INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS

  A. GETTING STARTED

1. What are the qualifications for interested applicants?
The scholarship award is available to both undergraduates and graduates. Undergraduate applicants must be junior standing or above when applying and must be of senior standing for that aca­demic year. Undergraduate and graduate students must be studying in mechanical engineering, material science or engineering, met­allurgical engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, or chemistry. The applicant must be attending an accredited college. There are no geographic limitations. Both national and interna­tional applicants are urged to apply.

2. What is the amount of the award?
Undergraduate and Graduate awards are $1,500.00 USD.

3. What is the deadline, and when will the winners be notified?
The deadline for submitting applications is April 15, of each year. The AESF Foundation will notify the award winners in July of each year.

4. Can a scholarship holder reapply for a second year (time)?
Yes, a previous award winner is permitted to apply for a second year (time).

5. Can an undergraduate scholarship award winner of two years reapply for a graduate scholarship?
Yes, an undergraduate winner can reapply as a graduate student.

6. Is financial need a factor?
No, the Scholarship Board does not base their decision on financial need.

7. Is there a minimum GPA requirement?
Yes, for an undergraduate applicant, GPA should be 3.0 or above; for a graduate applicant, GPA should be 3.3 or above.

8. Does the student receive the money, or is it sent directly to the school?
The AESF Foundation will send awards directly to the college or university, to be credited to the recipient’s account.

9. Does receiving an award affect a student’s scholarship?
No, college and university departments are requested not to reduce federal, state or institutional support for students who receive AESF Foundation Scholarships.

  B. THE APPLICATION

1. Where can an applicant obtain an application?
The scholarship application forms can be downloaded  here.

2. What items does an applicant need to include in an applica­tion?
A statement describing the applicant’s career objective and an intended plan of study and/or research in plating and surface finishing science and engineering (? 2 pages).

A resume detailing the applicant’s academic achievements (? 2 pages).

Three recommendation letters from professors and, if working in a company, employers. Note that one letter must be from an academic advisor.

An official copy of the most recent undergraduate or graduate transcript (to be sealed by the academic institution where the applicant attends).

Please note: All documents must be in English or have an English translation attached.

3. How will an application be judged?
Applicants are judged on the four major factors: (1) academic record, (2) personal statement, (3) working experience, and (4) extracurricular activities.

Note: If an applicant proposes a research project, the project objective, approach and anticipated results, should be clearly stated.

4. Where should an application package be submitted?
An application package should include all requested materials. A complete application package should be mailed to:

The AESF Foundation
Attn: Scholarship
1155 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005

  C. ADVICE FROM PAST SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

“Attend conferences and research symposiums. This helps you appreciate the scope and applications of your research work. This experience will also help you understand what you want later in your professional life.” -- Anand Durairajan, Graduate Scholarship Award Winner in 2000.

• “Take more chemistry (especially organic) and push instructors to incorporate finishing requirements in design classes! You’ll never regret understanding more about how to properly design things so they don’t corrode and fail. Furthermore, many times considerable costs savings can be realized if the finish was incorporated initially with the design.” -- Matthew Lindstedt, Undergraduate Scholarship Award Winner in 1996 & 1997.

  Questions? Contact Courtney Mariette at

202-457-8401 or cmariette@nasf.org for more information.