Recent Honors alum receives NSF fellowship
By William Lineberry
Honors College
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A Virginia Commonwealth University Honors College alum has been selected for the 2026 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, a prestigious national initiative that helps graduate students advance their studies in STEM-based disciplines.
The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000 and a cost-of-education allowance of $16,000 to the institution. Fellows must be pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree at an accredited institution.
“The success of these three remarkable alums and one current student underscores VCU’s national and international research prominence as a top 20% global university,” said Arturo P. Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and provost. “Underscoring our deep institutional commitment to supporting undergraduate and graduate student research through world-class mentorship and hands-on experiences, VCU is training the next generation of researchers who will solve tomorrow’s most complex challenges. Here at VCU, every Ram’s a researcher, and this recognition shows our students are competing at the highest levels of American science.”
The recent Honors College alum who received the award was:
- Madison Grove, a 2026 graduate of the VCU Honors College with a double major in physics and mathematical sciences from the College of Humanities and Sciences.
In total, VCU had four recipients. All recipients were from either the VCU College of Engineering or the College of Humanities and Sciences. Two are recents alums and one is a doctoral candidate.
The NSF recipients and honorable mentions used VCU’s National Scholarship Office, housed in the Honors College, to apply for the fellowship. The NSO assists students and alums with applying for prestigious national and international scholarships. To learn more about opportunities, visit the NSO website to schedule an appointment.
To learn more about the other NSF recipients, click here.