NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM)

NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) is sponsored by National Science Foundation. Tracks include curriculum development for retention in AI/STEM fields, enabling universities to design scholarships paired with AI-native project curricula. This program should be reviewed carefully against your organization's mission, staffing capacity, timeline, and compliance readiness before you commit resources to a full application. Strong submissions usually translate sponsor priorities into concrete objectives, clear implementation milestones, and measurable public benefit.

For planning purposes, treat rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows as your working submission target unless the sponsor publishes an updated notice. A competitive project plan should include a documented need statement, implementation approach, evaluation framework, risk controls, and a realistic budget narrative. Even when a grant allows broad program design, reviewers still expect credible evidence that the proposed work can be executed within the grant period and with appropriate accountability.

Current published award information indicates $1,000,000 - $5,000,000 Organizations should verify the final funding range, matching requirements, and allowability rules directly in the official opportunity materials before preparing a budget. Finance and program teams should align early so direct costs, indirect costs, staffing assumptions, procurement timelines, and reporting obligations all remain consistent throughout drafting and post-award administration.

Eligibility guidance for this opportunity is: Institutions of higher education If your organization has partnerships, subrecipients, or collaborators, define responsibilities and compliance ownership before submission. Reviewers often look for implementation credibility, so letters of commitment, prior performance evidence, and a clear governance model can materially strengthen the application narrative and reduce concerns about delivery risk.

A practical approach is to begin with a focused readiness review, then build a workback schedule from the sponsor deadline. Confirm required attachments, registration dependencies, and internal approval checkpoints early. This reduces last-minute issues and improves submission quality. For the most accurate requirements, always rely on the official notice and primary source links associated with NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM).

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These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements.

Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Updates to NSF Research Security Policies On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.

Supports institutions of higher education to fund scholarships for academically talented low-income STEM majors and to study and implement a program of activities that support their recruitment, retention and graduation.

Supports institutions of higher education to fund scholarships for academically talented low-income STEM majors and to study and implement a program of activities that support their recruitment, retention and graduation. The main goal of the S-STEM program is to enable academically talented, low-income students to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields.

Ultimately, the S-STEM program seeks to increase the number of academically promising low-income students who graduate with an S-STEM eligible degree and contribute to the American innovation economy with their STEM knowledge.

Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to institutions of higher education (IHEs) not only to fund scholarships, but also to adapt, implement, and study evidence-based curricular and co-curricular [a] activities that have been shown to be effective in supporting recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM.

To be eligible, scholars must be domestic low-income students with academic ability, talent, or potential and demonstrated unmet financial need who are enrolled in an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program in an S-STEM eligible discipline. Proposers must provide an analysis that articulates the characteristics and academic needs of the population of students they are trying to serve.

NSF is particularly interested in supporting the attainment of degrees in fields identified as critical needs for the Nation. It is up to the proposer to make a compelling case that such a field serves a critical need in the United States. [a] an activity at a school or college pursued in addition to the normal course of study.

S-STEM Eligible Degree Programs Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Engineering, and Associate of Applied Science Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Applied Science Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Master of Engineering Doctoral (Ph. D.

or other comparable doctoral degree) S-STEM Eligible Disciplines Disciplinary fields in which research is funded by NSF, including technology fields associated with the S-STEM-eligible disciplines (e. g. , biotechnology, chemical technology, engineering technology, information technology, etc.)

The following degrees and disciplines are excluded : Clinical degree programs, including medical degrees, nursing, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and others not funded by NSF, are ineligible degrees. Programs for STEM teacher certification or licensure currently covered by the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program (NOYCE) are ineligible for S-STEM funding.

Business school programs that lead to Bachelor of Arts or Science in Business Administration degrees (BABA/BSBA/BBA) are not eligible for S-STEM funding. Masters and Doctoral degrees in Business Administration are also excluded. Proposers are strongly encouraged to contact Program Officers before submitting a proposal if they have questions concerning degree or disciplinary eligibility.

The S-STEM program particularly encourages proposals from 2-year institutions, predominately undergraduate institutions, and urban, suburban, and rural public institutions.

Updates and announcements NSF S-STEM: Reviewer Survey 2025 NSF S-STEM: FAQs Now Available February 29, 2024 - S-STEM: Office Hours February 23, 2024 - S-STEM: Office Hours February 13, 2024 - S-STEM: Office Hours February 8, 2024 - S-STEM: Office Hours February 1, 2023 - S-STEM: Proposal Preparation Webinar Sessions January 31, 2023 - S-STEM: Proposal Preparation Webinar Sessions January 30, 2023 - S-STEM: Proposal Preparation Webinar Sessions January 26, 2023 - S-STEM: Proposal Preparation Webinar Sessions Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) Division of Undergraduate Education (EDU/DUE) First Tuesday in March, Annually Thereafter Due by 5pm submitting organization's local time Awards for Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) projects may not exceed $2,000,000 total for a maximum duration of 6 years.

Awards for Track 2 (Implementation Projects) projects may not exceed $2,000,000 total for a maximum duration of 6 years. Awards for Track 3 (Inter-institutional Consortia) projects may not exceed $5,000,000 total for a maximum duration of 6 years. Estimated number of awards Estimated number of awards description subject to availability of funds.

Proposals may only be submitted by certain types of organizations. Please see solicitation for details. Limit on number of proposals per organization Limit on number of proposals per organization description For a given S-STEM deadline, an institution may submit up to two proposals in which it will be directly involved in providing scholarships.

Multiple proposals from an institution must not overlap with regard to S-STEM eligible disciplines. See Additional Eligibility Information below for more details (see IV. Eligibility Information).

Institutions with a current S-STEM award should wait at least until the end of the third year of execution of their current award before submitting a new Track 2 or Track 3 S-STEM proposal focused on students pursuing degrees in the same discipline(s). There is additional eligibility information. Please see solicitation for details.

Review full program guidelines and learn how to submit a proposal in the latest solicitation. Share on X (formerly known as Twitter) Our Directorates & Offices Budget, Performance & Financial Reporting