Limited Submission 06/09/2021
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LIMITED SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITY
NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) - NSF 21-550

The main goal of the S-STEM program is to enable low-income, talented domestic students to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. Ultimately, the S-STEM program wants to increase the number of low-income students who graduate 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) to fund scholarships and to adapt, implement, and study effective evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that support recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM. Scholars must be low-income, academically talented students with unmet financial need who are enrolled in an associate, baccalaureate or graduate degree program, with a major in an S-STEM eligible discipline.

FY 2021 S-STEM Changes Affecting All Proposals
  • The maximum project duration has been extended from 5 to 6 years for Track 1, 2 and 3 proposals.
  • The requirements for the project description section for Track 1, 2 and 3 proposals have been further clarified and streamlined.
  • All S-STEM proposals must provide information about the size and characteristics of their pool of potential scholarship applicants who meet all the eligibility requirements described in the proposal.
  • Funds for additional activities that financially support individual S-STEM Scholars are allowable, including but not limited to internships, research experiences, and conference attendance. These costs are not considered scholarships and cannot be included in the calculation of the percentage of the budget that must be used for scholarships, which continues to be at least 60%.
  • A letter describing how low-income status is defined by the institution is now required as a supplemental document. This letter should come from the institution's Financial Aid Office (or equivalent) and should include affirmation that offices will support this scholarship program as described in the proposal.
  • Institutions with a current S-STEM award should wait at least until the end of the third year of execution of their current award before submitting a new S-STEM proposal focused on students pursuing the same discipline(s).
FY2021 S-STEM Changes to and Addition of Specific Program Tracks
  • Collaborative Planning grant proposals are now invited (up to $150,000 for up to 2 years).
  • Capacity building proposals (Track 1) are now scholarship-intensive. That is, although Track 1 proposals must generate new knowledge via a robust project evaluation plan and include substantive dissemination plans, they no longer require formal research activities (up to $750,000 for up to 6 years).
  • Single institution proposals (Track 2) are now scholarship-intensive. That is, although Track 2 proposals must generate new knowledge via a robust project evaluation plan and include substantive dissemination plans, they no longer require formal research activities (up to $1.5 million for up to 6 years).
Sponsor
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Limit
UNLV is limited to ONE application from each college/school that awards degrees in a S-STEM eligible discipline.
S-STEM Eligible Degree Programs

  • Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science
  • Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Applied Science
  • Master of Arts and Master of Science
  • Doctoral
S-STEM Eligible Disciplines

  • 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
  • Technology fields associated with the disciplines above (e.g. biotechnology, chemical technology, engineering technology, information technology
Deadlines
OSP Required Notice of Intent Due: 09/15/2021 12:00 pm Submit NOI via the Limited Submission Portal
No late submissions will be considered. Information needed: PI information, project title, one page abstract and three potential internal reviewer names.

Sponsor Application Due: 03/16/2022
CFDA #
47.076
Website
Highlights
Award Amount :
  • Awards for Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) projects may not exceed $750,000 for 6 years.
  • Awards for Track 2 (Implementation: Single Institution) projects may not exceed $1.5 million for 6 years.
  • Awards for Track 3 (Inter-institutional Consortia) projects may not exceed $5.0 million for 6 years.
  • Collaborative Planning Projects may not exceed $150,000 for 2 years.
Notice of Intent

At least two weeks will be given to submit a NOI (abstract/summary 1 page max).
Pre-Proposals

If NOIs received exceeds maximum number of proposals permitted, at least two weeks will be given to submit a pre-proposal (project narrative 4 page max and budget amount overview).
Internal Review

Pre-proposals are reviewed by a panel of peers comprised of UNLV researchers. At least two if not three reviews for every proposal submitted is performed. At least two weeks will be given to the reviewers to rate the pre-proposals. The review committee recommends which proposal(s) best meet sponsor's criteria and which best align with the mission of the department, college, and university.
Althea Sheets, Communications Manager for Research Development, Office of Sponsored Programs, [email protected], 702-895-1880