NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program | 21 550

Opportunity Information: Apply for 21 550

The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program is a National Science Foundation grant opportunity designed to help low-income, academically talented domestic students complete STEM degrees and move into the US STEM workforce or graduate study. The program is built around the idea that scholarships matter, but money alone is not enough to improve retention and graduation outcomes in STEM. As a result, NSF funds Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) not only to provide direct scholarship support, but also to design, adapt, implement, and study evidence-based curricular and co-curricular strategies that improve recruitment, persistence, transfer pathways (when relevant), academic progress, career preparation, and degree completion for the students the program serves.

The opportunity has three core aims. First, it seeks to increase the number of low-income, academically talented students with demonstrated unmet financial need who earn degrees in S-STEM-eligible disciplines and then enter STEM jobs in the US or continue into STEM graduate programs. Second, it focuses on strengthening the support systems that help develop future scientists, engineers, and technicians, especially supports tailored to the needs and barriers faced by low-income students. Third, it aims to build stronger evidence about what works by advancing knowledge on how specific interventions and evidence-based student-success practices affect outcomes like retention, transfer, academic and career pathways, and graduation in STEM.

A key feature of S-STEM is that it is an institutional grant program rather than an individual student application. Colleges and universities apply for funding and then use the award to provide scholarships and structured student supports. Students supported as S-STEM Scholars must be domestic, low-income, academically talented, and have demonstrated unmet financial need, and they must be enrolled in an eligible associate, bachelors, or graduate STEM degree program. On the proposal side, institutions are expected to clearly define the student population they intend to serve and provide an analysis estimating how many students already meet the full eligibility criteria at the time of proposal submission. This estimate, based on current and/or historical institutional data, is used as a practical proxy for the future pool of students likely to qualify if the project is funded.

S-STEM covers a broad set of degree levels and fields. Eligible degree programs include associate degrees (AA, AS, AE, AAS), bachelors degrees (BA, BS, BE, BAS), masters degrees (MA, MS, ME), and doctoral programs, as long as the program is in an S-STEM-eligible discipline. Eligible disciplines include biological sciences (excluding medicine and other clinical fields), physical sciences (such as physics, chemistry, astronomy, and materials science), mathematical sciences, computer and information sciences, geosciences, engineering, and technology fields closely tied to those disciplines (for example biotechnology, chemical technology, engineering technology, and information technology). Degree eligibility is also aligned with specific Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code groupings, commonly including leading two-digit CIP codes 01, 02, 03, 11, 14, 15, 26, 27, 30, 40, and 51, with rare exceptions. One explicit exclusion is business school programs leading to Bachelor of Arts or Science in Business Administration (BABA/BSBA), which are not eligible for S-STEM funding; institutions are encouraged to consult NSF program officers when degree eligibility is uncertain.

The program also encourages collaboration and partnerships as a way to strengthen student pathways and improve outcomes. NSF highlights collaboration across institution types (for example, partnerships between two-year and four-year schools to support transfer), teamwork between STEM faculty and researchers in education or social sciences to evaluate interventions, and partnerships with external stakeholders such as employers, industry, community organizations, national laboratories, or other government organizations when it makes sense for the project goals. The solicitation particularly encourages proposals from two-year institutions and from Minority Serving Institutions (including HBCUs, HSIs, and Tribal Colleges and Universities), as well as from urban and rural public institutions, reflecting a strong emphasis on broadening participation and serving students who are often underrepresented or face structural barriers in STEM.

From the funding perspective, this is a discretionary NSF grant under CFDA 47.076 (Science and Technology and other Research and Development). The posted award ceiling is up to $5,000,000, with an estimated 70 awards under the referenced opportunity cycle (Funding Opportunity Number 21-550). The opportunity was originally posted January 7, 2021, with an original closing date of April 7, 2021, though applicants typically need to check NSF for the most current due dates and any updated solicitation versions. Overall, S-STEM is best understood as a combined scholarship-plus-student-success program: it aims to reduce financial barriers while also building and testing the kinds of academic and career supports that help low-income STEM students persist, graduate, and transition into high-demand STEM careers or advanced study.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program" 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 Jan 07, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 07, 2021. (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 $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 70 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 21 550

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