UW’s Carissa Fostervold Receives NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Carissa Fostervold has received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship.

Fostervold, a University of Wyoming senior double majoring in sociology and psychology, will use her five-year fellowship to pursue her master’s degree in sociology at Colorado State University.

“As a first-generation college student who’s worked multiple jobs while in school, this award means more than I can fully put into words,” says Fostervold, who was born in Chappell, Neb., and graduated from Greybull High School. “The fellowship gives me the freedom to dive into meaningful research without worrying as much about financial barriers and that’s a huge gift.”

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is one of the nation’s most highly competitive awards for graduate studies. It offers, among other things, three years of financial support (within a five-year period) with an annual $37,000 stipend; a $16,000 cost-of-education allowance; international research and professional development opportunities; and the freedom to conduct research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education that recipients choose.

For the 2025 competition, NSF received more than 13,000 applications and made 1,000 award offers and named 3,137 honorable mentions, according to Michelle Negrón, a media officer with NSF’s Office of Legislative and Public Affairs.

While still pursuing a double major, Fostervold was drawn more in the direction of sociology after taking “Deviant Behavior,” a class taught by Ken Hanson, a UW assistant of criminal justice and sociology.

“I realized that sociology is a better fit for my research interests in social disparities. I’m especially interested in poverty and policy,” she says. “Long-term, I hope to pursue a Ph.D. and work as a professor and researcher focused on poverty interventions.”

Daniel Auerbach, a UW assistant professor of criminal justice and sociology, says he has never met a more ambitious and driven student than Fostervold. Auerbach served as her McNair Scholars mentor.

As a 2024 McNair Scholar, Fostervold began an independent research project that analyzed early Atomic Energy Commission videos and how the videos frame uranium as a useful resource. Fostervold has presented her work at the McNair Scholars Research Symposium in summer 2024; the College of Arts & Sciences Honors Convocation during the fall 2024 semester; and the Eastern Sociological Society meeting in Boston, Mass., in March. 

“Carissa has put together a 12-minute research presentation that is of the highest quality. Her presentation fits in well at any professional conference,” Auerbach says. “In fact, at the Eastern Sociological Society, she presented on a panel with Ph.D.s and doctoral candidates. If you just walked into the room with no previous information, you would not be able to distinguish her work from that of the other panelists.”

About the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program is a vital part of NSF efforts to foster and promote excellence in U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics by recognizing talent broadly from across the nation and U.S. territories. The awards are provided to individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements.

Former NSF fellows include numerous individuals who have made transformative breakthroughs in science and engineering; have become leaders in their chosen careers; and been honored as Nobel laureates.

Launched in 1952 shortly after Congress established NSF, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program represents the nation’s oldest continuous investment in the U.S. STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce.