---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 2191"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "2191"
heading: "Graduate fellowships"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/2191"
units:
  - "Subtitle A — General Military Law"
  - "Part III — Training and Education"
  - "Chapter 111 — Support of Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education"
---

# §2191. Graduate fellowships

- (a) The [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Defense shall prescribe regulations providing for the award of fellowships to citizens and nationals of the [United States](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-1) who agree to pursue graduate degrees in science, engineering, or other fields of study designated by the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) to be of priority interest to the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense.
- (b) A fellowship awarded pursuant to regulations prescribed under [subsection (a)](#a) shall be known as a “National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship”.
- (c) National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowships shall be awarded solely on the basis of academic ability. The [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) shall take all appropriate actions to encourage applications for such fellowships of [persons](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) who are members of groups (including minority groups, women, and disabled [persons](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2)) which historically have been underrepresented in science and technology fields. Recipients shall be selected on the basis of a nationwide competition. The award of a fellowship under this section may not be predicated on the geographic region in which the recipient lives or the geographic region in which the recipient will pursue an advanced degree.
- (d) The regulations prescribed under this section shall include—
  - (1) the criteria for award of fellowships;
  - (2) the procedures for selecting recipients;
  - (3) the basis for determining the amount of a fellowship; and
  - (4) the maximum amount that may be awarded to an individual during an academic year.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VIII, § 843(d)(1), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1516.)