Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences, often referred to as the Undergraduate Biology and Mathematics (UBM) activity, is designed to improve undergraduate education and hands-on training where biology and mathematics overlap. The program is aimed at helping undergraduate students in either biology or mathematics build the interdisciplinary skills they will need for graduate school and for careers in areas that blend quantitative and biological thinking, such as mathematical biology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, computational biology, systems biology, epidemiological modeling, and related fields that depend on strong collaboration between the life sciences and the mathematical sciences.

At the center of a UBM project are long-term research experiences carried out by interdisciplinary, balanced teams of undergraduates. Each team must include students drawn from both biological sciences and mathematical sciences departments, with a minimum team size of at least two undergraduates. The expectation is that students do real research at the interface of these disciplines, not a short lab exercise or a pre-planned training routine that simply demonstrates established methods. Projects are expected to immerse students in contemporary biology and contemporary mathematics while using modern research tools and approaches. In practice, this means students should confront authentic research questions, manage uncertainty, work with real data or realistic models, and contribute meaningfully to new understanding rather than repeating known outcomes.

A defining feature of the program is joint mentorship and joint leadership. Student teams are expected to be co-mentored by faculty from both fields, ensuring that the biological context and the mathematical or quantitative methods are both treated as essential, not as add-ons. Likewise, project leadership is expected to come from faculty representing both the mathematical sciences and the biological sciences. This reflects the program's larger goal of building durable interdisciplinary capacity at institutions, where collaboration is part of the normal culture rather than an isolated special project.

Beyond individual student training, UBM projects are also expected to strengthen the participating institution's overall research and education environment. NSF emphasizes improvements in capacity, infrastructure, and culture, meaning proposals should show how the project will leave behind lasting benefits such as new course modules, revised curricula, interdisciplinary research pathways, sustained faculty collaboration, improved mentoring structures, or models that can influence academic programs for a broad range of students. In other words, the program is not only about supporting a cohort of student researchers; it is also about creating a replicable approach to interdisciplinary education that can shape how departments teach, mentor, and collaborate over time.

Administratively, this opportunity was offered as a discretionary NSF grant under the science and technology research and development category. It was jointly sponsored across three NSF directorates: Education and Human Resources (EHR), Biological Sciences (BIO), and Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), underscoring the program's cross-cutting nature. The funding opportunity number is 08-510, with CFDA numbers 47.049 (Mathematical and Physical Sciences), 47.074 (Biological Sciences), and 47.076 (Education and Human Resources). The estimated total funding reported for the competition was $3.3 million, with an expected nine awards. Individual awards could be as large as $1,000,000, with a stated floor of $1. Cost sharing or matching was required under the terms listed for this opportunity.

Eligibility was broadly described as unrestricted, meaning many types of applicant organizations could apply, subject to any additional clarifications in the full solicitation text. The solicitation was originally posted March 4, 2009, and the full proposal deadline was set as the second Thursday in February each year, with an original closing date of February 11, 2010. The opportunity is now archived (archive date August 12, 2011), so it is no longer accepting new proposals under that specific announcement, but the program description provides a clear picture of NSF's intended approach to interdisciplinary undergraduate training at the math-biology interface.

For reference and official details, the full announcement was available as NSF Publication 08-510, and NSF directed applicants with access issues to grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.

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