Application Opens: Aug. 25, 2025, 9 a.m. ET 

Application Closes: Oct. 17, 2025, 11:59 p.m. ET 

Amount: $4,000 Master’s Students | $6,000 Doctoral Students 

Number of Awards Given: 2/year 

GSSI celebrates the passion, resilience, and academic excellence of first-generation college students pursuing graduate degrees in exercise physiology, sports science, kinesiology, sports nutrition, and/or exercise psychology. Designed to empower emerging leaders in the field, the award recognizes individuals who are breaking new ground, not only in their families but in the science of human performance. 

In addition to research funding, to help promote professional development, award winners will receive one year of 1:1 mentorship from a GSSI scientist. Award winners will also receive complementary registration to ACSM’s 2026 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT.  

Eligibility: 

• Applicants must be ACSM national members in good standing before applying for funding. ACSM chapter membership alone does not fulfill this requirement. 

• Applicants must be a first-generation college student which is someone whose parents (or legal guardians) have not earned a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. — meaning that neither parent (or legal guardian) has completed a four-year college program. 

• Open to master’s and doctoral students enrolled in full-time programs at a U.S. school in exercise physiology, sports science, kinesiology, sports nutrition, and/or exercise psychology with a GPA of at least 3.0. 

• Applicants directly associated with or engaged in any fashion with GSSI will not be eligible. Submitted work funded, partially or wholly, by GSSI or PepsiCo is not eligible. 

• Previous winners of any GSSI award through ACSM and/or the ACSM Foundation are not eligible to apply. 

• Previous ACSM research grantees must submit final grant and expenditure reports prior to receiving this award. 

ACSM requires award winners to:   

• Submit official transcripts if selected as an award winner, 

• Attend the 2026 ACSM Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT, 

• Present funded research at a future ACSM Annual Meeting, and   

• Send ACSM a copy of any publications or presentations related to the funded research. 

Please contact the ACSM Foundation with questions regarding this award.