Center for AstroPhysical Surveys (CAPS) Graduate Fellowship

Overview:

The Center for AstroPhysical Surveys (CAPS) at the University of Illinois’ National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) is pleased to announce the annual Graduate Student Fellowship competition. This one-year fellowship is meant to support graduate research on topics of direct relevance to CAPS (see CAPS mission statement). The fellowships will start on August 25, 2025 (Fall 2025 semester) and run for 1 year (through Summer 2026). Applications must include a brief 2-page research proposal, which includes a specific research plan along with scientific context, a CV, a list of publications, and two letters of recommendation that must be submitted by Monday, May 19, 2025. 

We will be awarding fellowships devoted exclusively to CAPS or devoted to theoretical work with synergistic overlap between CAPS and the Illinois Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe (see ICASU mission statement). We also anticipate offering two SkAI Institute fellowships in support of approved SkAI projects. If you are applying for a SkAI-supported fellowship, please name identify the approved SkAI project that your work is synergistic with and obtain at least one of your letters of reference from the SkAI Lead PIs of that project. The evaluation criteria for the pure CAPS fellowships will be based on scientific merit and relevance to astrophysical survey projects on campus. The evaluation criteria for the joint CAPS-ICASU fellowship will also be based on scientific merit, but will put special emphasis on theory proposals that can strengthen the mission of both centers. 

Details of the Fellowship:

The graduate fellowship includes one year (12 months) of funding at $35k/yr for a stipend (with tuition remission) starting Fall 2025 and extending through Summer 2026. There will be computing resources available for the graduate fellows. There will also be travel funds available for work related to NCSA survey science projects.

Application: Graduate Fellowships

Any questions can be directed to Prof. Joaquin Vieira (jvieira@illinois.edu)