The main goal of the S-STEM program is to enable low-income students with academic ability, talent or potential to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. Ultimately, the S-STEM program seeks to increase the number of low-income students who graduate with a S-STEM eligible degree and contribute to the American innovation economy with their STEM knowledge. 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 activities that have been shown to be effective supporting recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM.

S-STEM Eligible Degree Programs 

• Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Engineering, and Associate of Applied Science 
• Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Applied Science 
• Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Engineering 
• Doctoral

S-STEM Eligible Disciplines 

Disciplinary fields in which research is funded by NSF, including technology fields associated with the S-STEM-eligible disciplines (e.g., biotechnology, chemical technology, engineering technology, information technology, etc.) are eligible. The following degrees are excluded: 

1. Clinical degree programs, including medical degrees, nursing, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and others not funded by NSF, are ineligible degrees. 
2. Business school programs that lead to Bachelor of Arts or Science in Business Administration degrees (BABA/BSBA/BBA) are ineligible.
3. Masters and Doctoral degrees in Business Administration are also excluded.
4. Programs for STEM teacher certification or licensure currently covered by the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program (NOYCE) are ineligible for S-STEM funding.

S-STEM Tracks

1. Track 1: Institutional Capacity Building (up to $2M over 6 years)
2. Track 2: Implementation Projects (up to $2M over 6 years) 
3. Track 3: Inter-institutional Consortia (up to $5M over 6 years)

NSF Full Proposal Deadline: March 04, 2025

REVISED: Link to FOA Here

Eligibility:  

For Track 1 and Track 2 proposals, the Principal Investigator must be (a) a faculty member currently teaching in an S-STEM eligible discipline, or (b) an academic administrator who has taught in one of the eligible disciplines and can dedicate the time necessary to assure project success. Projects involving more than one department within an institution are eligible, but a single Principal Investigator must accept overall management and leadership responsibility. Faculty from all departments involved must have roles in the project as either Co-Principal Investigators, other senior/key personnel, or scholar mentors. Other members of the S-STEM project senior leadership and management team may be listed as Co-Principal Investigators.

For Track 3 projects, the Principal Investigator must be (a) a faculty member currently teaching in an S-STEM eligible discipline, (b) an academic administrator who has taught an S-STEM eligible discipline, or (c) a non-teaching institutional, educational, or social science researcher investigating questions related to low-income student success. The Principal Investigator must be able to provide the leadership and time required to ensure the success of the project. Track 3 consortium proposals must have a Principal Investigator who accepts overall management and leadership responsibility across all consortia members. Faculty from all institutions and departments involved need to have roles in the project as either Co-Principal investigators, other senior/key personnel, or scholar mentors. Other members of the S-STEM project senior leadership and management team may be listed as Co-Principal Investigators or as Principal Investigators on collaborative research proposals.

Institutional Limit: For a given S-STEM deadline, an institution may submit up to two proposals in which it will be directly involved in providing scholarships. Multiple proposals from an institution must not overlap with regard to S-STEM eligible disciplines. 

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.  

Review Criteria: Internal white papers will be reviewed based on the merit review criteria found in the solicitation.