IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC)
🏛 U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Oct 18, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for two-year colleges that want to improve STEM education and student success. Eligible institutions include Associate's Colleges and Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges that are accredited and offer STEM programs. The two-year college must be the lead applicant. Four-year universities and professional organizations may participate as subawards or collaborators, but cannot lead the proposal.
Projects must focus on either student success in STEM courses and pathways, or innovation that leverages two-year college strengths. Both disciplinary and college-wide approaches are supported. NSF-supported STEM fields are eligible, including social, behavioral, and economic sciences.
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Program description
The National Science Foundation (NSF) plays a prominent role in the improvement of undergraduate STEM education at the Nation’s colleges and universities. Through the IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) program, the agency seeks to extend this effort by making an intentional investment in the country’s two-year institutions of higher education, or two-year colleges. The twin goals of the ITYC program are to (1) center students in the effort to advance innovation and promote success in STEM education at two-year colleges, and (2) enhance the capacity of two-year colleges to harness the talent and potential of their student and faculty populations through innovative disciplinary, multi-department, and college-wide efforts. These goals will be achieved by investing in projects at two-year colleges that contribute to student success in STEM-based foundational courses and academic pathways for both majors and non-majors. Project activities may be in any discipline that is currently supported by NSF funding, which includes the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Collectively, projects in the ITYC program will make progress towards ensuring that two-year college students and faculty have the resources to participate in and contribute to the broader STEM enterprise.
Aligned with the goals above, the ITYC program features two tracks: (1) A Focus on the Academic Experiences of Two-Year College Students and (2) Leveraging Two-Year College Strengths and Innovation. Each Track can support projects requesting up to $500,000 for a duration of up to three years. For institutions that have not received NSF funding in the past five years, an additional $100,000 may be added to the budget which may be used by the institution to support and carry out grant-funded activities over four years. This would result in a total maximum budget of $600,000 for a project over four years. Institutions that have been funded as part of a collaborative award with their own NSF Award Number are not eligible for this incentive, however, institutions that have had a subaward from another institution are eligible.
This program is open to two-year colleges, which includes the following institutions, as described by Carnegie Classifications:
- Associate’s Colleges: Institutions at which the highest-level degree awarded is an associate degree. This may include transfer as well a career and technical oriented colleges.
- Baccalaureate / Associate’s Colleges: Institutions that award at least one baccalaureate degree but confer at least 50% of their degrees at the associate level.
The ITYC program is aligned with NSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) framework, which is a comprehensive effort to accelerate improvements in the quality and effectiveness of undergraduate education in STEM fields.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- NSF Proposal (PAPPG format)
- Project Narrative
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Institutional Commitment Letter
- Letters of Support (if collaborative)
- Curriculum Vitae (PIs and key personnel)
- Data Management Plan
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
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$116,005,485
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$111,205,673
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$82,631,883
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$50,756,502
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$50,428,430
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$47,063,293
-
$45,382,137
-
$42,090,891
-
$39,324,893
-
$33,065,000
Top States by Funding
- CA 24 awards $512.2M
- MA 7 awards $273.5M
- TX 7 awards $143.1M
- NY 5 awards $127.9M
- IL 5 awards $99.4M
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 submit the proposal?
Only two-year colleges can be the lead applicant. Universities and professional organizations may collaborate as subawards if the two-year college leads.
What is the project timeline and budget?
Projects may request up to $500,000 for three years. Institutions without NSF funding in five years can request an additional $100,000, reaching $600,000 total for four years.
What types of projects are funded?
Projects improving student success in STEM courses, developing new academic pathways, and college-wide innovation initiatives are all supported.
Is cost-sharing required?
No, this grant does not require matching funds or cost-sharing from the applicant institution.
When is the deadline?
The deadline is December 9, 2026. Check the NSF website for any rolling review periods within that cycle.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Clearly align your project with one of the two tracks: student experiences or institutional innovation. Reviewers need to see which focus drives your work.
- Highlight the specific STEM discipline(s) and courses where your innovation will have impact. Concrete examples strengthen proposals.
- If your institution has not received NSF funding in five years, budget for the additional $100,000 incentive to extend the project to four years.
- For collaborative proposals, articulate clearly why university or organizational partners are essential. Two-year college must remain the intellectual leader.
- Build a realistic evaluation plan with measurable student success metrics. NSF programs expect data on outcomes like course completion, retention, and degree attainment.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposals led by four-year universities instead of two-year colleges are automatically ineligible. Two-year colleges must be the lead applicant. Vague outcomes and lack of evidence-based practices weaken applications. Reviewers want specific student success metrics and research-informed instructional approaches. Failing to demonstrate how the project builds institutional capacity leads to rejection. Show how your work strengthens the college's STEM infrastructure long-term.
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