Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Directorate for STEM Education
Can you apply?
This grant is for institutions of higher education seeking to improve undergraduate STEM teaching and learning. Colleges, universities, and associated organizations can apply. Projects must focus on evidence-based approaches, innovative pedagogies, or research on STEM education effectiveness. Priority goes to work addressing diversity, institutional partnerships, and broader societal impact in STEM fields.
This grant is for institutions of higher education seeking to improve undergraduate STEM teaching and learning. Colleges, universities, and associated organizations can apply. Projects must focus on evidence-based approaches, innovative pedagogies, or research on STEM education effectiveness. Priority goes to work addressing diversity, institutional partnerships, and broader societal impact in STEM fields.
Program description
Synopsis of Program:
The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) hold much promise as sectors of the economy where we can expect to see continuous vigorous growth in the coming decades. STEM job creation is expected to outpace non-STEM job creation significantly, according to the Commerce Department, reflecting the importance of STEM knowledge to the US economy.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) plays a leadership role in developing and implementing efforts to enhance and improve STEM education in the United States. Through the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative, the agency continues to make a substantial commitment to the highest caliber undergraduate STEM education through a Foundation-wide framework of investments. The IUSE: EDU is a core NSF STEM education program that seeks to promote novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. The program is open to application from all institutions of higher education and associated organizations. NSF places high value on educating students to be leaders and innovators in emerging and rapidly changing STEM fields as well as educating a scientifically literate public. In pursuit of this goal, IUSE: EDU supports projects that seek to bring recent advances in STEM knowledge into undergraduate education, that adapt, improve, and incorporate evidence-based practices into STEM teaching and learning, and that lay the groundwork for institutional improvement in STEM education. In addition to innovative work at the frontier of STEM education, this program also encourages replication of research studies at different types of institutions and with different student bodies to produce deeper knowledge about the effectiveness and transferability of findings.
IUSE: EDU also seeks to support projects that have high potential for broader societal impacts, including improved diversity of students and instructors participating in STEM education, professional development for instructors to ensure adoption of new and effective pedagogical techniques that meet the changing needs of students, and projects that promote institutional partnerships for collaborative research and development. IUSE: EDU especially welcomes proposals that will pair well with the efforts of NSF INCLUDES (https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/nsfincludes/index.jsp) to develop STEM talent from all sectors and groups in our society.
For all the above objectives, the National Science Foundation invests primarily in evidence-based and knowledge-generating approaches to understand and improve STEM learning and learning environments, improve the diversity of STEM students and majors, and prepare STEM majors for the workforce. In addition to contributing to STEM education in the host institution(s), proposals should have the promise of adding more broadly to our understanding of effective teaching and learning practices.
The IUSE: EDU program features two tracks: (1) Engaged Student Learning and (2) Institutional and Community Transformation.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
Demographic focus
Details
This grant is for institutions of higher education seeking to improve undergraduate STEM teaching and learning. Colleges, universities, and associated organizations can apply. Projects must focus on evidence-based approaches, innovative pedagogies, or research on STEM education effectiveness. Priority goes to work addressing diversity, institutional partnerships, and broader societal impact in STEM fields.
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- NSF standard form 424 (R&R)
- Project Narrative
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Biographical Sketches (key personnel)
- Institutional endorsement letter
- Data Management Plan (if applicable)
Program contact
- 👤 U.S. National Science Foundation
- 📧 grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov
- 📞 703-292-4203
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 47.076 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$116,005,485
-
$111,205,673
-
$82,631,883
-
$50,428,430
-
$45,382,137
-
$42,090,891
-
$41,100,753
-
$39,061,618
-
$33,116,189
-
$30,232,784
Top States by Funding
- CA 17 awards $411.8M
- MA 4 awards $209.6M
- TX 7 awards $122.7M
- NY 5 awards $115.4M
- IL 5 awards $96.4M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 47.076). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $1,087,560,000 | |
| 2025 | $1,169,550,000 | |
| 2026 est. | $286,650,000 |
FAQ
Who can apply for IUSE: EDU funding?
All institutions of higher education and associated organizations can apply. This includes public universities, private colleges, community colleges, and partner organizations.
What are the two main funding tracks?
Track 1 focuses on Engaged Student Learning. Track 2 supports Institutional and Community Transformation efforts.
What types of projects does NSF prioritize?
NSF values evidence-based teaching practices, research on STEM learning, diversity improvements, and work that generates knowledge transferable to other institutions.
Is there a deadline, and can I apply anytime?
There is a fixed deadline of July 15, 2026. Check NSF solicitation for any rolling deadlines or subsequent cycles.
What is the typical award range?
Awards typically range from $200,000 to $2,000,000 depending on project scope and institution type.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Ground your proposal in published research about STEM learning. Show how your approach builds on evidence-based practices.
- Emphasize institutional sustainability. Explain how improved teaching methods will persist after NSF funding ends.
- Include diversity goals explicitly. Address how your project will broaden participation in STEM fields.
- Partner strategically. Collaborations between different institution types strengthen competitiveness.
- Align with NSF INCLUDES if possible. Pairing with diversity initiatives increases appeal.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposals lacking clear evidence that teaching methods are research-based or tested elsewhere. Applications that focus narrowly on one institution without showing broader transferability to other contexts. Projects missing explicit diversity and inclusion components or broader societal impact.
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