Graduate Student Funding Opportunities at (mostly) NSF

Mark Courtney, Ph.DAdjunct, Department of Biology

New Mexico State UniversityLas Cruces, NM

mark08@nmsu.edu

24 September 2008

Pardon me, but could you tell us where the public trough is?

Funding Opportunities

Origins of NSF

• “The Government should accept new responsibilities for promoting the flow of scientific knowledge and the development of scientific talent in our youth.”– Science, The Endless Frontier,

1945

• 1947: Congress Approves, Truman Vetoes: Agencies created in the meantime

• 1950: Compromise Bill Approved & Signed by Truman

NSF Act of 1950• “To promote the progress of science…”

• NSB (24) and 1 Director, appointed by the President

• Encourage & develop a national policy for the promotion of basic research and education in the math, physical, medical,biological, engineering and other sciences

• Initiate & support basic scientific research in the sciences

• Evaluate the science research programs undertaken by agencies of the Federal government

• Provide information for S&E policy formation

NSF in a Nutshell• Independent Federal

Agency

• Supports basic research & education

• Uses grant mechanism

• Low overhead; highly automated

• Discipline-based structure

• Cross-disciplinary mechanisms

• Use of Rotators/IPAs

• National Science Board

- supplies most of the Federal support for basic research in "non-medical biological sciences" at U.S. academic institutions (ca. same for "environmental biology")

Other federal

spending35%

NSF65%

NSF… NSF …

Population & Evolutionary Processes

Population & Evolutionary Processes

Directorate for Biological Sciences

Directorate for Biological Sciences

Div. of Environmental

Biology(DEB)

Div. of Environmental

Biology(DEB)

Ecological BiologyEcological Biology

EcosystemScience

EcosystemScience

Div. of Integrative Organismal

Systems(IOS)

Div. of Integrative Organismal

Systems(IOS)

BehavioralSystems

BehavioralSystems

Developmental Systems

Developmental Systems

Neural SystemsNeural Systems

ResearchResources

ResearchResources

HumanResources

HumanResources

Div. ofBiological

Infrastructure(DBI)

Div. ofBiological

Infrastructure(DBI)

Div. of Molecular & Cellular

Biosciences(MCB)

Div. of Molecular & Cellular

Biosciences(MCB)

BiomolecularSystems

BiomolecularSystems

Cellular SystemsCellular Systems

Genes and GenomeSystems

Genes and GenomeSystems

As of February 2007

Emerging Frontiers (EF)

Plant GenomeResearch Program

Plant GenomeResearch Program

Systematic Biology &Biodiversity Inventories

Systematic Biology &Biodiversity Inventories

Physiological & Functional

Systems

Physiological & Functional

Systems

Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)

• Supports teacher-scholars

• Supports plans that effectively integrate research and education

• BIO minimum of $500,000 for 5 years

• Check eligibility criteria

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships• CEDAR, GEM, and SHINE Postdoctoral Research (Atmospheric

Sciences)

• Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

• Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowships and Supporting Activities

• NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships

• NSF Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowships

• NSF-SIA/NRI Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Supplements to NSF Centers in Nanoelectronics

• Postdoctoral Fellowships in Polar Regions Research

• Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology

• Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants (DDIG – BIO)

• Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Projects (DDEP – OISE)

• Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRI – SBE)

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION GRANTS

CHECK WITH RELEVANT PROGRAM OFFICER !!

Contact: Help@nsfgradfellows.org

Graduate Research Fellowships

• Awarded for graduate study leading to research-based masters or doctoral degrees

• Science, mathematics, and engineering

• Intended for students at or near the beginning of their graduate study

• Handled through the Div. of Graduate Education (Education Directorate)

• $30,000 / yr for 3 years

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)

• Developed to meet the challenges of educating future Ph.D. scientists and engineers

• Emphasizes multidisciplinary training

• Institutional award

• $2 million over 5 years

Research Experiences forUndergraduates (REU)

• REU Sites or REU supplements to PIs with existing awards

• Intended to attract and retain undergraduates in mathematics, science and engineering

• Incorporates active research experience

Research Experiencesfor Teachers (RET)

• Supplements to current NSF Awards

• Helps build long term collaborative relationships between K-12 teachers of science and mathematics and the NSF research community

• Encourages researchers to form partnerships with teachers

Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowships & Supporting Activities

• Supports training and research in the areas of biology and social, behavioral, and economic sciences

• Offers travel grants for graduate students to visit prospective sponsors

• Provides starter research grants for Fellows

• NSF hosts an annual meeting of Fellows and their mentors

Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants (DDIG)

• Division of Environmental Biology and the Division of Integrative Organismal Biology (Behavioral Systems only)

• Must pass candidacy by the deadline (third Friday in November)

• Funds research-related costs only (no indirect costs)

• Recent changes:• increased upper limit to $15,000

• allows travel to meetings

Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants (DDIG)

SUCCESS RATES

FACULTY-LEVEL PROPOSALS: 5 – 15 %

DDIGs: 25 – 30 %

Key Documents

• FY 2009 NSF Budget Request– http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2009/

• Grant Proposal Guide (gpg081)– http://

www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg

• Science and Engineering Indicators– http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind04/start.htm

• When in doubt – http://www.nsf.gov/

LINKS TO FUNDING FOR (mostly) GRADUATE EDUCATION

Student Aid on the Webhttp://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp

Graduate Fellowships (at Students.gov)http://www.students.gov/STUGOVWebApp/Public?topicID=82&operation=topic

Specialized Information for Graduate Students (NSF)

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/education.jsp?fund_type=2

Resources for writing successful funding applications (APA)http://www.apa.org/science/apassc-funding.html#resources

NSF Needs You!

Progra

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fficers

Ad hoc Reviewers Adviso

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ists

Division Directors

Questions?

Mark Courtney, Ph.DAdjunct, Department of Biology

New Mexico State UniversityLas Cruces, NM

mark08@nmsu.edu

24 September 2008