NYC STEM Talent Fund

NYC STEM Talent Fund is sponsored by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This fund invests in financially vulnerable, high-potential NYC STEM undergraduate students (math, physics, and neuroscience) to close the graduation gap and pave the way for undergraduate degrees and graduate school.

## To expand fair access and opportunity in STEM higher education so that all talent is included and can thrive [](https://sloan. org/programs/higher-education) Ensuring that all students, no matter their background, have fair access and opportunity to thrive in STEM disciplines is a core principle of the Higher Education Program. As articulated in the Alfred P.

Sloan Foundation’s Commitment to Opportunity for All in Science, upholding this principle is a matter of fundamental justice and our path to ensuring that the best science is done. Educational settings that include and celebrate people from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives promote collaboration, learning, and innovation.

We know from experience that everyone benefits when this diversity is combined with organizational practices, policies, and cultures that provide individuals with the tools, resources, and support needed to succeed. The Higher Education program supports individuals and institutions that pursue these and other essential ingredients for scientific advancement that benefit our communities, nation, and the world.

Three equally important priorities guide the majority of our grantmaking. In particular, we seek to: 1. **Invest in widening pathways to STEM graduate education.

** The pathway to and through STEM graduate education is broken for far too many students. Systemic barriers limit talented students’ opportunities because of who they are, where they’re from, how much money they have, and other unfair impediments.

We seek grantees with the capacity and commitment to work toward removing all significant barriers, while maintaining opportunities for those who are already thriving, so that all talent can achieve their promise. Among other investments, we seek to widen educational pathways to and through master’s and doctoral STEM programs through the _Exemplary Pathways to STEM Graduate Education_initiative. 2.

**Empower universities to transform graduate education. ** Including all talent in the student body is crucial for the integrity, excellence, and contributions of science. Institutions and their STEM departments must pursue new, creative, and evidence-informed ways of ensuring that all students can thrive.

This includes creating and enhancing law-attentive, student-centered programs and attending to institutional policies, practices, standards, and norms such that all students have the opportunities and resources they need to be successful.

Through the Foundation’s _University Centers for Exemplary Mentoring__,__Sloan Centers for Systemic Change__,_ and _Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership_, we seek to empower STEM departmental leadership, faculty, and staff in doing just that while at the same time supporting graduate scholars though Sloan scholarships. 3. **Support innovative efforts to include all talent in the STEM professoriate.

** By widening pathways to and through graduate education, we help to create a STEM ecosystem where students have the freedom to teach, study, and pursue knowledge and research in many forms. This requires institutions where talented faculty and students of all experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives can explore ideas and learn from one another.

We are interested in efforts by institutions and organizations to transform the culture and climate of STEM departments and disciplines such that more individuals are attracted to the professoriate and thrive once there. Grantmaking in this area includes support for researchers who study the STEM professoriate. [](https://sloan.

org/programs/higher-education) * Grants to support university-based efforts that seek to advance systemic change in STEM graduate education. Learn More * Grants to support the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives and community engagement in STEM graduate education. Learn More * Grants to expand educational pathways to STEM graduate education through innovative institutional partnerships.

Learn more * Grants to catalyze and deepen systemic change activities in STEM doctoral program nationwide. Learn more In addition, the program makes grants to support institutions and organizations that promote fair access and opportunity in science, engineering, and economics, as well as for the professional advancement of students and faculty in these disciplines. [](https://sloan.

org/programs/higher-education)[](https://sloan.

org/programs/higher-education) * $247,000 To support Sloan Scholar Network scholarship administration and scholar and alumni engagement activities Learn More * $199,894 To support the establishment of a central training and dissemination hub for the LinearROB Distributed Teaching Collaborative Learn More * $79,500 To convene funders, scholars, practitioners, and students that establishes a roadmap for the future of higher education Learn More * $852,256 To launch the Distributed Teaching Collaboratives Consortium, enabling communities of faculty to create and expand accessible, high-quality educational pathways in robotics and AI Learn More * $1,393,445 To provide administrative, community engagement, and research and assessment support for Sloan-funded programs Learn More * $2,099,999 To support Sloan Scholarship Program administration Learn More [](https://sloan.

org/programs/higher-education) While we cannot accommodate all requests for phone, Zoom, or in-person visits, we welcome ideas and short project descriptions via HigherEd@sloan. org. For priority review, interested grantseekers should send a two-page letter of inquiry to HigherEd@sloan.

org. [](https://sloan. org/programs/higher-education) * Lorelle L.

Espinosa Program Director * Latoya Gardner Program Coordinator /programs/higher-education