Requesting recommendation letters

Reference letters for the 2027 competition are due Friday, October 16, 2026, by 8:00 p.m. ET, through the NSF Reference Letter System on Research.gov. Note that this is before your own application deadline, which falls between October 19 and 23 depending on your field.

Choosing and ranking your reference writers

You must name three reference writers. You may name up to five. Only the top three in your ranking are referenced by reviewers.

This gap leaves you room to maneuver. If one of your mentors is unreliable about deadlines, name a fourth and a fifth. Additionally, the reality of being at the beginning of your career is that sometimes you are subject to negative mentorship which you have little control over. In this case, you are afforded the opportunity to rank such recommenders lower on your application. Rest assured that you are not alone in navigating such politics.

How to select your references

The GRFP application is submitted typically at a transitional time in your career. Perhaps you have yet to join the lab where your intended project is being performed or you just started in the lab where your Research Statement is based. For this reason, selecting your recommenders can evoke some confusion, especially when tasked with ranking. Below would be the order that I would rank the recommenders.

Mentors who know you well and have worked with you extensively, and can speak to several of your attributes across both Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts.
The PI whose lab the proposed project would be conducted in — somewhere in the top three. This letter attests to the viability of the project and to your mentor’s willingness to invest in it.
Mentors outside your field who can strongly support Intellectual Merit — your ability to carry out the project and its methods.
Mentors outside your field who can strongly support Broader Impacts — your contribution to your community.

Modify this for your own circumstances. The most useful thing you can do is work backward from the essays: go through Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts, outline the experiences you intend to mention across both statements, and then choose your writers by how much of that list each of them shares. Regardless, the PI running the project you are proposing in your Research Statement still belongs in the top three recommenders that you submit.

One last thing to consider. From a prior reviewer of GRFP statements, I heard that it was largely preferential to have all of your recommenders have a PhD. This is because your recommenders should be able to testify towards your ability to conduct research successfully, which can primarily be judged by those who have engaged in research themselves.

The first email

Dear mentor,

A statement of good wishes.

I am writing to ask if you would be willing to write a letter of recommendation for my NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) application. The letter is due October 16, 2026, by 8:00 p.m. ET through the NSF’s online submission system.

As you know, my proposed research project focuses on… a two sentence brief description of your research proposal including major topics and methods.

If you are able to write this letter, I will send you current drafts of my research statement, personal statement, and anything else that would help. Please let me know if you need any additional information.

Thank you for your continued mentorship and support.

Thank you always,
Curtis Jackson

What to send once they say yes

Upon your mentor agreeing to write the reference letter for you, your follow up email should include the below information.

Links to current drafts of your personal statement and research proposal. Give each mentor their own copy of both, so their comments never collide with anyone else’s, and update those copies each time you finish an iteration. The folder structure for this is on Planning your application.
A copy of the Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts criteria. Prior to these lists, make sure to include a brief statement on what points from the Broader Impacts and Intellectual Merit that you are hoping they can comment on. In doing so, you are predigesting these lists and alleviating the burden from your mentor to guess which experience you would like them to reference. A copy of the original criteria will help them guide their discussions and may invoke them to add additional experiences that you yourself forgot to attribute significance to.
The NSF’s formatting requirements, so the letter is not disqualified on a technicality.

Below is an example follow-up email, which can act as a reference for your recommender a month from now, when they are compiling this letter last minute (I may be projecting).

Hello Mentor,

Thanks again for agreeing to write a letter for my NSF GRFP application! I wanted to send over some materials and information that might be helpful as you work on the letter.

Email Confirmation: Could you confirm which email I should submit to the NSF for this submission? Should I use: their email?

Application Materials: Here are links to current drafts of my application materials – I will try to update these as I keep refining my statements.

Personal Statement (linked)
Research Statement (linked)

I’ve also attached my CV to this email. Below this email, I have compiled the criteria of what the NSF looks for in this letter.

Important Deadline: Letters are due October 16, 2026, by 8:00 p.m. ET through the NSF Reference Letter System at https://www.research.gov/grfp/Login.do. The NSF recommends uploading at least an hour before the deadline to avoid any technical hiccups.

Please let me know if you need anything else from me or have any questions.

Thank you so much for your time and support with this!!

Curtis Jackson

NSF GRFP REFERENCE LETTER CRITERIA

Submission Requirements:

Reference letters are due October 16, 2026, by 8:00 p.m. ET
Letters must be submitted through the NSF Reference Letter System (https://www.research.gov/grfp/Login.do)
Upload at least one hour before the 8:00 p.m. ET deadline to avoid disqualification
No letters are accepted via email
For technical assistance: rgov@nsf.gov or 1-800-381-1532

Format Requirements:

Institutional or professional letterhead, if available;
SIGNED by the reference writer, including the name, professional title, department, and institution;
Two (2) page limit in PDF format;
Standard 8.5" x 11" page size;
11-point or higher Times New Roman font, and;
Single-spaced using normal (100%) single-line spacing.

Reference letters should address:

address the NSF Merit Review Criteria of Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts,
provide details explaining the nature of the letter-writer’s relationship to the applicant (including research advisor role),
comment on the applicant’s potential for contributing to a globally-engaged United States science and engineering workforce,
include statements about the applicant’s
- academic potential,
- prior research experiences,
- proposed research, and
provide any other information that will aid review panels in evaluating the application according to the NSF Merit Review Criteria.

Intellectual Merit: The Intellectual Merit criterion encompasses the potential to advance knowledge through one or more of the following:

Plan and conduct research
Work independently
Work as a part of a team
Interpret and communicate research (e.g., through publications, or presentations)
Take initiative
Think creatively
Solve problems
Persist and overcome challenges
The applicant’s demonstrated intellectual ability (as indicated by grades, coursework, awards, etc.)

Broader Impacts: The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes:

Increase participation in STEM
Improve STEM education in schools through outreach and mentoring
Increase public scientific literacy and public engagement with STEM through community outreach
Increase collaboration among academia, industry, and other types of organizations
Improve education and educator development – at any level – in STEM
Improve the well-being of individuals in society
Develop a globally competitive STEM workforce
Improve national security
Increase the economic competitiveness of the U.S.
Enhance infrastructure for research and education

If your statement drafts aren’t ready yet

If they agree to write a recommendation, but none of your materials are ready yet, this is an appropriate follow up email where you have the opportunity to set a personal deadline.

Hi Mentor,

Thank you for agreeing to write the letter! I really appreciate your support.

I still have a few people reviewing my statements, but I will send you more finalized drafts of both my research and personal statements by the end of… personal deadline, along with information about the letter submission process.

Thank you again,

Curtis Jackson

I hope this makes the references part of the application a little smoother.

For more guidance on compiling the application and the statements themselves, here are the additional guides which I have:

Writing your statements — on iteration & organizing drafts of your writing
Planning your application — selecting a lab for your research proposal & organizing your application