USA Scholarships
NASA Hubble Fellowship Program 2027 - $87,500
The NASA Hubble Fellowship Program is NASA's flagship postdoctoral award in astrophysics, and 24 new fellowships are on offer for the 2027 class. You pick a US host institution, propose your own research, and get up to three years of support: an initial year plus two annual renewals. Under the published rates the salary is $87,500 in year one, rising to $88,500 and then $89,500, alongside a $21,000 research budget in the first year, health insurance funding up to $20,000 a year, and up to $8,500 for the move. Fellows are named Einstein, Hubble or Sagan Fellows depending on which of the three big NASA astrophysics questions their work speaks to. Applications for the 2027 cycle close at 7:00 pm EDT on 28 October 2026, with reference letters due a week later.
What is the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program?
The NASA Hubble Fellowship Program is the award most early-career astrophysicists in the United States are quietly hoping for. It pays you to work on your own research questions, at a university or research centre you choose, for up to three years, with no teaching load attached. NASA runs it through the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, alongside the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at Caltech and the Chandra X-ray Center. Twenty-four new fellowships are planned for the 2027 class.
What makes it unusual is the naming. Back in 2018 NASA folded three separate fellowships, Einstein, Hubble and Sagan, into one application, and the names survived as labels for three questions: how does the universe work, how did we get here, and are we alone. You do not choose which one you want. You write one proposal, and the review panel decides which question your work belongs to. Last cycle that produced 10 Einstein Fellows, 8 Hubble Fellows and 6 Sagan Fellows.
The money is solid by postdoc standards. Year one pays $87,500, and the rate steps up to $88,500 and $89,500 in the two renewal years. Your host institution also budgets health insurance funding of up to $20,000 a year, $21,000 of research and travel money in the first year and $17,000 in each year after, up to $8,500 to cover the move, and $4,500 a year so you can get to the NHFP symposium. Second-year fellows can request a further $10,000 for internship funding. In exchange you cannot draw salary from anywhere else while the fellowship runs.
Two details deserve your attention before you start writing. The first is the PhD clock: your degree must be dated 1 January 2023 or later, or be finished before September 2027, and there is no flexibility in it. The second is the host institution cap. Only two new fellows go to any one institution per year, and an institution that took two last year can take just one, so the popular departments are harder to land than the raw numbers suggest. Applications close at 7:00 pm EDT on 28 October 2026, your referees have until 4 November, and offers follow in February 2027. With more than 650 applicants chasing 24 places last time, the eight-page research overview is where this is won.
Eligibility
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✓PhD awarded on or after 1 January 2023Your doctorate must have been completed on or after 1 January 2023, which keeps the award aimed at early-career researchers. You can also apply while you are still finishing, as long as the degree is in hand before September 2027.
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✓Astronomy, physics or a related disciplineThe degree needs to be in astronomy, physics or a related field. What matters more is that your proposed work is independent research contributing to NASA astrophysics, whether that is theoretical, observational or instrumental.
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✓Research that fits one of three NASA questionsYour proposal should speak to how the universe works, how we got here, or whether we are alone. Those three questions decide whether you are named an Einstein, Hubble or Sagan Fellow, and you do not pick the label yourself.
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✓Open to any nationalityEnglish-speaking applicants of all nations can apply. There is no citizenship or residency test, and your host institution handles the visa paperwork once you accept an offer.
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✓A US host institution willing to take youThe fellowship is tenable at a US host institution you choose. No institution gets more than two new fellows in a year, and one that took two the previous year can only take one, so a crowded department can work against you.
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✓Not a current or former NHFP fellowPresent and past NASA Hubble Fellowship Program fellows cannot apply again. The award is designed to move new people through the programme rather than extend anyone already in it.
