IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (IUSE/PFE: RED)

IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (IUSE/PFE: RED) is sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Supports transformative projects in engineering departments to enhance undergraduate education through organizational and cultural changes.

IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (IUSE/PFE: RED) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (IUSE/PFE: RED) 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. Supports fundamental changes to the training of undergraduate engineering students that equip them with the technical and professional skills needed to solve complex societal problems.

Supports fundamental changes to the training of undergraduate engineering students that equip them with the technical and professional skills needed to solve complex societal problems. The Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and STEM Education (EDU) are funding projects as part of the RED program, in alignment with the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) framework and Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) initiative.

These projects are designing revolutionary new approaches to engineering education, ranging from changing the canon of engineering to fundamentally altering the way courses are structured to creating new departmental structures and educational collaborations with industry.

A common thread across these projects is a focus on organizational and cultural change within the departments, involving students, faculty, staff, and industry in rethinking what it means to provide an engineering program.

In order to continue to catalyze revolutionary approaches, while expanding the reach of those that have proved efficacious in particular contexts, the RED program supports four tracks: RED Planning (Track 1), RED Adaptation and Implementation (Track 2), RED Innovation (Track 3), and RED Innovation Partnerships (Track 4). Two- and four-year institutions are encouraged to submit to any track as appropriate for their goals and context.

RED Planning (Track 1) projects will support capacity-building activities at institutions of special interest to NSF’s mission, including two-year engineering-centered programs building transfer partnerships, two-year or four-year institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions, Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) in order to create more opportunities in engineering for students in every part of the country.

Planning projects should provide the support for such institutions to explore the development of a RED Projects in Tracks 2, 3, & 4. RED Adaptation and Implementation (Track 2) projects will adapt and implement evidence-based organizational change strategies and actions to the local context, which helps propagate this transformation of undergraduate engineering education.

RED Innovation (Track 3) projects will develop new, revolutionary approaches and change strategies that enable the transformation of undergraduate engineering education. RED Innovation Partnerships (Track 4) projects will achieve the same goals as Track 3 projects across multiple institutions. Of particular interest to this track are projects partnering two-year institutions with other eligible institutions.

Projects in tracks 2, 3, & 4 will include consideration of the cultural, organizational, structural, and pedagogical changes needed to transform one or more departments to ones in which students are engaged, develop their technical and professional skills, and establish identities as professional engineers or technologists. The focus of projects in these tracks should be on the department’s disciplinary courses and program.

RED project initiatives are expected to be institutionalized at the end of the funding period. Proposals are especially encouraged that address areas of increased national interest including but not limited to advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, microelectronics and semiconductors, net zero technologies, sustainability, systems engineering, and quantum engineering.

Updates and announcements RED planning grants webinar materials now available RED webinar materials now available August 26, 2025 - Engineering education info session: NSF Revolutionizing… April 1, 2025 - Revolutionizing Engineering Departments Planning Grants Webinar July 10, 2024 - Revolutionizing Engineering Departments Program Webinar April 25, 2023 - Revolutionizing Engineering Departments Office Hours April 5, 2023 - Revolutionizing Engineering Departments Office Hours Additional program resources NSF information on the responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR) RED proposal development advice from RED awardees (sessions recorded in 2017) Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Research in the Formation of Engineers (RFE) Directorate for Engineering (ENG) Division of Engineering Education and Centers (ENG/EEC) Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) Division of Undergraduate Education (EDU/DUE)