NSF TCUP Grants for Tribal Colleges: How to Apply

November 27, 2025 · 5 min read

Dr. Angela Crow Feather

NSF TCUP Grants for Tribal Colleges: A Practical Guide from the Lab

I have spent fourteen years writing grants from a small water research lab on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. My first NSF TCUP proposal was rejected. The second one was funded, and it changed the trajectory of our entire science program. Since then, I have secured over $1.2 million through TCUP and related programs. What follows is what I wish someone had told me before I started.

The Tribal Colleges and Universities Program remains one of the most important federal investments in Indigenous STEM capacity. For FY2026, NSF has allocated approximately $10.3 million across TCUP's funding tracks. That number is smaller than it should be -- the proposed FY2026 budget initially called for cutting TCUP from $16.5 million to $7.1 million, though congressional appropriators restored much of the funding. The lesson: these dollars are competitive, and proposals need to be precise.

Understanding the TCUP Funding Tracks

TCUP is not a single grant. It is a family of funding mechanisms, each designed for a different stage of institutional development. Choosing the wrong track is one of the most common mistakes I see from first-time applicants.

Preparing for TCUP Implementation (Pre-TI)

If your institution has never held a TCUP award, start here. Pre-TI grants fund planning activities -- needs assessments, curriculum mapping, and partnerships that lay the groundwork for larger proposals. Think of this as your foundation. You cannot build a water research lab without first understanding what your students and community need from it.

Targeted STEM Infusion Projects (TSIP)

TSIP awards support specific, well-defined improvements to STEM education. This might be a new course sequence, a laboratory upgrade, or an undergraduate research program. Up to ten TSIP awards are made each cycle. These are ideal for mid-stage institutions that have identified a clear gap and have the faculty to fill it.

Instructional Capacity Excellence (ICE-TI)

ICE-TI is the comprehensive track -- larger awards for systemic transformation of STEM instruction. NSF funds up to six ICE-TI awards per cycle. If you are proposing a new degree program, a complete curricular overhaul, or institution-wide STEM reform, this is your mechanism.

TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers)

TEA Centers support workforce development and economic enterprise connected to STEM. Up to eight awards are available. These are particularly relevant for institutions in communities facing environmental challenges, where research capacity and workforce training intersect.

Small Grants for Research (SGR)

SGR supports individual faculty scholarship. Up to ten awards per cycle. If you are an early-career researcher at a tribal college and need seed funding for a pilot study, SGR can fund the preliminary data that makes your next R01 or larger proposal competitive.

Key Requirements You Cannot Overlook

The Principal Investigator for institutional-level TCUP grants must be the chief academic officer or another senior academic officer with oversight of curriculum and instructional policy. This is non-negotiable, and I have watched proposals get returned without review because a junior faculty member was listed as PI on an ICE-TI.

Every TCUP proposal must align with NSF's broader emphasis on increasing the number of Native Americans in STEM careers. That sounds obvious, but it means your evaluation plan needs to track student outcomes, not just project outputs. How many students entered STEM pathways? How many graduated? How many pursued advanced degrees or entered the STEM workforce? NSF wants numbers.

TCUP also strongly encourages proposals that address STEM teacher preparation. If your project can connect undergraduate STEM education to K-12 teacher pipelines in your community, you are speaking NSF's language.

Writing a Proposal That Reflects Both Rigor and Relatedness

Here is where I see the deepest tension in tribal college grant writing: how do you satisfy federal review criteria while honoring the relational, place-based nature of Indigenous science?

My approach has always been to lead with the community question. When we proposed our water quality monitoring project, we did not start with the analytical chemistry. We started with Mni Wiconi -- water is life -- and the reality that our community needed local capacity to understand what was in our water. The science followed the need.

Reviewers respond to specificity. Do not write that your project will "serve the community." Write that your project will train twelve undergraduate students in EPA-standard water sampling protocols and produce the first comprehensive baseline dataset of contaminant levels across three reservation watersheds. The first statement is a hope. The second is a plan.

Building Your Evaluation Framework

NSF expects both formative and summative evaluation. For tribal college proposals, I recommend building evaluation around three questions:

Capacity: Did the institution gain measurable STEM capacity (faculty, equipment, curriculum, partnerships)?
Students: Did students persist in STEM coursework, and did degree completion rates change?
Community: Did the research produce knowledge or outcomes that the tribal community can use?

That third question is where Indigenous values enter the evaluation framework. Western evaluation often stops at publications and degrees. Community-accountable evaluation asks whether the work made a difference where it matters.

How to Apply: A Step-by-Step Overview

Verify eligibility: Your institution must be a federally recognized Tribal College or University, Alaska Native-serving institution, or Native Hawaiian-serving institution.
Select the right track: Match your institutional readiness to the appropriate TCUP mechanism (Pre-TI through ICE-TI).
Engage your chief academic officer early: They must serve as PI on institutional grants.
Contact an NSF program officer: TCUP officers are accessible and can advise on track selection before you write.
Develop community partnerships: Document letters of support from tribal leadership, community organizations, and any research partners.
Build a detailed evaluation plan: Include student outcome metrics and community impact indicators.
Submit through Research.gov: Follow the current NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. Deadlines vary by track, so verify dates on the current solicitation.

The Bigger Picture

The FY2026 budget fight made clear that federal STEM funding for tribal institutions is not guaranteed. Congressional appropriators increased state and tribal assistance grant funding, and NSF's overall research budget held at $8.75 billion. But TCUP's share remains small relative to the need. There are thirty-seven tribal colleges in the United States, each serving communities where STEM career pathways can transform economic futures. The math demands that every proposal we submit is as strong as it can be.

I tell my students that writing a grant is an act of sovereignty. When we define our own research questions, train our own scientists, and produce knowledge that serves our nations, we are exercising self-determination in one of its most practical forms.

Tools like Granted can help tribal college researchers navigate the proposal process, from analyzing solicitation requirements to drafting sections that honor both scientific rigor and community accountability.

Keep Reading

Ready to write your next proposal? Granted AI analyzes your RFP, coaches you through the requirements, and drafts every section. Start your 7-day free trial today.