Benefits
- Salary or stipend, year one $87,500
- Salary or stipend, year two $88,500
- Salary or stipend, year three $89,500
- Health insurance funding Up to $20,000 a year
- Research, travel and equipment budget $21,000 year one, $17,000 after
- Relocation costs Up to $8,500, paid once
- NHFP symposium travel $4,500 a year
- Extra salary from any other source Not allowed
- Length One year plus two annual renewals
- Fellowships planned for 2027 24, subject to NASA funding
- Start window 1 Aug 2027 to 1 Jan 2028
- Where you hold it Any US host institution
- Employee status Hosts must offer the option
- Second-year internship funds Up to $10,000 on request
- Remote work allowance Up to $5,000 a year of research funds
- Holding the award outside the USA Not allowed
Document checklist
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✓Online application formEverything is submitted through the NHFP application site hosted by Caltech at cosmos.ipac.caltech.edu. The form opened on 8 September 2026 and stays open until the October deadline.
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✓Curriculum vitaeYour academic record, positions held, and the date your PhD was or will be awarded. Make the degree date obvious, since it is the first eligibility gate the panel checks.
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✓Publication listA full list of your published and accepted work. This is submitted separately from the CV and is where reviewers judge the weight of what you have already produced.
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✓Research overviewThe heart of the application, limited to eight pages including tables and figures. Set out the problem, your approach, and what three years of independent work would deliver.
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✓Three reference lettersEach letter runs to a maximum of three pages and your referees upload them directly. They are due 4 November 2026 at 7:00 pm EST, a week after your own deadline.
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✓Your proposed host institutionDecide where you want to hold the fellowship before you submit. Talk to potential hosts early, and check whether that department already took two new fellows last cycle.
How to apply
Deadline and timeline
FAQ
What is the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program?
The NASA Hubble Fellowship Program, or NHFP, is NASA's main postdoctoral fellowship in astrophysics. It merged the older Einstein, Hubble and Sagan fellowships into one application in 2018, and fellows still carry one of those three names depending on their research. It is run for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute, working with the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at Caltech and the Chandra X-ray Center. Fellows do independent research at a US host institution of their choice for up to three years.
How much does the NASA Hubble Fellowship pay?
Under the published rates the salary or stipend is $87,500 in year one, $88,500 in year two and $89,500 in year three. On top of that, your host institution budgets health insurance funding of up to $20,000 a year, a research and travel budget of $21,000 in the first year and $17,000 after that, up to $8,500 in one-off relocation costs, and $4,500 a year for symposium travel. The rate is reviewed annually, so the figures for the 2027 intake may be adjusted.
When is the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program 2027 deadline?
Applications close at 7:00 pm EDT on Wednesday 28 October 2026, which is 4:00 pm PDT or 23:00 UTC. Reference letters have a separate deadline of 7:00 pm EST on Wednesday 4 November 2026. The application site opened on 8 September 2026.
Who is eligible for the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program?
You need a doctorate in astronomy, physics or a related discipline awarded on or after 1 January 2023, or one you will receive before September 2027. Applicants of any nationality can apply as long as they work in English. Current and former NHFP fellows are not eligible, and the fellowship has to be held at a US host institution.
Can international applicants apply for the NASA Hubble Fellowship?
Yes. The programme is open to English-speaking applicants of all nations and there is no citizenship requirement. What is fixed is where you hold the award: it has to be a US host institution, and that institution sorts out your visa once you accept the offer.
How many NASA Hubble Fellowships are awarded each year?
Twenty-four new fellowships are planned for the 2027 class, contingent on NASA funding, which matches the 24 awarded for 2026. No single institution can take more than two new fellows in one year, and an institution that took two last year can only take one this time.
What is the difference between Einstein, Hubble and Sagan Fellows?
The three names map onto three NASA astrophysics questions. Einstein Fellows work on how the universe works, Hubble Fellows on how we got here, and Sagan Fellows on whether we are alone. You submit one application and the panel decides which label fits your proposed research. In the 2026 class the split was 10 Einstein, 8 Hubble and 6 Sagan Fellows.
How competitive is the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program?
Very. More than 650 people applied for the 24 places in the 2026 class, an oversubscription of roughly 27 to 1. A sharp eight-page research overview and referees who can speak to your independence are what separate the shortlist from the rest.
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