Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: August 26, 2025 (Full proposals) | Annually, last Tuesday in August (future cycles)
Funding Amounts: Up to $3,250,000 per award (varies by track); typical awards $100,000–$3,000,000 for up to 6 years; $68M total program funding; ~77 awards expected.
Summary: Supports innovative projects to recruit, prepare, and retain effective K-12 STEM teachers and teacher leaders in high-need school districts, including research and capacity-building activities.
Key Information: Four program tracks; eligibility limited to U.S. IHEs, nonprofits, and certain professional societies; no cost sharing required.
Description
The U.S. National Science Foundation's program invites proposals that address the urgent need for recruiting, preparing, and retaining highly effective K-12 STEM teachers and teacher leaders who will serve in high-need local education agencies (school districts). The program supports a broad range of activities, including scholarships and stipends for STEM majors and professionals, fellowships for teaching and master teaching, research on STEM teacher effectiveness and retention, capacity-building for future submissions, and conference or research experience proposals.
There are four main tracks:
- Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends (S&S) — for developing new K-12 STEM teachers.
- Track 2: Teaching Fellowships (TF) — for STEM professionals transitioning into teaching.
- Track 3: Master Teaching Fellowships (MTF) — for developing teacher leaders.
- Track 4: Noyce Research — for research on effectiveness and retention of STEM teachers.
Capacity Building proposals are also accepted for institutions planning future Noyce track submissions.
Due Dates
- Full Proposal Deadline: August 26, 2025 (Tuesday)
- Recurring Deadline: Last Tuesday in August, annually
Conference and Research Experiences in STEM Settings (RESS) proposals may be submitted at any time after consulting with a Noyce Program Officer, but annual deadline submissions are prioritized for funding.
Funding Amount
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $68,000,000
- Expected Number of Awards: ~77 per cycle
- Award Amounts (by track):
- Track 1 (S&S): Up to $1,200,000 (up to 5 years)
- Track 2 (TF): Up to $3,000,000 (up to 6 years)
- Track 3 (MTF): Up to $3,000,000 (up to 6 years)
- Track 4 (Research): Up to $1,000,000 (up to 5 years)
- Capacity Building: Up to $100,000 (1 year)
- Conference/RESS: Budgets must be discussed with a program officer; typical range for conferences is $25,000–$100,000; RESS typically $350,000–$750,000 over up to 5 years
- Collaboration Incentives: Additional funds available for substantive collaborations with community colleges or Noyce projects (see solicitation for details)
- No cost sharing required.
Eligibility
- Who May Apply:
- U.S. accredited two- or four-year Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), including community colleges
- Consortia of such institutions
- U.S. nonprofit organizations (e.g., research institutions, museums) offering teacher education or residency programs
- For Track 4 (Research) only: Professional societies or similar organizations directly associated with educational or research activities
- PI Requirements:
- Tracks 1–3: At least one faculty member with an advanced STEM degree (in a STEM department) and one education faculty member (or equivalent)
- Track 4: At least one individual with STEM education research expertise and one with an advanced STEM degree
- Capacity Building: No specific PI requirements
- No restrictions on the number of proposals per organization or per PI/co-PI.
Application Process
- Submission Systems: Proposals may be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov
- Proposal Requirements:
- No letters of intent or preliminary proposals required
- Full proposal must address only one program track
- Detailed project description, budget, and required supplementary documents (e.g., letters of collaboration, evaluator bio-sketch, data management plan)
- Letters of collaboration from required partners (see solicitation for specifics by track)
- For conference/RESS proposals, prior discussion with a Noyce Program Officer is required
- Review Criteria: Proposals are evaluated on intellectual merit and broader impacts, following NSF’s standard merit review process
Additional Information
- At least 60% of the direct costs in Tracks 1–3 must be allocated for scholarships, stipends, or fellowships
- Projects must include plans for tracking and reporting on recipients’ teaching service commitments and retention
- Institutions with prior Noyce funding must provide evidence of previous outcomes and lessons learned
- Proposals encouraging broadening participation in STEM and collaborations with two-year colleges or minority-serving institutions are strongly encouraged
- For detailed definitions (e.g., "high-need LEA," "STEM major," "STEM professional"), see the full solicitation
External Links
Contact Information
For additional or updated contacts, see the NSF program page.