NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program

Scholarship Sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation

Overview
The S-STEM (Scholarships in STEM) program provides funding to colleges and universities so they can award scholarships to academically capable, low-income students in STEM and implement evidence-based curricular and co-curricular supports that improve recruitment, persistence, transfer (when appropriate), academic and career pathway development, and graduation in STEM disciplines.

Program purpose
S-STEM’s central objective is to increase the number of academically promising, low-income students who complete NSF-eligible STEM degrees and enter the U.S. innovation workforce. Recognizing that scholarships alone are not sufficient to improve persistence and completion, awards support both student financial assistance and the adaptation, deployment, and study of proven curricular and co-curricular interventions that help students succeed.

Note on “co-curricular”
Co-curricular activities are those undertaken alongside the regular coursework (i.e., activities pursued in addition to the normal course of study).

Who the scholarships must serve
- Scholars must be domestic students who demonstrate low-income status, academic ability, talent, or potential, and documented unmet financial need.
- Eligible scholars must be enrolled in an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program in a discipline eligible under S-STEM.
- Proposal teams must include an analysis describing the characteristics and academic needs of the target student population they intend to serve.
- NSF has special interest in degrees in fields that address national critical needs; proposers should justify how the field they target meets a critical national need.

Eligible degree levels
- Associate: AA, AS, AE, AAS
- Bachelor: BA, BS, BE, BAS
- Master: MA, MS, MEng (or comparable)
- Doctoral: Ph.D. or other comparable doctoral degrees

Eligible disciplines
Disciplines supported are those in which NSF funds research, including technology-related areas linked to those disciplines (for example biotechnology, chemical technology, engineering technology, information technology, etc.).

Excluded degrees and fields
The following are not eligible for S-STEM funding:
- Clinical professional degree programs not supported by NSF (e.g., M.D., nursing, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and similar clinical degrees).
- Programs that lead only to STEM teacher certification or licensure covered by the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program (NOYCE).
- Undergraduate business degrees leading to B.A./B.S./B.B.A. in Business Administration (BABA/BSBA/BBA).
- Master’s and doctoral degrees in Business Administration (e.g., MBA, DBA).

Proposers with questions about whether a degree or discipline is eligible are strongly encouraged to contact S‑STEM Program Officers before submitting a proposal.

Applicant institutions encouraged
S‑STEM particularly welcomes proposals from community (2‑year) colleges, predominantly undergraduate institutions, and from public institutions serving urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Award tracks, size, and duration
- Track 1 — Institutional Capacity Building: up to $2,000,000 total; up to 6 years.
- Track 2 — Implementation Projects: up to $2,000,000 total; up to 6 years.
- Track 3 — Inter‑institutional Consortia: up to $5,000,000 total; up to 6 years.

Estimated number of awards
Approximately 40 to 60 awards are expected, subject to availability of funds.

Who may submit
Only certain types of organizations may submit proposals; consult the solicitation for eligibility of proposers.

Limit on proposals per institution
For any given S‑STEM deadline, an institution may be directly involved in no more than two proposals that provide scholarships. Multiple submissions from the same institution must not overlap in the S‑STEM-eligible disciplines they serve. Institutions that currently hold an S‑STEM award should generally wait until at least the end of the third year of their active award before submitting a new Track 2 or Track 3 proposal focused on students in the same discipline(s).

Additional information and submission instructions
There is further eligibility and submission information in the solicitation. Review the full program guidelines and the current solicitation for detailed instructions on proposal preparation and submission.