Important information for proposers and award recipients

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements.

All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions.

NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects.

Important NSF EDU Core Research (ECR: Core) program update

July 2, 2026

For the Oct. 1, 2026 deadline, the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for STEM Education (NSF EDU) Core Research (ECR: Core) competition (NSF 21-588) will only accept proposals for fundamental STEM education research focused on undergraduate education, graduate education, higher education and the STEM workforce. These proposals should be submitted to either the Division of Undergraduate Education or the Division of Graduate Education as appropriate.

Investigators who would typically submit to the ECR: Core solicitation for fundamental science, technology, engineering and mathematics education research projects focused on early childhood or K-12 education levels or in informal settings are encouraged to apply to the NSF STEM K-12 solicitation (NSF 25-545).

Please contact ecr@nsf.gov if you have questions about ECR: Core and STEMK12@nsf.gov if you have questions about STEM K-12.