Reference Writers

Reference Writers

Reference letters are a key component of a strong application package. The most effective reference letters provide detailed and specific information about how an applicant meets the NSF Merit Review Criteria of Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts.

The reference letter should include comments on the applicant’s potential for contributing to a globally engaged United States science and engineering workforce, statements about the applicant’s academic potential and prior research experiences, statements about the applicant’s proposed research, and any other information to enable reviewers to evaluate the application according to the NSF Merit Review Criteria.

Once the applicant completes the appropriate section of their GRFP application, reference writers will receive a system-generated email detailing the requirements for the letter and details and instructions to access the Research.gov Reference Letter Submission (RLS) system. Additional detail on the specific steps reference writers need to take to submit a reference letter for an application can be found in the NSF GRFP Reference Letter Submission Guide.

All GRFP reference letters are submitted using the Research.gov RLS system. All reference letters must be submitted to NSF by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the annual deadline in October.

As of 2024-25, the reference letter deadline is before the application deadline. Applicants will be unable to submit applications without the required number of reference letters.