Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions | 20 599

Opportunity Information: Apply for 20 599

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) program is a grant opportunity designed to strengthen the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at Hispanic-Serving Institutions while also boosting the recruitment, retention, and graduation of students pursuing STEM associate's or bachelor's degrees. The program is built around the idea that HSIs are not all the same: they vary widely by size, mission, resources, student demographics, and the maturity of their STEM programs. Because of that, NSF emphasizes tailored, culturally aware approaches that respond to local student needs and institutional context rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. The longer-term outcomes NSF is aiming for are broader participation of groups historically underrepresented in STEM and clearer, stronger pathways from undergraduate education into advanced study and the STEM workforce, consistent with national goals for building a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce.

A central feature of the program is its focus on both capacity-building and knowledge-building. NSF is not only funding improvements in courses, support services, and student success structures, but also encouraging fundamental research in three connected areas: how engaged student learning works in HSI contexts; what actually drives effective diversification and increased participation in STEM; and what it takes for HSIs to build durable institutional capacity in STEM. In other words, applicants are expected to do more than run a set of activities. They need to learn from those activities through evaluation and, in many cases, through formal STEM education research, then share what they learn so other institutions can benefit.

The solicitation is organized into three tracks so institutions can pursue work that matches their readiness and ambition. Track 1, Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP), is geared especially toward institutions that are new to NSF funding or that are Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), including community colleges. Planning projects support the groundwork needed to develop a stronger future proposal under Track 2 or Track 3, such as building partnerships, refining strategies, and preparing for implementation at a larger scale. Pilot projects support short-term, well-defined efforts to improve access to high-quality undergraduate STEM education and to gather early evidence or preliminary data that can justify and guide a larger future project. Track 1 projects must include evaluation and dissemination, and they can also be used to start building STEM education research capacity at the institution, particularly around student learning and participation in STEM.

Track 2, Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP), funds institutions to implement evidence-based strategies at the unit, department, or multi-department level to improve undergraduate STEM education. These projects can involve designing new practices or adapting and replicating approaches already shown to be effective, with an expectation that successful strategies become institutionalized and sustainable rather than temporary. A key requirement is that Track 2 proposals include not only evaluation and dissemination, but also an education research component that generates new knowledge tied to the program's goals, such as identifying indicators of effective STEM education at HSIs or testing interventions that improve retention and graduation.

Track 3, Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP), supports the most comprehensive level of change: institution-wide structural or systemic reforms that improve STEM education over the long term. This track is explicitly grounded in research on STEM education and broadening participation and is motivated by evidence that organizational culture and institutional identity can strongly shape HSI success in STEM. Track 3 projects are expected to make durable infrastructure and policy changes that enable and support faculty in adopting evidence-based teaching and student success practices at scale. Like Track 2, these proposals must include evaluation, dissemination, and a strong education research plan, and NSF encourages foundational research that explains how different components of transformation work together to build lasting STEM capacity at HSIs.

Across all tracks, NSF allows support for faculty research that may be disciplinary, interdisciplinary, STEM education research, discipline-based education research, or broadening participation research. Research activities can be based at the home institution or in collaboration with other universities, NSF-funded centers, or national laboratories. The solicitation particularly encourages research tied to engaged student learning at HSIs and to strategies that effectively diversify and expand participation in STEM. Budgets may include support for undergraduate research experiences, supplies, equipment needed for the research, and faculty research development. When faculty research funds are requested, each participating faculty member must provide a four-page Faculty Research Plan, including 1-2 pages describing their track record in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), mentoring, and advancing diverse students in STEM, making the alignment between research activity and student success expectations explicit.

Finally, the program places heavy emphasis on evidence and transparency. All projects must generate new knowledge through evaluation and present a clear dissemination plan so findings reach beyond the institution. Track 2 and Track 3 proposals must also generate new knowledge through a well-constructed STEM education research plan aligned to project goals. Proposals are expected to include institutional data and a narrative explaining the institution's need for the project and its capacity to improve undergraduate STEM education. The opportunity is offered as a discretionary NSF grant (CFDA 47.076), with an award ceiling of up to $3,000,000 and an anticipated total of about 37 awards in the referenced cycle, and it is open to eligible applicants as defined in the full solicitation (commonly including HSIs and, in particular, encouraging participation by PUIs and community colleges).

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.076.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 13, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 10, 2021 Track 1 Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP) and Track 2 Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP) full proposal deadline. Track 3 Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) full proposal deadline.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 37 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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