Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Pathways into Geoscience | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Pathways into Geoscience (IUSE GEOPATHS) is a competitive discretionary grant program designed to strengthen the undergraduate pipeline into the geosciences. It sits within NSF's broader Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative, which focuses on improving the quality of undergraduate STEM learning and teaching through approaches grounded in evidence, educational research, and the testing and scaling of effective instructional and curricular innovations. The larger motivation behind IUSE and GEOPATHS is national in scope: building a well-prepared, innovative STEM workforce that supports the United States economy and public well-being, while also ensuring the public is scientifically literate. NSF positions undergraduate education as the critical leverage point for achieving these goals, since the college experience is where many students either enter, persist in, or leave STEM fields.

Within that broader STEM education agenda, IUSE GEOPATHS targets discipline-specific needs in the geosciences. The central purpose of the program is to increase the number of undergraduate students who become interested in and ultimately pursue geoscience degrees at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. NSF emphasizes that the most promising pathway for achieving this is through the design and testing of novel, authentic, and career-relevant experiences that help students see what geoscientists actually do and why the field matters. A major priority is broadening participation in geoscience, especially by engaging students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in the geosciences and by attracting students who are currently in non-geoscience majors but could be drawn into geoscience through well-designed experiences, advising, and pathways.

The solicitation is organized into two distinct funding tracks. The first track, GEOPATHS EXTRA, supports efforts that engage students through extracurricular experiences and training activities. In practice, this track is aimed at programs and projects that get students involved outside standard coursework, often through experiential learning formats that feel connected to real careers and real problems. The second track, GEOPATHS IMPACT, focuses on improving pathways into the geosciences through institutional collaborations and transfer. This track is especially relevant for building stronger connections between institutions (for example, community colleges and four-year universities) and for developing clearer, more supportive transfer and transition routes that help students move into geoscience programs without losing momentum, credits, or confidence. Together, the two tracks reflect NSF's view that expanding the geoscience pipeline requires both hands-on engagement opportunities and structural pathway improvements that remove barriers and make entry into the field more realistic for a wider range of students.

From an administrative and funding standpoint, this opportunity was offered by NSF under Funding Opportunity Number 15-526. It was posted on December 29, 2014, with an estimated total program budget of $9,000,000 and an expectation of about 30 awards. Individual awards were anticipated to fall between $250,000 (award floor) and $500,000 (award ceiling). Cost sharing or matching was not required, which is significant for institutions that may have limited ability to provide additional funds. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The CFDA program numbers associated with the opportunity are 47.050 (Geosciences) and 47.076 (Education and Human Resources), reflecting its joint emphasis on geoscience workforce development and education research or evidence-based educational improvement.

Eligibility was limited to U.S. accredited higher education institutions with a campus located in the United States, including both two-year and four-year colleges and universities (community colleges are explicitly included). Proposals were submitted by institutions on behalf of their faculty members, which is typical for NSF programs where the institution serves as the applicant organization and faculty serve as principal investigators. The solicitation also used a Letter of Intent process, with letter deadlines listed for January 7, 2015 and August 14, 2015, and full proposal deadlines listed for March 16, 2015 and October 5, 2015. The final closing date was October 5, 2015, and the opportunity was later archived on November 4, 2015. For full details, NSF referenced NSF Publication 15-526, and applicants needing access help were directed to Grants.gov support.

Overall, IUSE GEOPATHS is best understood as a targeted NSF investment in growing and diversifying the geosciences talent pipeline by funding programs that make geoscience more visible, more accessible, and more clearly connected to meaningful careers. It encourages geoscience departments and their partners to move beyond traditional recruitment and instruction alone and instead create tested, scalable experiences and pathways that help students enter the field, stay in it, and progress into advanced study or the workforce.

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