National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) Program
The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) would like to announce the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) Program. The NRT program is a limited submission award, and as such the OVPR will be conducting an internal screening process. Being a highly competitive NSF program, this internal competition is being announced well in advance of the anticipated LOI deadline as the OVPR wants to be able to provide more time for teams to foster opportunities, as well as provide research support services to assist teams in developing competitive proposals that may be selected for submission to the current or future submission cycles.
The NSF Research Traineeship program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, potentially transformative, and scalable models for STEM graduate education training. The NRT program seeks proposals that ensure that graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree programs develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. The NRT program includes two tracks: the Traineeship Track and the Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Track.
The Traineeship Track is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through the use of a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, aligned with changing workforce and research needs, and scalable. For this solicitation the Traineeship Track has one priority interdisciplinary research theme — Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (DESE); proposals are encouraged also on any non-DESE interdisciplinary research theme that is a national priority.
The IGE Track is dedicated solely to piloting, testing, and evaluating novel, innovative, and potentially transformative approaches to graduate education, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, to generate the knowledge required for their customization, implementation, and broader adoption. Whereas the Traineeship Track promotes building on the current knowledge base to more effectively train STEM graduate students, the IGE Track supports test-bed projects with high potential to enrich, improve, and extend the knowledge base with attention to transferability and innovation. For both tracks, strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, museums, and academic partners are encouraged.
Limited Submission
Because a limited number of applications from each institution can be submitted for this program, an internal screening process is required. If you are considering submitting an application for the program listed below, an on-line Notification of Intent to Submit must be completed by the requested Intent to Submit Deadline, which is June 15, 2015.
When submitting pre-proposals for the internal screening process, be sure to check the Guidelines for updates. Pre-proposals not adhering to these guidelines and instructions will be returned. If you are planning to resubmit a previous proposal or pre-proposal, you must include reviewers’ comments with your submission.
Click here for Program Requirements
Limit: Three (3): 2 for the Traineeship Track, 1 for the Innovations in Graduate Education Track. If only one Traineeship Track proposal is submitted, it can be on either DESE or another theme. If two Traineeship Track proposals are submitted, at least one must be a DESE proposal. In either case, the theme of a Traineeship Track proposal must be interdisciplinary.
Important Dates
Intent to Submit Deadline: June 15, 2015
Internal Screening Deadline: July 1, 2015
Sponsor LOI deadline (optional): December 22, 2015
Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: February 22, 2016
For more information, contact: Office of the Vice President for Research at research@uconn.edu