Since its first grants in 1989 the Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program for Women in STEM has become the single most significant source of private support for women in science, mathematics and engineering in Higher Education in the United States. Clare Boothe Luce, the widow of Henry R. Luce, was a playwright, journalist, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, and the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut. In her bequest establishing this program, she sought “to encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach” in science, mathematics and engineering. To date, the program has supported more than 2,900 women. As of 2021, the CBL Program for Women in STEM has awarded a total of 819 grants to 200 different institutions, including 65 grants to Minority-Serving Institutions.
Award Categories
The CBL Program awards grants in three categories:
- Undergraduate Awards
- Graduate Fellowships
- Professorships
Undergraduate Awards
The CBL program supports two types of undergraduate awards:
- Undergraduate Scholarships cover educational expenses, enabling students to focus on their studies during the final two undergraduate years. In general, undergraduate scholarships support up to four students for their last two academic years.
- Undergraduate Research Awards support research projects with faculty mentors, motivating and preparing recipients to apply for graduate study. In general, undergraduate research awards support up to 24 students (up to 8 per year) in the course of a two- to three-year grant period.
Graduate Fellowships
- Graduate Fellowships benefit recipients at the beginning of their graduate studies, when funds for independent research are rarely available. In general, these awards support two graduate fellowships for the first two years of a Ph.D. program.
Professorships
In general, professorship support is provided for the first five years of a beginning tenure-track faculty appointment.
- Recognition and prestige: A CBL Professor asserted, "The prestige associated with the Clare Boothe Luce Professorship has been the single most important factor in helping me to establish myself as a respected member of my department and among colleagues in my field."
- Professional development support: The substantial professional development funds associated with each professorship provide flexibility and support rarely available to new faculty members.
Eligibility & Restrictions
Institutions should review the following guidelines to determine if they are eligible to apply and for detailed information about the program:
- Grants are made to four-year degree-granting institutions, not directly to individuals. Applications should only be submitted by those with the authority to apply on behalf of the institution.
- Catholic institutions with strong science programs are especially encouraged to apply. According to the terms of Ambassador Luce’s bequest, at least 50% of the Program’s awards go to Roman Catholic colleges or universities.
- Minority-Serving Institutions and institutions with high percentages of Pell Grant-eligible students whose institutional mission and/or strategic plan are in clear alignment with CBL Program goals are encouraged to apply. Please contact CBL Program staff for more information.
- Some biological science disciplines are excluded; medical, behavioral, and social science fields are excluded. Please review the list of included and excluded disciplines below.
- Preference is given for support of women in the physical science and engineering fields in which women are the least well represented.
- Recipients in all categories must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
- Current CBL Grantees - An institution with a CBL grant may not submit a new application before its current grant has been officially closed.
- Waiting Period - Institutions with a prior CBL grant may not apply for a new grant in any category until five years after the award of their most recent Clare Boothe Luce Program grant (i.e., institutions that received CBL awards in 2018 or later are not eligible to apply for the 2022 competition).