Limited Submission Opportunity – NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program (S-STEM)

Internal Limited Submission Deadline to the Office of Research Administration: Friday, February 16, 2018 at 5pm.

NSF Deadline: March 28, 2018

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) [6], [16].

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.)

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.

For full program details visit NSF’s S-STEM webpage.

For details regarding The University of Akron’s limited submission process, visit the ORA Limited Submission webpage.