General Eligibility Criteria

Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, creed, color, age, sex, or national origin.

Education and Experience - Applicants to the Research Associateship Programs must have earned a Ph.D., Sc.D., M.D., D.V.M., or academically equivalent research doctorate before beginning tenure. You may apply before completing your degree; however, to begin an award, you must either 1) provide a copy of your diploma, or 2), if graduation has not yet taken place, have the graduate dean, registrar, or recorder of your university (not the department chairman or major professor) certify in writing, directly to the Associateship Programs Office, that you have met all requirements for the degree before the start of your tenure at the laboratory. The National Energy Technology Laboratory Methane Hydrates Fellowship Program (NETL/MHFP) supports highly qualified postgraduate students in the advancement of Methane Hydrate science by making awards to M.S., Ph.D., and Postdoctoral level candidates.

Citizenship - Citizenship requirements for the NRC Research Associateship Program vary depending on the sponsoring federal laboratory.  Applicants should refer to specific detail of citizenship requirements for the laboratory to which they are applying.

Level – The NRC makes Research Associateship awards at the Postdoctoral and Senior researcher level and Fellowship awards at the Masters, Doctorate and Postdoctoral levels. 

Postdoctoral Research Associateships are awarded to persons who have held the doctorate for less than five years at the time of application and are made initially for one or two years with a possibility for renewal for one or two additional years.  Applicants should refer to specific detail of tenure length for the laboratory to which they are applying. 

Senior Research Associateships are awarded to applicants who have held the doctorate five years or more at the time of application or to persons who hold a permanent appointment in academia, government, or industry and have research experience that has resulted in significant contributions and recognition as established investigators in their specialized fields. Although awards to Senior Research Associates are usually for one year, awards for periods of three months or longer may be considered. Since not all Research Associateship sponsors accept applications for Senior awards, applicants should check the detail of the particular program to which they are applying. 

Methane Hydrate Research Fellowship awards are made to carefully selected Master’s level, PhD level, and Postdoctoral level scientists and engineers in national competitions held two times each year. These awards provide opportunities that enable these scientists and engineers to increase their proficiency in conducting research on the subject of methane hydrates and advance the research program of NETL.  The research may be pursued at NETL labs, at other national or federal government labs, or at accredited universities.

Prior Affiliation with the Laboratory - A primary objective of the Associateship Programs is to provide a mechanism for new ideas and sources of stimulation to be brought to the sponsoring laboratory. Thus persons with recent prior affiliation with a specific laboratory may not be eligible to apply for an Associateship there.  Prior affiliation includes direct employment relationships either with the laboratory or with a contractor whose work is performed there. A long-term consulting relationship usually makes an applicant ineligible.  Research contracts with universities that provide support for graduate students or faculty who perform research on campus are not ordinarily considered to be disqualifying.

Security Clearance - Some awards are contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a National Agency Check (NAC) or other clearance processes. Please refer to the specific clearance information for the laboratory to which you are applying.  An unsatisfactory result from the investigation is cause to withdraw the Associateship award offer.

Reapplying to the Program - Former Associates must wait two years from the date of their termination to reapply (exception: FFP can reapply immediately.) Applicants who pass the review but are not offered an award may reapply during the next review cycle or any time thereafter. Applicants who do not pass the review must wait one year to reapply.
 

For program specific eligibility requirements, you must visit the webpage of the Participating Laboratory you are interested in applying to. Visit the list of Participating Laboratories.
 

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