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This document has been archived. For current NSF funding opportunities, see
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/browse_all_funding.jsp
Directorate
for Education and Human Resources
Division of Undergraduate Education
The Division of Undergraduate Education
(DUE) serves as the focal point for NSF’s efforts in undergraduate
education. DUE's mission is to promote excellence in undergraduate science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for all students,
including STEM majors, prospective teachers of grades preK through 12 (preK-12),
students preparing for the technical workplace, and students in their role
as citizens.
The Division accomplishes its mission by doing the following:
- Providing leadership to (1) promote cutting-edge efforts, risk-taking,
and continuous innovation in the development of new practices and ideas;
(2) shape national priorities to further educational innovation and research;
and (3) direct efforts to increase the diversity of STEM communities.
- Supporting
curriculum development that stimulates research on learning; leads to
exemplary materials and strategies for education; incorporates
model assessment programs and practices; effects broad dissemination of
effective pedagogy and materials; and enables long-term sustainability
of effective activities.
- Preparing the workforce by promoting technological,
quantitative, and scientific literacy; supporting an increase in diversity,
size, and
quality of the next generation of STEM professionals who enter the workforce
with 2- or 4-year degrees or who continue their studies in graduate and
professional schools; investing in the Nation's future K-12 teacher workforce;
and funding research to evaluate and improve workforce initiatives.
- Fostering
connections by facilitating communication across disciplinary boundaries,
across all educational levels (from K-12 through graduate school),
and between academia, industry, and professional societies; encouraging
faculty to combine teaching and discipline-based research; and collaborating
with research communities and with NSF research directorates.
1. Advanced Technological Education (ATE)
The ATE Program is managed jointly by DUE and the Division of Elementary,
Secondary, and Informal Education. The program promotes improvement in the
education of technicians in science- and engineering-related fields at the
undergraduate and secondary school levels. It particularly targets 2-year
colleges and encourages collaboration among 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges,
universities, secondary schools, business, industry, and government. Proposals
are solicited in the following three tracks:
- Projects—Activities may include the adaptation
of exemplary educational materials, courses, and curriculums in new educational
settings;
the preparation and professional development of college faculty and secondary
school teachers; development of educational materials, courses, curriculums,
and laboratories; internships and field experiences for students and educators;
the evaluation and broad dissemination of exemplary educational materials,
curricula, and pedagogical practices designed by previously funded ATE
centers and projects, and research on effective practices in technician
education.
- Centers—Centers are comprehensive national or
regional resources that provide models and leadership for other projects
and act
as clearinghouses for educational materials and methods. National Centers
of Excellence engage in the full range of activities described above for
projects. Regional centers for manufacturing or information technology
education pursue comprehensive approaches that focus on reforming academic
programs,
departments, and systems to produce a highly qualified workforce to meet
industry's needs within a particular geographic region. Resources Centers
constitute a highly visible source of materials, ideas, contacts, and mentoring
in a particular field of technological education.
- Articulation Partnerships—Focus on enhancing either of
two important educational pathways for students between 2-year colleges
and 4-year colleges and universities. One type of Articulation Partnership
focuses on strengthening the science, technology, and mathematics preparation
of prospective K–12 teachers who are enrolled in preprofessional programs
at 2-year colleges. The other type of partnership targets 2-year college
programs for students to continue their education in 4-year science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics programs, especially programs that have a strong
technological basis.
Proposals in all three tracks must show evidence of a coherent vision
of technological education—a vision that recognizes the needs of the
modern workplace, the needs of students as lifelong learners, and the need
for articulation of educational programs at different levels. Whenever feasible,
projects are expected to utilize and innovatively build from successful
educational materials, courses, curriculums, and methods that have been
developed through other ATE grants, as well as other exemplary resources
that can be adapted to technological education.
2. Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarships (CSEMS)
The CSEMS Program provides institutions with funds to support scholarships
for talented but financially disadvantaged students in computer science,
computer technology, engineering, engineering technology, or mathematics
degree programs. Through support from this program, grantee institutions
establish scholarships that promote full-time enrollment and completion
of degrees in higher education in the above fields. NSF established the
program in accordance with the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement
Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-277). The Act reflects the Nation’s need
to increase substantially the number of graduates from associate, baccalaureate,
and graduate degree programs in these fields. The goals of this program
are to:
- improve education for students in the stated disciplines;
- increase retention
of students to degree completion;
- improve professional development, employment,
and further higher education placement of participating students; and
- strengthen
partnerships between institutions of higher education and related employment
sectors.
