Choosing a Primary Field

Choosing an appropriate field of study is a very important consideration for your GRFP application, because it determines which panel will evaluate your application. 

Each primary field is associated with a specific panel, and all applications with that primary field designation are automatically routed to the appropriate associated panel.

About GRFP Panels and Primary Fields

All GRFP applications are reviewed independently by two or more reviewers in disciplinary panels. The panels are groupings of related fields of study, and are made up of knowledge experts in those fields, many of whom have multi-disciplinary expertise. Awards are allocated in proportion to the applicant pool as divided into panels. If, for example, 5% of the applicant pool is reviewed by the Bioengineering panel, approximately 5% of the awards will be allocated for applicants in the Bioengineering panel.

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Where do I select my primary field?

You can select your primary field in the Proposed Graduate Program section of the GRFP application.

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What if I'm not sure which primary field to select?

Because your primary field will determine your panel, you should select the field of study that most closely matches your proposed graduate research topic. This might not be the same as your graduate department designation.

If you are unsure which field to select, you should consult with your academic advisor or another faculty member who is familiar with your research and could advise you about the most appropriate choice. A list of all NSF-supported fields is available in the program solicitation, and a list of last year's fields arranged by panel is available at the bottom of this page as well as the Proposed Graduate Program section of the GRFP application module.

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What if my field is interdisciplinary?

Your application will be assigned to the field of study you list first in the Proposed Graduate Program section.  For example, if you list the following fields of study:

Life Sciences - Evolutionary Biology - 50%

Life Sciences - Animal Behavior - 50%

Your application would be assigned to the Genetics and Evolutionary Biology panel.

Therefore, you should choose which field you list first carefully, with consideration of which panel has the most appropriate component fields.

All interdisciplinary applications are clearly marked as such during the review process. Many panelists have interdisciplinary expertise and are capable of evaluating interdisciplinary applications. Additionally, if necessary, the panel can transfer your application to another panel for either a full review or for commentary and feedback.

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What if I have an "other" field of study?

"Other" fields of study are automatically assigned to a specific panel, depending on your gross field. In 2008, those panels were Chemistry 2; Computer Science 2; Aerospace & Other Engieering Fields; Geosciences; Plant & Other Life Sciences; Mathematical Sciences; Physics 2; Psychology 1; and Political Science, Geography and History of Science.

Choosing an "other" field of study will cause your application to be automatically assigned to a panel exactly like choosing any other field of study. There is no preliminary review process that assigns applications with "other" fields to a panel based on the specific proposed graduate study topic.

In other words, there is no tactical advantage to choosing an "other" field. In fact, it can be detrimental to select "other" when one of the listed fields would describe your general field of study, if your gross field is one that has multiple panels.

For example, if you specified "Engineering -- other -- Environmental Design" rather than "Engineering -- Environmental", your application would be routed to the Aerospace & Other Engineering panel, not the Civil & Environmental Engineering Panel. In such a case, it is likely that the panelists would transfer it, but it is better to avoid the need for transfers in the first place. Transfers should be limited to cases where another panel's input is unavoidably needed, such as true interdisciplinary applications where there is no panelist with sufficient cross-disciplinary expertise on the original panel.

The field of study describes the general field of your proposed graduate study,  not necessarily the specific topic. If possible, applicants are encouraged to pick one of the specified fields of study, rather than an "other" field. "Other" fields should be reserved for cases where none of the listed fields of study generally covers your proposed graduate study

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Below are a list of the panels and component fields of study from the 2008 GRFP. While it is possible that the 2009 panel compositions might not be exactly the same, it is currently expected to be very similar, so the list below should serve as a reliable guide for the 2009 panels.

