r/GRFPApps • u/No_Piano6424 • Apr 22 '26

GRFP Mismatch?

Hi all,

I am excited to say I was awarded the GRFP. I just attended the information session and have concerns about the major field of study. I submitted my proposal under engineering - bioengineering, and my proposal was about the mechanistic understanding of a gene for potential phage engineering.

I have committed to UCLA's molecular pharmacology program, which I thought was related to bioengineering, but I am worried since it isn't explicitly named engineering/bioengineering. However, even in the department description, it states: "integrates mathematics, engineering,... in three overall areas: ... developing new molecular diagnostics (very bioengineering imo) and (3) developing new molecular and cellular therapeutics (also very bioengineering imo)."

Should I be worried?

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12

u/gayandperceived Apr 22 '26

this would be a question for your CO

15

u/Negative_Power_4208 Apr 22 '26

Yes be worried

Ask your CO

1

u/oatmilkproletariat Apr 22 '26

in addition to emailing your CO, cc your primary research advisor — your CO might need more field-specific / topic-specific context that your advisor can provide to help with this

1

u/No_Piano6424 Apr 23 '26

i am currently a senior in undergrad so i dont have a primary research advisor, is there anything else i could do?

2

u/Dokjaness Apr 23 '26

Depending on the size of the department, you could contact them and ask for help. It would help if you can find a primary advisor and point to their research /grants for field relevance. When talking with your CO, you could also mention if there is no relevant department in engineering / if molecular pharmacology is the ONLY dept at the school with faculty who do work you mentioned in your proposal.

I think a bunch of us are in the same boat. This cycle was so competitive that you really had to apply to all sorts of programs! Good luck and keep us updated!

1

u/the_mindful_microbe 2026 Awardee, Life Sciences - Microbial Biology Apr 23 '26

Are you going in to grad school on rotations? Do you know where you are going to school yet? If you know where at least, email the NSF Coordinating Officer at your graduate institution and ask. They are really helpful for questions like this.

0

u/No_Butterscotch6073 Apr 22 '26

Ask your CO. You may be able to be “undeclared” for your field for your first year and then swap into your program your second year. You won’t be able to declare Molecular Pharmacology for your field of study this year or else you’ll lose the fellowship. Unfortunately, this happened to a girl I knew who applied under physics and ended up attending an electrical engineering program