The James Van Allen Natural Sciences Fellowship is a competitive award designed to encourage and support scholarly work in the physical, natural, and mathematical sciences. The Van Allen Natural Science Fellowship is awarded in the fall of odd-numbered years (e.g., 2013, 2015) for use in the subsequent fiscal year (e.g., 2014-15).

Each fellowship provides the recipient a stipend of $15,000 that can be used in any of the following ways:

1. As a stipend for developmental activities conducted during the summer.
2. To appoint a graduate research assistant to facilitate the recipient's scholarly activities during the academic year or some portion thereof.
3. To reimburse a graduate teaching assistant or visiting faculty member for instructional activities that ordinarily would be the responsibility of the award recipient, during the summer or during a period of the academic year, thereby increasing the amount of time the recipient can devote to developmental activities.
4. To obtain materials, supplies, and equipment or to support travel related to the proposed developmental activities.
5. Any combination of the above.

The proposed use of the stipend must be identified and justified at the time the application is submitted and must be approved by the applicant's DEO and dean. The stipend must be expended during the fiscal year following receipt of the award. If the stipend is used as salary for the faculty member, graduate research assistant or replacement instructor, taxes and fringe benefits also will be paid from the award. The developmental activity supported by these fellowships can take any of a variety of forms including research, artistic creation, professional writing, conference or workshop development, or scholarly activity of significant and promising quality.

Tenure or Clinical Track assistant, associate, and full professors with part- or full-time appointments are eligible to apply for a faculty fellowship. No faculty member may receive any one fellowship more than once. To apply, see the instructions on the Apply for an Award page. 

Applications are due to the DEO by Oct. 3, 2025. 
DEO approval is due to the Dean by Oct. 20, 2025. 

Note: this memo was also published on Sept. 10, 2025.