Sponsor:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Summary:
The S-STEM program provides institutions of higher education (IHEs) with funds for scholarships to encourage and enable domestic low-income students with academic ability, talent or potential and demonstrated financial need to enter the US workforce following completion of associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degrees in S-STEM eligible disciplines. To enable social mobility of these students with academic talent, funds should be allocated to support scholars in areas of regional or national need. Funds also enable IHEs to establish a coherent ecosystem of effective evidence-based practices (curricular and co-curricular activities taking place during the academic year and over the summer and winter break months if appropriate) and to assess the effects of those practices and other factors on retention, student success, academic/career pathways, and degree attainment, including transfer, and entry into the US workforce or graduate programs in STEM.
S-STEM awards in Tracks 1, 2, and 3 facilitate the establishment of infrastructure and collaborations to: (1) provide scholarships to domestic low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need pursuing a degree in one of the S-STEM eligible disciplines; (2) adapt and implement evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities to support NSF S-STEM scholars; (3) increase retention, student success, and graduation of these low-income students in STEM; (4) test strategies for systematically supporting student academic and career pathways in STEM in ways that are congruent with the institutional context and resources; and (5) disseminate findings on what works related to the supports and interventions undertaken by the project, in particular to other institutions working to support low-income STEM students.
S-STEM Tracks:
- Track 1: Institutional Capacity Building
- Track 2: Implementation: Single Institution
- Track 3: Inter-institutional Consortia
- Collaborative Planning Grants to Develop an Inter-Institutional Consortium
For more information, view the full NSF S-STEM solicitation.
Award:
Award amounts depend on the S-STEM track:
- Awards for Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) projects may not exceed $750,000 total for a maximum duration of 6 years.
- Awards for Track 2 (Implementation: Single Institution) projects may not exceed $1.5 million total for a maximum duration of 6 years.
- Awards for Track 3 (Inter-institutional Consortia) projects may not exceed $5.0 million total for a maximum duration of 6 years.
- Collaborative Planning projects may not exceed $100,000 for a maximum duration of 1 year.
Limited Submission Requirements and Timeline:
Two (2) applications per institution are permitted as either the lead institution or as a subrecipient. Multiple proposals from an institution must not overlap with regard to S-STEM eligible disciplines. These restrictions do not apply to collaborative planning grant proposals.
Only proposals approved by the Division of Research and Economic Development may be submitted to this program. For such approval, Principal Investigators must first submit a one- to two-page white paper to preaward@boisestate.edu by December 14, 2021.
Your white paper should include:
- The names of the Boise State PI and co-PIs, as well as any third-party collaborators (please note if Boise State will not be the lead institution);
- The number and name of program track for your submission;
- An identification of the S-STEM eligible discipline; and
- A project summary which includes the intellectual merit and broader impacts of the proposal.
If selected to submit a full proposal, PIs must ensure that proposals meet all requirements stated in the RFP, in the announcement, and in the implementing laws and regulations related to this state grant program.
Key Submission Dates:
- December 14, 2021 – White paper due to preaward@boisestate.edu
- We encourage you to cc your Dean for visibility as well
- December 21, 2021 – Internal Awardees Notified
- February 14, 2022 – Full proposal due to OSP
- February 22, 2022 – Full proposal due to NSF
Important Notes on Requirements:
- Only proposals supporting S-STEM Eligible Disciplines and S-STEM Eligible Degree Programs may be proposed. Please review the eligibility requirements. If you have questions about your eligibility, the Cognizant Program Officers listed in the solicitation may assist with questions regarding disciplinary or degree eligibility.
- Please review the “Who May Serve As PI” section of the solicitation.
- Sixty percent (60%) of costs must be provided as scholarships.
Did you find a limited submission opportunity? Email us at preaward@boisestate.edu.