• In order to be considered for a Sloan Research Fellowship, a candidate must have a letter of nomination from a department head or other senior researcher. Submissions unaccompanied by a nomination letter from a senior researcher are not accepted.
• More than one candidate from a department may be nominated per fellowship field, but no more than three.

Nomination Letters and Letters of Support are important elements of the selection process and are read carefully by Selection Committees. The letters allow nominators and support writers to give Committee members insight about nominees that is not present in their other application materials (CV, publication list, etc.). Selection Committees recommend that letters of support be submitted by someone who can speak objectively and knowledgeably about the quality and significance of a nominee’s work. Letters submitted by co-authors, personal associates, or professional mentors are, in this sense, less useful to Selection Committees than letters submitted by those with more professional distance from a nominee’s work.     

The Sloan Research Fellowship Program recognizes and rewards outstanding early-career faculty who have the potential to revolutionize their fields of study. Successful candidates for a Fellowship generally have a strong record of significant independent research accomplishments that demonstrate creativity and the potential to become future leaders in the scientific community. Nominated candidates are normally several years past the completion of their Ph.D. in order to accumulate a competitive record of independent, significant research.

In keeping with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's longstanding support of underrepresented scholars in the sciences, the Foundation strongly encourages the nomination of qualified Black, Latinx, Native American, Alaska Native and women candidates.

How to Submit Nomination Materials

All materials must be uploaded and submitted through the Foundation’s online application portal.  See the Apply page for more information.  

Nominations are reviewed and candidates selected by an independent selection committee of distinguished scientists in each eligible field.

Fellows are selected on the basis of their independent research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in the scientific community through their contributions to their field.

The nomination period for the 2025 Sloan Research Fellowships has closed.  Fellowship awardees are expected to be announced in Feburary 2025.

See a list of all past members of the Selection Committees.

The above terms and conditions are spelled out in more detail in the formal fellowship agreement. Please see the For Current Fellows tab for more information.