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 for graduate 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 intended to 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
IGE graduate approaches. The program addresses both workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity-building needs in graduate education. 

NSF invites proposals for two types of projects: 

Track 1: Career Preparation and Student Success Pilots (up to three years in duration, between $300K and $500K).
IGE supports projects that generate knowledge about new, potentially transformative improvements in graduate education and workforce development that prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers for the full range of possible STEM career paths to advance the nation's STEM enterprise. Track 1 proposals focus on novel, pilot interventions in a single STEM program or at a single institution benefiting STEM students across multiple graduate programs. Track 1 will also support proposals examining the potential to extend a successful approach developed in one discipline or context to other disciplines or contexts.

Track 2: Systemic Interventions and Policies (up to five years in duration; up to $1,000,000)
IGE Track 2 awards support research projects that are expected to generate knowledge about the graduate education system and outcomes of systemic intervention and policies. IGE Track 2 projects may be implemented at different scales: within a field of study across multiple institutions and programs; across multiple fields of study within a single institution; or across multiple institutions and fields of study. Specifically encouraged are proposals that address one of the following six areas:
1. Funding models and funding mechanisms - emphasis on studies on the effects of traineeships, fellowships, internships, and teaching/research assistantships on grad student outcomes addressing differences by sex/race/ethnicity/citizenship/debt load.
2. Graduate student mental health/wellbeing - emphasis on projects that include research, data collection, and assessment of grad student mental health/wellbeing, factors contributing to and consequences of poor grad student mental health, and  develop-ment, adaptation, and assessment of evidence-based strategies and policies to support emotional wellbeing and mental health.
3. Mentoring policies, procedures, and models - emphasis on studies of effects of graduate education and mentoring policies and procedures on degree completion, including differences by (i) sex, race and ethnicity, and citizenship; and (ii) student debt load. 4. Graduate research environments and teams - priority emphasis on proposals to study differences in graduate research environments and associated outcomes or develop and assess new or adapted interventions;
5. Inclusive recruitment, admissions, retention, and completion strategies including studies of the impact of previously implemented and/or new innovations in policies or other interventions designed to broaden participation in STEM grad education;
6. Credentialing and degree milestones including, but not limited to, studies assessing the impact of systemic innovations in graduate degree milestones, micro-credentials, stackable credentials, and competency-based approaches on outcomes.

NSF Full Proposal Deadline: 03/25/2025

Link to FOA Here: NSF Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) funding opportunity 

PI Eligibility:  Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as a Principal Investigator (PI) are invited to work with their organizations to develop an application. Individuals from underrepresented groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply. An individual may serve as Lead Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on only one (1) proposal submitted to the IGE program per annual competition.

Institutional Limit: An eligible organization may participate in two (2) Innovations in Graduate Education proposals per annual competition. Participation includes serving as a lead organization on a non-collaborative proposal or as a lead organization, non-lead organization, or subawardee on a collaborative proposal. Organizations participating solely as evaluators on projects are excluded from this limitation.

Application Information:   All UD limited submission white papers must use this template found on the Research Office limited submission webpage. Applications not adhering to this requirement will be returned without review.

Merit Review Criteria: White papers will be reviewed based on the merit review criteria detailed in the solicitation.