Gross Field:

• Chemistry
• Computer and Information Sciences & Engineering
• Engineering
• Geosciences
• Life Sciences
• Mathematical Sciences
• Physics & Astronomy
• Psychology
• Social Sciences

CHEMISTRY

CHEMISTRY 1

• 5230 Chemistry, Analytical
• 5290 Chemistry, Inorganic
• 5350 Chemistry, Physical
• 5331 Chemistry, Polymer
• 5370 Chemistry, Theoretical 

CHEMISTRY 2

• 5250 Chemistry, Bio-inorganic
• 5240 Chemistry, Bio-organic
• 5260 Chemistry, Biophysical
• 9994 Chemistry, Environmental
• 5330 Chemistry, Organic

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COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES & ENGINEERING 

COMPUTER SCIENCE 1

• 0006 CISE, Artificial Intelligence (including Robotics, Computer Vision and Human Language Processing)
• 7210 CISE, Computer Science - Languages and Systems
• 7260 CISE, Human Computer Interaction
• 7290 CISE, Networks and Communications 

COMPUTER SCIENCE 2

• 0012 CISE, Computer Architecture and Grids
• 0007 CISE, Computer Science - Theoretical Foundations
• 7270 CISE, Computer Systems Design (including Signal Processing)
• 0008 CISE, Databases Information Retrieval and Web Search
• 0009 CISE, Graphics and Visualization
• 0013 CISE, Information and Security Assurance
• 7250 CISE, Information Technology and Organizations
• 0011 CISE, Operating Systems and Middleware
• 0010 CISE, Scientific Computing and Informatics
• 7220 CISE, Software Engineering

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ENGINEERING

AEROSPACE & OTHER ENGINEERING FIELDS

• 6210 Engineering, Aeronautical and Aerospace
• 6388 Engineering, Computer Engineering
• 6741 Engineering, Energy
• 6740 Engineering, Nuclear
• 6585 Engineering, Systems Engineering

BIOENGINEERING

• 6250 Engineering, Bioengineering and Biomedical

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

• 6330 Engineering, Chemical
• 6480 Engineering, Polymer 

CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

• 6240 Engineering, Agricultural
• 6350 Engineering, Civil
• 9996 Engineering, Environmental
• 6245 Engineering, Ocean 

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

• 6390 Engineering, Electrical and Electronic 

MATERIALS ENGINEERING

• 6580 Engineering, Industrial
• 6476 Engineering, Materials
• 6660 Engineering, Metallurgical
• 6716 Engineering, Petroleum 

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

• 6470 Engineering, Engineering Mechanics
• 6532 Engineering, Engineering Science
• 6620 Engineering, Mechanical

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GEOSCIENCES

GEOSCIENCES: 04

• 5710 Geosciences, Aeronomy
• 5720 Geosciences, Atmospheric Chemistry
• 5750 Geosciences, Chemical Oceanography
• 5770 Geosciences, Climate Dynamics
• 5740 Geosciences, Geochemistry
• 5780 Geosciences, Geology
• 5800 Geosciences, Geophysics
• 5810 Geosciences, Hydrologic Sciences
• 5820 Geosciences, Large-scale Dynamics Meteorology
• 5830 Geosciences, Magnetospheric Physics
• 5840 Geosciences, Marine Geology and Geophysics
• 5850 Geosciences, Mesoscale Dynamic Meteorology
• 5870 Geosciences, Paleoclimate
• 5860 Geosciences, Paleontology
• 5880 Geosciences, Physical Meteorology
• 7799 Geosciences, Physical Oceanography
• 5890 Geosciences, Solar-Terrestrial

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LIFE SCIENCES

ANIMAL SCIENCES

• 4530 Animal Behavior
• 4531 Animal Science
• 4570 Entomology
• 4699 Zoology 

BIOCHEMISTRY, BIOPHYSICS & STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY

• 0999 Life Sciences, Biochemistry
• 1299 Life Sciences, Biophysics
• 1890 Life Sciences, Nutrition
• 2970 Life Sciences, Pharmacology
• 1822 Life Sciences, Structural Biology 

ECOLOGY

• 1830 Life Sciences, Ecology 

ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE SCIENCES

• 1870 Life Sciences, Biological Oceanography
• 9992 Life Sciences, Environmental Sciences
• 4590 Life Sciences, Fish and Wildlife
• 0250 Life Sciences, Forestry
• 1874 Life Sciences, Marine Biology 

GENETICS & EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

• 1850 Life Sciences, Evolutionary Biology
• 2499 Life Sciences, Genetics 

MICROBIOLOGY & CELL BIOLOGY

• 1820 Life Sciences, Cell Biology
• 1860 Life Sciences, Computational Biology
• 3293 Life Sciences, Immunology
• 3299 Life Sciences, Microbiology
• 3290 Life Sciences, Virology 

