NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program | 25 514

Opportunity Information: Apply for 25 514

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program is a discretionary grant opportunity designed to help academically talented, low-income students complete college degrees in NSF-supported STEM fields and move into strong career pathways. The core idea is that financial barriers are a major reason capable students leave STEM, but scholarships alone are not enough to improve retention and graduation. Because of that, S-STEM funds institutions not only to provide scholarships, but also to implement, refine, and study evidence-based academic and co-curricular supports that strengthen recruitment, persistence, transfer (when relevant), timely progression through courses, career preparation, and graduation outcomes in STEM.

S-STEM awards are made to U.S.-accredited institutions of higher education (IHEs), including both two-year and four-year colleges and universities (community colleges included), as long as they have a campus located in the United States. Students supported as S-STEM Scholars must be domestic low-income students who show academic ability, talent, or potential, and who can demonstrate unmet financial need. Scholars must be enrolled in an eligible STEM discipline leading to an eligible degree at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral level. The program places real emphasis on serving a clearly defined student population: proposals are expected to include an analysis describing the characteristics of the targeted students and their academic needs, rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all approach.

A major program priority is aligning scholarships and student supports with fields that matter to national competitiveness. NSF notes it is especially interested in degrees tied to critical workforce needs, but it does not prescribe a single list in the text provided. Instead, the burden is on the proposing institution to make a persuasive, well-supported case that the STEM field(s) they are targeting represent a critical need for the United States. In practice, this means proposals should connect local or regional workforce demand, national STEM priorities, and student career outcomes to the project’s choice of disciplines and pathway design.

Eligible degrees span a wide range of standard STEM credentials: 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; and doctoral degrees (Ph.D. or comparable). Eligible disciplines generally include the disciplinary fields in which NSF funds research, along with related technology fields tied to those disciplines (examples given include biotechnology, chemical technology, engineering technology, and information technology). At the same time, the solicitation clearly excludes several areas. Clinical degree programs are not eligible, including medicine, nursing, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and similar programs that fall outside NSF’s research funding scope. STEM teacher certification or licensure programs already covered under the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program are also ineligible for S-STEM funding. Business programs leading to business administration degrees (BABA/BSBA/BBA) are excluded, as are MBA and doctoral business administration degrees. Because borderline cases can come up, NSF strongly encourages institutions to contact S-STEM Program Officers in advance if they are uncertain about whether a degree or discipline qualifies.

The program also signals who it most wants to hear from. While any eligible U.S. IHE can apply, NSF particularly encourages proposals from two-year institutions, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), predominately undergraduate institutions, and public institutions in urban, suburban, and rural settings. This reflects the program’s equity and workforce goals, since these institutions often serve large numbers of students with financial need and play a key role in transfer pipelines and regional STEM talent development.

Leadership requirements depend on the project track. For Track 1 and Track 2 proposals, the Principal Investigator (PI) must be either a faculty member currently teaching in an S-STEM-eligible discipline or an academic administrator who has taught in an eligible discipline and can commit sufficient time to ensure project success. Multi-department projects are allowed, but NSF requires a single PI to hold overall responsibility, with meaningful roles for faculty across participating departments (as co-PIs, senior/key personnel, or scholar mentors). For Track 3 inter-institutional consortia projects, the PI can also be a non-teaching institutional, educational, or social science researcher focused on questions related to low-income student success, reflecting the larger coordination and research components typical of consortia. Track 3 proposals must still have one PI who is accountable for leadership and coordination across all consortium members, and participating institutions must assign appropriate roles to their faculty and project personnel.

There are also special instructions for proposals that involve an international branch campus of a U.S. institution. If any funding would support activities at an international branch campus (including via subawards or consultants), the proposal must clearly explain how that work benefits the project and why the activities cannot be performed at the U.S. campus. This signals that NSF expects the primary justification for location and spending to be strongly tied to project outcomes and necessity, not convenience.

Key administrative details from the opportunity listing include the Funding Opportunity Title "NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program," Funding Opportunity Number 25 514, and CFDA Number 47.076. The instrument type is a grant, and the activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The original closing date is 2025-03-04. The award ceiling is listed as $5,000,000, and NSF anticipates making about 60 awards. The opportunity was created on 2024-12-03 and is administered by the National Science Foundation.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.076.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 60 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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