Sponsor:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Summary:
The main goal of the S-STEM program is to enable low-income students with academic ability, talent or potential to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to institutions of higher education (IHEs) not only to fund scholarships, but also to adapt, implement, and study evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that have been shown to be effective supporting recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM.
The S-STEM program supports four (4) types of projects: Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, and Collaborative Planning. 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.
For more information, view the full NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) solicitation.
Award:
The S-STEM program supports four types of projects subject to availability of funds:
- Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) projects may not exceed $750,000 total for a maximum duration of 6 years.
- Track 2 (Implementation: Single Institution) projects may not exceed $1.5 million total for a maximum duration of 6 years.
- 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.
Only proposals approved by the Division of Research and Economic Development may be submitted to this program. For such approval, Principal Investigators (PIs) must first submit a one- to two-page white paper to preaward@boisestate.edu by Monday, May 09, 2022.
Your white paper should include:
- The PI’s name, Project Title, and Program Track (1, 2, 3, or Collaborative Planning).
- The names of key personnel (e.g., Co-PIs) and collaborators, including funded and unfunded collaborators.
- A project summary, which includes the objectives of the project, a description of the project, including methods to be employed, and the potential impact of the project (i.e., benefits, outcomes). You may find the Project Summary guide from the solicitation helpful:
- “The Project Summary is a one-page description of the proposed project that consists of an overview, a statement on Intellectual Merit, and a statement on Broader Impacts. In the overview, provide a brief description of the S-STEM project being proposed. For Track 1, 2 and 3, also include the number of scholarships to be provided, the number of unique scholarship recipients, the disciplinary areas to be served by the scholarship funds, the objectives of the project, the expected retention or transfer and graduation rates, and basic information about the student recruitment, selection, support, and career counseling and placement services to be provided as part of this S-STEM project.”
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 grant program.
Key Submission Dates:
- May 09, 2022 – White paper due to preaward@boisestate.edu. We encourage you to cc your Dean for visibility as well.
- May 23, 2022 – Anticipated date Internal Awardees Notified
- Feb 13, 2023 – Full proposal due to OSP
- Feb 20, 2023 – Full proposal due to NSF
Important Note on Requirements:
- Approximately $80 – $120 million is expected to be available annually to support approximately 75 – 90 new S-STEM Awards in these tracks.
- Congress has established the maximum amount of an individual scholarship to be $10,000 per year for up to four (4) years at each institution that a scholar attends or at each academic level.
- Successful Track 1, 2, and 3 projects must demonstrate the involvement of the Office of Financial Aid. Each institution that will award scholarships must submit a letter from the Office of Financial Aid certifying the Office’s understanding of the guidelines and requirements of the S-STEM program, confirming the institutional definition of low income and that the eligible students will meet its definition of low income, and stating their commitment to support the project as described in the proposal if awarded.
- In all Track 1, 2 and 3 proposals, at least 60% of all funds must be provided solely as pure scholarships to cover the cost of attendance and entered as Participant Support – Stipends (Line F1) on the NSF budget form. Support for all non-scholarship costs must be included in the remaining 40% of the budget.
- Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) and Track 2 (Implementation: Single Institution) proposals require a strong evaluation plan, but do not require an additional research component. In contrast, Track 3 (Inter-institutional Consortia) proposals must include both a strong evaluation plan and a strong research component.
Did you find a limited submission opportunity? Email us at preaward@boisestate.edu.