The eligibility criteria for a CSEMS scholarship recipient include the
following:
- status as a U.S. citizen, national, refugee alien, or permanent
resident alien at the time of application;
- full-time enrollment in a computer
science, computer technology, engineering, engineering technology, or mathematics
degree program at the associate,
baccalaureate, or graduate level;
- demonstration of academic potential or
ability; and
- demonstration of financial need, defined for undergraduates
as financial eligibility under U.S. Department of Education rules for
federal financial
aid, and defined for graduate students as eligibility for Graduate Assistance
in Areas of National Need.
CSEMS proposers must be institutions of higher education that grant degrees
in computer science, computer technology, engineering, engineering technology,
or mathematics.
3. Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI)
The CCLI Program seeks to improve the quality of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for all students, based on
research concerning the needs and opportunities that exist and effective
ways to address them. It targets activities affecting learning environments,
course content, curriculums, and educational practices, with the aim of
contributing to the relevant research base. The program invites proposals
to improve undergraduate STEM education in a broad spectrum of institutions,
including 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities. Projects may
involve a single institution, a collaborative effort among several institutions,
or a collaboration with business and industry partners. The program has
four tracks:
- Educational Materials Development (CCLI-EMD) projects are expected
to produce innovative materials that incorporate effective educational
practices to improve student learning of STEM. Projects to develop textbooks,
software,
or laboratory materials for commercial distribution are appropriate. Two
types of EMD projects will be supported: (1) those that intend to demonstrate
the scientific and educational feasibility of an idea—a "proof
of concept" or prototype and (2) those that are based on prior experience
with a prototype that intend to fully develop and test the product or practice.
Such materials are expected to be disseminated nationally for adoption
and adaptation.
- National Dissemination (CCLI-ND) projects are expected to
provide faculty with professional development opportunities to enable
them to introduce
new content into undergraduate courses and laboratories and to explore
effective educational practices to improve the effectiveness of their teaching.
Projects
should be designed to offer workshops, short courses, or similar activities
on a national scale in single or multiple disciplines.
- Adaptation and Implementation
(CCLI-A&I) projects are expected
to result in improved education in STEM at academic institutions through
adaptation and implementation of exemplary materials, laboratory experiences,
and/or educational practices that have been developed and tested at other
institutions. Proposals may request funds in any budget category supported
by NSF or may request funds to purchase only instrumentation.
- Assessment
of Student Achievement (CCLI-ASA) projects are expected to develop and
disseminate assessment practices, materials (tools), and
measures to guide efforts that improve the effectiveness of courses, curriculums,
programs of study, and academic institutions in promoting student learning
in STEM. This program track also promotes the full integration of assessment
with these educational efforts. Three types of ASA projects will be supported:
(1) New Development—developing new assessment materials (tools) and
practices for use in single or multiple undergraduate disciplines; (2) Adaptation—adapting
assessment materials and practices that have proven effective for one setting
or audience for use in a new setting, or with a different audience; and
(3) Dissemination—spreading the use of effective assessment practices
through workshops or web-based materials that are thoroughly documented
with detailed instructions.
4. Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS)
The SFS Program seeks to increase the number of qualified students entering
the fields of information assurance and computer security and increase the
capacity of higher education enterprise in the United States in order to
continue producing professionals in these fields. The program consists of
the following tracks:
- Scholarship Track provides funding to colleges and
universities to award scholarships in information assurance and computer
security fields.
Scholarship recipients will become part of the Federal Cyber Service of
information technology specialists who ensure the protection of the U.S.
Government's information infrastructure. After their 2-year scholarships,
the recipients will be required to work for a federal agency for 2 years
as their Federal Cyber Service commitment.
- Capacity Building Track seeks
to increase the national capacity for producing trained information assurance
professionals by providing support
to colleges and universities interested in building programs, individually
or in partnership.
