Education funding and events.

The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Program is designed to encourage development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative approaches to STEM graduate education training. The program seeks proposals that a) explore ways forgraduate students in STEM master’s and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers, or b) support research on the graduate education system and outcomes of systemic interventions and policies. IGE projects are intendedto generate the knowledge required for the customization, implementation, and broader adoption of potentially transformative approaches to graduate education. The program supports piloting, testing, and validating novel models or activities and examining systemic innovations with high potential to enrich and extend the knowledge base on effective graduate education approaches. The program addresses both workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity-building needs in graduate education. Strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laborator

The main goal of the S-STEM program is to enable academically talented, low-income students to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. Ultimately, the S-STEM program seeks to increase the number of academically promising low-income students who graduate with an S-STEM eligible degree and contribute to the American innovation economy with their STEM knowledge. 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[a] activities that have been shown to be effective in supporting recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM. To be eligible, scholars must be domestic low-income students with academic ability, talent, or potential and demonstrated unmet financial need who are enrolled in an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program in an S-STEM eligible discipline. Proposers must provide an analysis that articulates the characteristics and academic needs of the population of stud

CREST Center awards provide support to enhance the research capabilities of Minority-serving institutions (MSIs) through the establishment of centers that effectively integrate education and research. CREST Center awards promote the development of new knowledge, enhancements of the research productivity of individual faculty, and an expanded presence of students historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Successful CREST Center proposals will demonstrate a clear vision and integration of STEM research and education and will align with the mission of the Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) with respect to the development of a diverse STEM workforce. CREST Centers are also expected to provide leadership by meaningfully involving the efforts of those faculty, students, and postdoctoral researchers who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM at all levels. Centers are required to use evidence-based and innovative strategies to address salient broadening participation and workforce development issues, such as recruitment, retention, and mentorship of participants from underrepresented groups. Successful proposals

Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (hereinafter referred to as RED) is designed to build upon previous efforts in engineering education research. Specifically, previous and ongoing evaluations of the NSF Engineering Education and Centers Division program and its predecessors, as well as those related programs in the Directorate for STEM Education, have shown that prior investments have significantly improved the first year of engineering students’ experiences, incorporating engineering material, active learning approaches, design instruction, and a broad introduction to professional skills and a sense of professional practice – giving students an idea of what it means to become an engineer. Similarly, the senior year has seen notable change through capstone design experiences, which ask students to synthesize the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities they have gained with professional capacities, using reflective judgment to make decisions and communicate these effectively. However, this ideal of the senior year has not yet been fully realized, because many of the competencies required in capstone design, or required of professional engineers, are only partially introduce

CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from early-career faculty at all CAREER-eligible organizations. PECASE: Each year NSF selects nominees for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from among the most meritorious recent CAREER awardees. Selection for this award is based on two important criteria: The criteria are 1) performance of innovative research at the frontiers of science, engineering, and technology that is relevant to the mission of the sponsoring organization or agency; and 2) community service demonstrated through scientific leadership, education or community outreach. These awards foster innovative developments in science and technology, in

The National Science Foundation (NSF) plays a prominent role in the improvement of undergraduate STEM education at the Nation’s colleges and universities. Through the IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) program, the agency seeks to extend this effort by making an intentional investment in the country’s two-year institutions of higher education, or two-year colleges. The twin goals of the ITYC program are to (1) center students in the effort to advance innovation and promote success in STEM education at two-year colleges, and (2) enhance the capacity of two-year colleges to harness the talent and potential of their student and faculty populations through innovative disciplinary, multi-department, and college-wide efforts. These goals will be achieved by investing in projects at two-year colleges that contribute to student success in STEM-based foundational courses and academic pathways for both majors and non-majors. Project activities may be in any discipline that is currently supported by NSF funding, which includes the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Collectively, projects in the ITYC program will make progress towards ensuring that two-year coll

The NSF FINDERS FOUNDRY program supports collaboration among K-12 educators, technologists, and researchers to develop innovative solutions to persistent challenges in learning and workforce development. These challenges are identified by K-12 students, families, and educators. The program aims to create and scale evidence-based practices, tools, and technologies that improve learning outcomes and prepare students for a digital, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven future. A key focus is early exposure to AI to build curiosity, understanding, and readiness for future careers. The program encourages partnerships across sectors - schools, universities, industry, government, and nonprofits - to co-design responsive, technology-based solutions. NSF FINDERS FOUNDRY program includes two phases: Planning and Development. Planning proposals help teams explore one of several focus areas. Only teams awarded Planning grants may submit Development proposals, which support the growth and implementation of promising ideas. The program aligns with national priorities, including the Executive Order 14277, “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth” (April 23, 2025), and the CHI