MOLECULAR & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

• 1840 Life Sciences, Developmental Biology
• 1880 Life Sciences, Molecular Biology 

NEUROSCIENCES & PHYSIOLOGY

• 4510 Life Sciences, Anatomy
• 1829 Life Sciences, Neurosciences
• 3899 Life Sciences, Physiology 

PLANT & OTHER LIFE SCIENCES

• 0399 Agriculture
• 0140 Agronomy
• 1599 Botany (including Plant Physiology)
• 0300 Horticulture
• 1545 Plant Pathology
• 4540 Soil Science

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MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

• 7010 Mathematical Sciences, Algebra or Number Theory
• 7030 Mathematical Sciences, Analysis
• 7050 Mathematical Sciences, App. of Math. (incl. Biomet. & Biostat.)
• 7110 Mathematical Sciences, Geometry
• 7130 Mathematical Sciences, Logic or Foundations of Mathematic
• 7140 Mathematical Sciences, Operations Research
• 7150 Mathematical Sciences, Probability and Statistics
• 7170 Mathematical Sciences, Topology

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PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY

PHYSICS 1 AND ASTRONOMY

• 4999 Physics and Astronomy, Astronomy
• 4930 Physics and Astronomy, Astrophysics
• 8040 Physics and Astronomy, Atomic and Molecular
• 8160 Physics and Astronomy, Nuclear
• 8180 Physics and Astronomy, Optics
• 8210 Physics and Astronomy, Plasma 

PHYSICS 2

• 8050 Physics and Astronomy, Condensed Matter Physics
• 8110 Physics and Astronomy, Particle Physics
• 8200 Physics and Astronomy, Physics of Fluids
• 8220 Physics and Astronomy, Solid State
• 8260 Physics and Astronomy, Theoretical Physics

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PSYCHOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGY 1: 07

• 4125 Psychology, Cognitive
• 4120 Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
• 0006 Psychology, Computational Psychology
• 4150 Psychology, Experimental or Comparative
• 4155 Psychology, Neuropsychology
• 4165 Psychology, Perception and Psychophysics
• 4158 Psychology, Physiological
• 4162 Psychology, Quantitative 

PSYCHOLOGY 2

• 4130 Psychology, Developmental
• 4189 Psychology, Industrial/Organizational
• 4170 Psychology, Personality and Individual Differences
• 0007 Psychology, Psycholinguistics
• 4190 Psychology, Social

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SOCIAL SCIENCES

ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHEOLOGY

• 0610 Social Sciences, Archaeology
• 0696 Social Sciences, Medical Anthropology
• 0697 Social Sciences, Physical Anthropology 

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS

• 0695 Social Sciences, Cultural Anthropology
• 0694 Social Sciences, Linguistic Anthropology
• 9299 Social Sciences, Linguistics 

ECONOMICS

• 0011 Social Sciences, Cliometric History
• 0006 Social Sciences, Decision Making
• 0013 Social Sciences, Economics (except Business Administration)
• 0009 Social Sciences, Econometrics
• 0007 Social Sciences, Risk Analysis 

POLITICAL SCIENCE, GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY OF SCIENCE

• 8799 Social Sciences, Geography
• 9099 Social Sciences, History of Science
• 9499 Social Sciences, International Relations
• 0008 Social Sciences, Law and Social Science
• 9098 Social Sciences, Philosophy of Science
• 9399 Social Sciences, Political Science 

SOCIOLOGY & PUBLIC POLICY

• 0010 Social Sciences, Communications
• 9818 Social Sciences, Demography
• 9799 Social Sciences, Public Policy
• 0012 Social Sciences, Science Policy
• 0014 Social Sciences, Sociology (except Social Work)
• 9699 Social Sciences, Urban and Regional Planning

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Fellow Melissa Garren from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California – San Diego collects sediment samples beneath coastal milkfish (chanos chanos) farms in Bolinao, Republic of the Philippines.  Melissa studies how the microbes and nutrients added to the ocean by certain farming practices influence the neighboring coral reefs.  Through understanding the mechanisms by which fish farms negatively impact coral reefs, farming practices can be reformed so that mariculture and coral reefs can sustainably co-exist.