PSGC Statewide Undergraduate Scholarship Application Guide 2026–2027: Requirements & Deadline (USA)

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Overview

The PSGC Statewide Undergraduate Scholarship is a $4,000 award funded through NASA’s Congressionally-supported National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, administered in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium (PSGC) out of Penn State’s University Park campus. It’s built for one specific purpose: identifying and supporting rising junior and senior undergraduates in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — who are likely to pursue careers in areas of interest to NASA.

Unlike a lot of general merit scholarships, this one isn’t tied to a single university. Any student enrolled full-time at an accredited Pennsylvania college or university is eligible to apply, and past recipients have come from a wide range of PA schools — Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, Temple, Villanova, Bucknell, Gannon, Mansfield, Kutztown, and many others. For the 2026–2027 cycle, the award remains a one-year, non-renewable scholarship, meaning winners need to reapply if they want to be considered again in a subsequent eligible year.

Because the program is funded through a federal NASA appropriation, all scholarship awards are explicitly contingent on available funding — worth keeping in mind, since this isn’t a permanently endowed private fund immune to federal budget cycles.

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Nationality & Residency Requirements

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens. This requirement is stated directly and without exception on PSGC’s official eligibility criteria, tied to NASA’s broader Space Grant Program objective of training U.S. citizens for aerospace careers.
• There’s no additional Pennsylvania residency requirement in the traditional sense — what matters is that you’re enrolled full-time at an accredited Pennsylvania college or university, regardless of which state you consider your home residence.
• No international-student or permanent-resident pathway is published; this is a citizens-only federal-adjacent program.

Academic & GPA Eligibility Requirements

The PSGC Statewide Undergraduate Scholarship GPA requirement and broader eligibility rules break down as follows:

• No stated GPA minimum: PSGC’s published criteria describe applicants as “outstanding” and “rising stars” in STEM rather than setting a specific GPA cutoff — so a strong academic record matters, but there’s no published number like a 3.0 or 3.5 threshold to clear.
• Class standing is strict: You must be entering your junior or senior year in the upcoming fall — first-year students, sophomores, and graduate students are not eligible, and this is one of the more rigid class-standing rules among comparably sized state scholarship programs.
• Major restriction: You must be enrolled in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) program, and be likely to pursue a career in an area of interest to NASA — a somewhat broader framing than “must major in aerospace,” since past winners have included biochemistry, geology, meteorology, and mathematics majors alongside engineering and physics students.
• Non-renewable, one award cycle at a time (the differentiator most guides skip): Because the award doesn’t renew, a student is not locked out from winning it twice across separate eligible years — for example, once as a rising junior and again as a rising senior — but each year requires a completely new, separately evaluated application. Don’t assume a prior win carries forward.
• Underrepresented-student consideration: Independent scholarship directories note that PSGC has historically shown preference toward underrepresented students in STEM fields as part of its selection process, alongside academic merit.

Application Materials Needed

Per PSGC’s official application requirements, a complete submission must include:

1. The completed online application through PSGC’s application portal.
2. Letters of recommendation.
3. A resume.
4. Transcripts documenting academic performance to date.

PSGC explicitly states that all supporting materials must be included for an application to be considered complete — partial applications are not reviewed as pending or given follow-up requests.

Step-by-Step How to Apply

1. Confirm your class standing early. You must be a rising junior or senior for the upcoming fall term — check this before investing time in the rest of the application.
2. Verify your enrollment status and major align with a STEM program at an accredited Pennsylvania college or university.
3. Mark the application window, which opens November 15 and closes March 1 — a longer runway than many scholarships, so there’s no reason to rush a weak application together at the last minute.
4. Request your letters of recommendation early, since faculty and advisor schedules can be tight heading into spring.
5. Prepare your resume and transcripts alongside your recommendation letters so all required materials are ready to submit together.
6. Complete the online application at PSGC’s official application portal, making sure every required attachment is uploaded before submitting — incomplete applications won’t be considered.
7. Watch for an email notification in June, when PSGC announces award decisions for the upcoming academic year.

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Frequently Asked Questions

For more local grants, merit awards, and regional funding across all 50 states, check out our master USA State Scholarships Directory.

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