The American Welding Society Foundation continues to back university welding research through its Graduate Research Fellowships, which award $35,000 per year to master's and Ph.D. students pursuing joining research under a sponsoring professor at a North American university. Funding is paid in $17,500 installments following progress statements on November 1 and March 1, and proposals may be funded for up to three years, with renewal contingent on demonstrated progress.

The current application cycle is now closed; professors and students are directed to check back in November 2026, when the next request for proposals opens. Proposals for the most recent cycle were due at AWS by April 15, 2026, with new fellowships announced in May.

The program is deliberately broad: topics may span the full range of the joining industry, and both applied and fundamental research proposals are welcome. The student prepares the proposal under a professor's guidance, with letters of recommendation accompanying the package; the qualifications, research plans, and academic credentials of the student are the key elements considered by the award committee.

A conforming technical proposal is capped at 15 typewritten pages (title page excluded, 2 MB file limit) and must include an executive summary, an annualized funding breakdown, matching-fund details, a statement of the problem and objectives, the current status of relevant research, a technical plan of action, the qualifications of the student researcher and professor, pertinent literature, critical success factors, and any special equipment requirements.

By investing in these graduate scholars, the AWS Foundation says it is advancing the field of welding and nurturing the potential for breakthrough innovations that will benefit future generations — a lifeline for a discipline where faculty-level joining research capacity is increasingly scarce.