5. NSF Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars (DTS)
The purpose of the DTS Program is to recognize and reward individuals
who have contributed significantly to the scholarship of their discipline
and to the education of students in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM), and who exemplify the ability to engage productively
in both research and education. DTS is part of NSF’s efforts to foster
an academic culture that values a scholarly approach to both research and
education. The Director’s Award is the highest honor bestowed by the
NSF for excellence in both teaching and research in STEM fields, or in educational
research related to these disciplines.
6. National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education
Digital Library (NSDL)
The goal of the NSDL Program is to support the creation and development
of a national digital library for science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) education. The resulting virtual facility--learning environments
and resources network for STEM education--is intended to meet the needs
of students and teachers at all levels, including K–12, undergraduate,
graduate, and lifelong learning, in both individual and collaborative settings.
The NSDL Program builds on work supported under the multiagency Digital
Libraries Initiative (see http://www.dli2.nsf.gov) and represents a synergistic
collaboration of research and education efforts.
The NSDL Program is currently supporting a Core Integration effort that
coordinates and manages the digital library’s holdings and services.
To complement and further expand this Core Integration capacity, the NSDL
Program accepts proposals in the following tracks:
- Collections projects are expected to aggregate and manage a subset
of the library's content within a coherent theme or specialty.
- Services projects are expected to develop services that will support users, collection
providers, and the Core Integration effort, as
well as enhance the impact, efficiency, and value of the library.
- Targeted
Research projects are expected to explore specific topics that have immediate
applicability to one of the other two tracks, or the
Core Integration effort discussed above.
7. Robert Noyce Scholarship Program
The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program seeks to increase the number of K-12
teachers with strong science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
content knowledge by encouraging talented STEM undergraduates and STEM professionals
to pursue teaching careers in elementary and secondary schools. The program
provides funding to institutions of higher education to provide scholarships,
stipends, and programmatic support for STEM majors and STEM professionals
to enter and complete teacher credentialing programs. Scholarship recipients
are required to complete two years of teaching in a high need school district
for each year of scholarship or stipend support.
8. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion
Program (STEP)
STEP seeks to increase the number of students (U.S. citizens or permanent
residents) pursuing and receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in
established or emerging fields within science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM). The program is open to institutions of higher education
in the United States and its territories and to consortia of such institutions,
offering either associate degrees or baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields.
Type 1 proposals are solicited that provide for full implementation efforts
at academic institutions. Type 2 proposals are solicited that provide for
educational research projects on associate or baccalaureate degree attainment
in STEM.
9. Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC)
The TPC Program is managed jointly by ESIE and the Division of Undergraduate
Education. TPC addresses the full continuum of teacher education (grades
K–12) from recruitment and preparation through enhancement, retention,
and lifelong learning of SMT teachers. TPC supports four categories of projects:
(1) Research Studies—identify effective strategies for educating teachers,
develop supportive structures and environments that sustain SMT educators,
and impact teaching practice through teacher learning; (2) Research and
Development of Educational Models and Systems—evaluate overall effectiveness
of models and systems to be studied, as well as how relationships among
various components influence effectiveness; (3) Professional Resources Development
that are grounded in recent advances in research on teaching and learning;
and (4) Conferences and Symposia—focus on planning and dissemination
of research findings, issues, innovations, and action plans.
TPC Program goals are to:
- improve the quality and coherence of the learning experiences
that prepare and enhance SMT teachers;
- develop innovative curricula, materials,
tools, ideas, and information resources for the professional development
of SMT teachers and administrators;
- research, develop, and identify models,
organizational structures, and systems that support the teacher professional
continuum;
- use scientifically-based studies to research teacher learning
throughout the teacher professional continuum and its impact on teaching
practice;
- advance the knowledge base on the preparation, enhancement, and
retention of SMT teachers, and on the strategies that strengthen and diversify
the SMT teaching profession; and
- disseminate this knowledge and research--as
well as innovative models and resources--to a national audience.
Eligibility Requirements for TPC
The TPC Program has special eligibility requirements beyond the standard
NSF requirements. For more information, see program solicitation NSF
03-534.
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