Facilitating Research at Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions:
NSF's RUI/ROA grants support research by faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions, enabling them to engage in their fields, build research capacity, and integrate research with education.
Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Due Dates: Proposals Accepted Anytime (contact program officers for guidance)
Funding Amounts: Approximately $56 million annually; typical RUI awards range from $75,000 to several hundred thousand dollars over 3 years; ROA awards up to $80,000 for 2-12 months
Summary: Supports research by faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs) to engage in research, build institutional capacity, and integrate research with undergraduate education.
Key Information: Eligible PUIs award Associate's, Bachelor's, and/or Master's degrees but have awarded 20 or fewer Ph.D./D.Sci. degrees in NSF-supported fields over the past two academic years; RUI proposals require a Certification of Eligibility and an Impact Statement; ROA awards enable visiting scientist collaborations.
Description
The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) and Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) programs provide funding to faculty members at predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs). These programs aim to:
- Support high-quality research by PUI faculty.
- Build research capacity at PUIs.
- Integrate research activities with undergraduate education, enriching student learning experiences.
RUI proposals support individual or collaborative research projects conducted primarily at PUIs, including requests for shared research instrumentation. Faculty at PUIs can submit proposals across all NSF-supported science and engineering disciplines. RUI proposals must include a Certification of RUI/ROA Eligibility and a separate RUI Impact Statement describing the anticipated impact on the institution, faculty, and students.
ROA awards enable PUI faculty to conduct research as visiting scientists at research-intensive institutions, fostering collaboration with NSF-supported investigators. ROA funding can be requested as supplements or rebudgeting of existing NSF awards, or as components of new collaborative proposals. ROA activities typically occur during summer or sabbatical periods and focus on enhancing the visitor’s research capabilities and their home institution’s research and teaching.
Funding for RUI and ROA awards is drawn from NSF’s disciplinary research and education program budgets and is awarded at the discretion of the relevant NSF programs.
