Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

1. The degree to which the proposal clearly establishes that the proposed program of graduate training will result in the development of outstanding scientific/professional expertise related to the national need area and in a reasonable period of time; 2. the degree to which the proposed program of study reflects special features such as a combination-disciplinary, approach (inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary or cross-disciplinary), a unique collateral specialization in a related discipline, experimental learning opportunities, a unique mentoring program, seminars, or a multi-university collaborative approach; 3. the degree to which the proposal establishes that the institution's faculty, facilities and equipment, instructional support resources, and other attributes are excellent for providing outstanding graduate study and research at the forefront of science and technology related to the chosen area of national need; 4. the degree to which the institution's plans and procedures for recruitment and selection of academically outstanding fellows and for monitoring and facilitating fellow's progress through a program of study reflect excellence as documented in the proposal; 5. the degree to which supporting summary data substantiate program quality in the targeted national need area; and 6. the quality of the proposal as reflected by its substantive content, organization, clarity, and accuracy; 7. any additional evaluation criteria as cited in the annual program announcement published in the Federal Register.