A well-educated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is a significant contributor to maintaining the competitiveness of the U.S. in the global economy. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program addresses the need for a high quality STEM workforce in STEM disciplines supported by the program and for the increased success of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) to fund scholarships and to advance the adaptation, implementation, and study of effective evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that support recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM. The S-STEM program encourages collaborations among different types of partners: Partnerships among different types of institutions; collaborations of STEM faculty and institutional, educational, and social science researchers; and partnerships among institutions of higher education and local business and industry, if appropriate.
The program seeks: 1) to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need obtaining degrees in STEM and entering the workforce or graduate programs in STEM; 2) to improve the education of future scientists, engineers, and technicians, with a focus on academically talented low-income students; and 3) to generate knowledge to advance understanding of how factors or evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities affect the success, retention, transfer, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM of low-income students.
The STEM disciplines supported by the S-STEM program include:
- Biological sciences (except medicine and other clinical fields);
- Physical sciences (including physics, chemistry, astronomy, and materials science);
- Mathematical sciences;
- Computer and information sciences;
- Geosciences;
- Engineering; and
- Technology areas associated with the preceding disciplines (for example, biotechnology, chemical technology, engineering technology, information technology, etc.)
The program supports three types of projects. Awards for Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) projects may not exceed $650,000. Awards for Track 2 (Design and Development: Single Institution) projects may not exceed $1.0 million. Awards for Track 3 (Design and Development: Multi-Institutional Consortia) projects may not exceed $5.0 million. In all cases, the totals are inclusive of direct and indirect costs.
Who May Serve as PI:
For Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) and Track 2 (Design and Development: Single Institution) projects, the Principal Investigator must be a faculty member currently teaching in one of the S-STEM disciplines listed in Section IV.B. who can provide the leadership required to ensure the success of the project. Projects involving more than one department within an institution are eligible, but a single Principal Investigator must accept overall management responsibility. Other members of the S-STEM project leadership and management team may be listed as Co-Principal Investigators.
For Track 3 (Design and Development: Multi-Institutional Consortia) projects, the Principal Investigator must be a faculty member currently teaching in one of the S-STEM disciplines listed in Section IV.B. or an institutional, educational, or social science researcher who can provide the leadership required to ensure the success of the project. A consortium project must have a Principal Investigator who accepts overall management responsibility. Other members of the S-STEM senior project leadership and management team may be listed as Co-Principal Investigators or PIs on collaborative research proposals.
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
An Institution may submit one proposal (either as a single institution or as subawardee or a member of a Collaborative Research project) from each constituent school or college that awards degrees in an eligible field.
An institution that is part of a larger system is considered separate for proposal submission purposes if it is geographically separate from the other campus(es) and has its own chief academic officer.
Internal Nomination Process:
Interested applicants should send the following documents in sequence in one PDF no later than 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:
Project Overview Description (2 pages maximum) of the proposed project that consists of:
- A brief description of the S-STEM project including the number of scholarships to be provided,
- the discipline 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 placement services to be provided as part of this S-STEM project.
- A statement on Intellectual Merit.
- A statement on Broader Impacts.
Prior related NSF Funding (2 pages maximum) summary:
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Describe any related prior NSF funding of the PI/coPIs.
Project Management Plan (1-page) summary:
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Provide a management plan in which the key personnel and project logistics are defined.
Include a 2-page biographical sketch for the Principal Investigator and each listed Co-Principal Investigator and/or Senior Personnel.
Formatting Guidelines and Page Limit:
- Font/size: Times New Roman (12 pt.)
- Document margins: 1.0” (top, bottom, left and right)
- Standard paper size (8 ½” x 11)