for research that is broadly related to the science goals of the NASA Physics of the Cosmos program. The proposed research may be observational, instrumental, theoretical, archival or study sources from these missions at other wavelengths.

The Fellowship duration is three years (subject to review after the second year and to availability of funds from NASA ).

Roman Fellowship: The Roman Technology Fellowship in Astrophysics ( RTF ) program provides early career researchers the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to lead astrophysics flight instruments/projects and become principal investigators (PIs) of future astrophysics missions; to develop innovative technologies that have the potential to enable major scientific breakthroughs; and to foster new talent by putting early-career instrument builders on a trajectory towards long-term positions.

The Fellowship duration is one to five years (subject to a peer review process and availability of funds from NASA ).