With a focus on two-year Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program supports the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy. The program involves partnerships between academic institutions (grades 7-12, IHEs), industry, and economic development agencies to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians. It is strongly recommended that projects be faculty-led and required that courses and programs are credit-bearing, although materials developed may also be used for incumbent worker education. Materials may also be adapted and implemented as credit-bearing courses. The ATE program supports curriculum development; professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers; career pathway development for both students and incumbent workers; and other activities including applied research projects that advance the knowledge base related to technician education. The ATE program encourages partnerships with other entities that may impact technician education. For example, with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Exte

The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science program supports authentic summer research experiences for K-14 educators to foster long-term collaborations between universities, community colleges, school districts, and industry partners. With this solicitation, the Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) focus on a reciprocal exchange of expertise between K-14 educators and research faculty and (when applicable) industry mentors. K-14 educators will enhance their scientific disciplinary knowledge in engineering or computer science and translate their research experiences into classroom activities and curricula to broaden their students’ awareness of and participation in computing and engineering pathways. At the same time, the hosting research faculty will deepen their understanding of classroom practices, current curricula, pedagogy, and K-14 educational environments.

This program seeks to prepare, nurture, and grow the national scientific research workforce for creating, utilizing, and supporting advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) to enable and potentially transform fundamental science and engineering (S&E) research and education and contribute to the Nation's overall economic competitiveness and security. The goals of this solicitation are to (i) ensure broad adoption of CI tools, methods, and resources by the research community in order to catalyze major research advances and to enhance researchers’ abilities to lead the development of new CI, and (ii) integrate core literacy and discipline-appropriate advanced skills in advanced CI as well as computational and data-driven methods for advancing fundamental research, into the Nation’s undergraduate and graduate educational curriculum/instructional materials. Proposals responding to this solicitation may target one or both solicitation goals. For the purpose of this solicitation, advanced CI is broadly defined as the set of resources, tools, methods, and services for advanced computation, large-scale data handling and analytics, and networking and security for large-scale systems that collective

The Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program (MRI Program Website) serves to increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. An MRI award supports the acquisition of a multi-user research instrument that is commercially available through direct purchase from a vendor, or for the personnel costs and equipment that are required for the development of an instrument with new capabilities, thereby advancing instrumentation capabilities and enhancing expertise for instrument design and fabrication at academic institutions. MRI instruments are, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. MRI provides support to acquire critical research instrumentation without which advances in fundamental science and engineering research may not otherwise occur. MRI also provides support to obtain next-generation research instruments by developing instruments with new capabilities that open new opportunities to advance the frontiers in science and engineering research. Additionally, an M

NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships provide an opportunity for highly qualified, recent doctoral scientists to carry out an integrated program of independent research and education. Fellows may engage in observational, instrumental, theoretical, laboratory or archival data research in any area of astronomy or astrophysics, in combination with a coherent educational plan for the duration of the fellowship. The program supports researchers for a period of up to three years with fellowships that may be taken to eligible host institutions of their choice. The program is intended to recognize early-career investigators of significant potential and to provide them with experience in research and education that will establish them in positions of distinction and leadership in the scientific community.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is one of the thirteen principal federal statistical agencies within the United States. It is responsible for the collection, acquisition, analysis, reporting and dissemination of objective, statistical data related to the science and technology (S&T) enterprise in the United States and other nations that is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers and the public. NCSES uses this information to prepare a number of statistical data reports including Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering and the National Science Board's biennial report, Science and Engineering (S&E) Indicators. The Center would like to enhance its efforts to support analytic and methodological research in support of its surveys as well as promote the education and training of researchers in the use of large-scale nationally representative datasets. NCSES welcomes efforts by the research community to use NCSES or other data to conduct research on the S&T enterprise, develop improved survey methodologies that could benefit NCSES surveys, explore alternat

NCSER training programs prepare individuals to conduct special education and early intervention research that advances knowledge within the field and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners. Under this competition, NCSER will consider only applications that address one of the following topics: (1) Early Career Development and Mentoring or (2) Methods Training for Special Education Research. The Early Career program provides support for an integrated research and career development plan for early career investigators at institutions of higher education or non-academic research organizations who have established an interest in special education research and are developing research careers focused on learners with or at risk for disabilities. The Methods Training program funds training to help current education researchers, including state and local education agency research staff, maintain and enhance their research and analysis skills in order to conduct rigorous and relevant research focused on learners with or at risk for disabilities. For FY 2027, NCSER is only accepting applications for Methods Training focused on analyzing large administrative dat

NCER training programs prepare individuals to conduct education research that advances knowledge within the field and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners. Under this competition, NCER will consider only applications that address one of the following programs: (1) Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Education Research (Early Career) or (2) Methods Training for Education Research (Methods Training). The Early Career program provides support for an integrated research and career development plan for early career investigators at institutions of higher education or non-academic research organizations who are developing education research careers. The Methods Training program funds training to help current education researchers, including state and local education agency research staff, maintain and enhance their research and analysis skills in order to conduct rigorous and relevant education research. Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.305B.