NSF Tribal Colleges & Universities Program: STEM Education and Research Grant

*Who May Serve as PI:
For the Instructional Capacity Excellence in TCUP Institutions, PArtnerships for Geosciences Education, Partnerships for Documentary Linguistics Education, and Pre-Engineering Education Collaboratives Phase II award tracks, the principal investigator (PI) is expected to be the chief academic officer of the institution, or another senior academic officer responsible for oversight and management of curriculum and instructional policies for the institution, although senior STEM faculty may be considered.  Typically, the PI for Targeted STEM Infusion Projects and Small Grants for Research proposals would be a member of the STEM faculty. Prospective PIs are encouraged to consult TCUP program staff.

Transformative Capacity Building

Instructional Capacity Excellence in TCUP Institutions (ICE-TI) projects provide support to design, implement and assess comprehensive institutional improvements in the STEM instructional and research capacity in TCUP-eligible institutions of higher education. Successful projects are transformative in their approaches to increasing the numbers of STEM students and the quality of their preparation by strengthening STEM education and research. ICE-TI Projects create and/or adapt and assess innovative models and materials for teaching and learning in STEM, embody knowledge about how students learn most effectively in STEM teaching and learning activities, and bring STEM disciplinary advances into the undergraduate experience.

Targeted STEM Infusion Projects (TSIP) provide support toward achieving a short-term, well-defined goal that promises to improve the quality of undergraduate STEM education at an eligible institution. Targeted STEM Infusion Projects could, for example, enhance academic infrastructure by systematically adding traditional knowledge to the scope or content of a STEM course, updating curriculum, modernizing laboratory research equipment, or improving the computational network array for research and education.

Preparing for TCUP Implementation (Pre-TI) projects support development-level activities that can ground an institution’s readiness for Implementation-level projects, such as an institutional assessment of its current STEM instructional capacity, or the conversations necessary to formulate a shared vision of what that capacity should be and how to achieve it. Provided specifically for those TCUP-eligible institutions of higher education that have never received a TCUP Implementation-level award, Pre-TI grants can support staff and faculty release time, travel, stakeholder gatherings, and associated administrative costs.

Multiple Institution Collaborations

The PArtnerships for Geoscience Education (PAGE) strand provides support for collaborations that will improve TCUP institutions’ instructional capacity in geosciences; attract, retain, and support TCUP students in internships and research endeavors deemed to be necessary for a complete curriculum offering; and engage partner universities to provide an academic grounding and a successful transition for students who wish to study or attain degrees in geosciences.

The Partnerships for Documentary Linguistics Education (PADLE) strand provides support for collaborations that will improve TCUP institutions’ instructional capacity in documentary linguistics (descriptive linguistics, computational methodology, archiving and preservation); attract, retain and support TCUP students in internships and research endeavors deemed to be necessary for a complete curriculum offering; and engage partner universities to provide an academic grounding and a successful transition for students who wish to study or attain degrees in documentary linguistics.

Pre-Engineering Education Collaboratives, Phase II (PEEC-II) will support studies or educational research conducted by institutions that have had active PEEC awards. The intent of PEEC-II is to capture, analyze, and disseminate the impact of these awards on the participating institutions, faculty, or students, and their communities.

Individual Investigator Studies

Small Grants for Research (SGR) projects support faculty members in STEM disciplines or STEM education at TCUP-eligible institutions to initiate or pursue research projects or programs that may include undergraduate or graduate student engagement. Awards are intended to help further the faculty member’s research capability and effectiveness; to improve research and teaching at his or her home institution; create and study new models and innovations in STEM teaching and learning; and enhance the understanding of diverse groups’ participation in STEM education practices and interventions.  These awards are particularly appropriate as a means of recruiting and retaining highly qualified scientists, engineers, and educators at TCUP-eligible institutions.

Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science in Tribal Colleges and Universities (SEA-PHAGES in TCUs) projects provide support to tribal colleges and universities to enable their participation in the SEA PHAGE curriculum, managed by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). NSF, through TCUP, will support those aspects crucial to participation that are not provided by HHMI. HHMI will provide the support to TCUs that it provides to all SEA institutions. Awards will engage TCU faculty and students in the on-going national study to isolate, identify, sequence, and analyze newly discovered mycobacteriophages. These awards can help a TCU develop a novel biology curriculum, establish an undergraduate research program, or provide professional development for faculty.