Discussion Panelists

Proposals reviewed by the Discussion panels are subject to a two-stage review process: 1) preliminary grading; and 2) the review meeting.

Discussion panelists will read and grade all proposals that they are assigned, and write feedback comments for a subset of those. They also advise their Panel Chair on a subset of the Large, Treasury and Legacy proposals assigned for review to the Executive Committee.

Prep Work & General Info

Preliminary GradingPre-MeetingDiscussion MeetingPost-Meeting
Before November 09, 2023November 09, 2023 - January 17, 2024January 17 - 29, 2024

January 29 - February 1, 2024 (Galactic + ExoPlanets + SolarSystem Panels)

January 30 - February 2, 2024

(ExtraGalactic Panels)

February 1 - 5, 2024
Before getting started, familiarize yourself with the review process, JWST  and its instruments, the types of proposals you will be reviewing, and who to ask for help!

During this phase, you will:

  • Be assigned as Primary Reviewer, Secondary Reviewer or Grader for a subset of the proposals assigned to your panel.
  • Check for and report additional conflicts of interest with any of your assigned proposals.
  • Read all of your assigned proposals.
  • Enter numerical scores as preliminary grades for all of your assigned proposals.

Each proposal will receive 6 grades. STScI will use the grades to rank and triage the panel so that only the top proposals are discussed in the panel meeting.

During this phase, you will:

  • Prepare for the panel meeting.
  • Review all proposals listed for discussion, especially those you did not read for preliminary grading.
  • Consider whether you wish to raise a triaged proposal for discussion.

We strongly encourage you to use the SPIRIT tool to enter notes summarizing the strengths and weaknesses for your primary/secondary assignments.


The panel meets for 4 days. During this phase, you will:

  • Discuss proposals in turn and enter numerical scores as grades after each discussion.
  • Assess the final ranking of proposals for science balance.
  • Discuss (but not grade) a subset of Large, Treasury and Legacy programs to provide feedback to your panel Chair.

During this phase, you will:

  • Write comments for every primary assignment (including triaged proposals).
  • Assist the primary reviewer with comments for every secondary assignment.

Please remember to remove review materials from your computer after the review.

Learn more about:

Learn more about:

Useful topics from previous phases:

Learn more about:

Learn more about:

Useful topics from previous phases:


Learn more about:

Useful topics from previous phases:


Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Wednesday October 25: JWST proposal deadline

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Monday November 6, 12pm-2pm EST: Discussion Panelists Orientation
  • Thursday November 9: SPG to release proposals and assignments
  • Thursday November 16: Deadline to check for and report additional conflicts of interest
  • Wednesday January 17: Deadline for preliminary grades

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Friday January 19: SPG to release lists of which proposals will be discussed by the panels

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Monday January 29, 10am-4pm EDT: Panel Meeting Day 1
  • Tuesday January 30, 10am-4pm EDT: Panel Meeting Day 2
  • Wednesday January 31, 10am-4pm EDT: Panel Meeting Day 3
  • Thursday February 1, 10am-4pm EDT: Panel Meeting Day 4
  • Friday February 2, 10am-4pm EDT: Panel Meeting Day 5

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Monday February 05: Deadline for proposal comments for Discussion panelists
  • Friday February 9: Deadline for EC sign-off of Discussion comments
  • Wednesday February 28: STScI releases Cycle 3 Science Program.



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