Facilitating Research at Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions:

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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.

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Due Dates

• Full Proposals: Accepted anytime (no fixed deadlines).
• Submission deadlines vary by NSF disciplinary program; prospective PIs should contact relevant program officers for guidance on timing and feasibility.
• ROA supplement requests or rebudgeting can be made at any time but require prior approval.

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Funding Amount

• Total anticipated funding: Approximately $56 million annually.
• RUI awards typically range from $75,000 to several hundred thousand dollars over a 3-year period.
• ROA awards generally provide up to $80,000 for durations between 2 and 12 months.
• Award amounts depend on project scope, number of investigators, and duration.
• Consultation with NSF program officers is strongly encouraged to determine appropriate budget levels.

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Eligibility

• Eligible Institutions: Predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs) that are accredited colleges or universities (including two-year community colleges) awarding Associate's, Bachelor's, and/or Master's degrees in NSF-supported fields, and that have awarded 20 or fewer Ph.D./D.Sci. degrees in all NSF-supported fields during the combined previous two academic years.
• Principal Investigators: Must be employed by or committed to employment at an eligible PUI at the time of proposal submission. Co-PIs may be from other institutions.
• No limit on the number of proposals per organization.
• Number of proposals per PI varies by program; contact program officers for guidance.
• RUI proposals require a Certification of RUI/ROA Eligibility signed by an authorized institutional representative.
• ROA proposals also require this certification, either included in the proposal or sent to the NSF program officer for supplements or rebudgeting requests.

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Application Process

Proposal Preparation

• Proposals may be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov.
• RUI proposals must include:
  • Certification of RUI/ROA Eligibility (institutional certification).
  • RUI Impact Statement (up to 5 pages) describing the expected impact on the institution, faculty, and students.
• ROA proposals do not require an RUI Impact Statement.
• Collaborative proposals involving ROA components must follow the submission guidelines of the relevant NSF disciplinary programs.
• Letters of intent and preliminary proposals are generally not required unless specified by a particular NSF program.
• Cost sharing is prohibited.
• Follow the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) for detailed instructions.

Submission

• Collaborative proposals from multiple organizations must be submitted via Research.gov.
• The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the final application.
• After submission, proposal status can be tracked via Research.gov or Grants.gov.

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Additional Information

• RUI proposals are reviewed competitively alongside other proposals in the relevant NSF disciplinary programs.
• Reviewers are instructed to consider the special circumstances of PUIs, including heavier teaching loads and limited research infrastructure.
• Review criteria include NSF’s standard Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts criteria, with additional attention to the RUI Impact Statement.
• ROA supplements and rebudgeting requests are reviewed internally by NSF program officers.
• Annual and final project reports are required for multi-year awards, submitted via Research.gov.
• The program encourages broadening participation of underrepresented groups in STEM.
• Instrumentation requests are encouraged to be submitted through the NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program when appropriate.

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External Links

• Program Solicitation and Details
• NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
• NSF Grants.gov Application Guide
• RUI/ROA Contacts
• NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program
• NSF Funding Search

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Contact Information