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U.S. National Science Foundation

IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC)

Open · Opportunity 23-584 · Assistance Listing 47.076

Key facts

Deadline
Due Dec 9, 2026 · 63 days left
Award size
Not specified — see notice
Total available
$10M · about 20 awards
Cost share / match ?
Not required
Who can apply
Other (see eligibility)
Where
Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Grant-ready checklist

How this fits you

  • Available in Tennessee (nationwide program)
  • No cost share required
  • Tennessee recipients since 2023: 25

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

More from U.S. National Science Foundation

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About this grant

The National Science Foundation (NSF) plays a prominent role in the improvement of undergraduate STEM education at the Nation’s colleges and universities. Through the IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) program, the agency seeks to extend this effort by making an intentional investment in the country’s two-year institutions of higher education, or two-year colleges. The twin goals of the ITYC program are to (1) center students in the effort to advance innovation and promote success in STEM education at two-year colleges, and (2) enhance the capacity of two-year colleges to harness the talent and potential of their student and faculty populations through innovative disciplinary, multi-department, and college-wide efforts. These goals will be achieved by investing in projects at two-year colleges that contribute to student success in STEM-based foundational courses and academic pathways for both majors and non-majors. Project activities may be in any discipline that is currently supported by NSF funding, which includes the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Collectively, projects in the ITYC program will make progress towards ensuring that two-year college students and faculty have the resources to participate in and contribute to the broader STEM enterprise. Aligned with the goals above, the ITYC program features two tracks: (1) A Focus on the Academic Experiences of Two-Year College Students and (2) Leveraging Two-Year College Strengths and Innovation. Each Track can support projects requesting up to $500,000 for a duration of up to three years. For institutions that have not received NSF funding in the past five years, an additional $100,000 may be added to the budget which may be used by the institution to support and carry out grant-funded activities over four years. This would result in a total maximum budget of $600,000 for a project over four years. Institutions that have been funded as part of a collaborative award with their own NSF Award Number are not eligible for this incentive, however, institutions that have had a subaward from another institution are eligible. This program is open to two-year colleges, which includes the following institutions, as described by Carnegie Classifications: • Associate’s Colleges: Institutions at which the highest-level degree awarded is an associate degree. This may include...

Eligibility (from the notice)

*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: -Proposals may only be submitted by two-year colleges of higher education (either Associate’s College or Baccalaureate / Associate’s Colleges) that are accredited and offer undergraduate educational degree programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Baccalaureate, Master’s, and Doctoral institutions, and Professional Organizations may partner with a two-year college as a subaward or as a collaborator. For all collaborative proposals, two-year colleges must be the lead organization. Please see PAPPG Chapter II.E.3 for additional guidance on collaborative proposals.

Your schedule, working back from the deadline

  1. Oct7
    Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
    Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
  2. Nov18
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
    Suggested: partners need time to write and sign letters.
  3. Dec2
    Finish a complete draft for a final review
    University grant offices require final versions about 5 business days before the sponsor deadline. Emory Office of Sponsored Programs
  4. Dec7
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. Dec9
    Deadline
    From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in your tracker and private calendar.

Who in Tennessee has won this program

25 awards to Tennessee recipients in 6 counties since federal FY2023. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee recipients
RecipientWhereAmountFY
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$13.3M2019
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$9.3M2024
Fisk UniversityNashville, Davidson County$5M2021
Tennessee Technological UniversityCookeville, Putnam County$4.7M2021
University Of TennesseeChattanooga, Hamilton County$3.3M2024
University Of MemphisMemphis, Shelby County$3.3M2022
Tennessee Technological UniversityCookeville, Putnam County$3M2024
Tennessee Technological UniversityCookeville, Putnam County$3M2022
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson County$3M2026
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$3M2021
Middle Tennessee State UniversityMurfreesboro, Rutherford County$3M2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$2.9M2021

Source: USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds; they don't guarantee future awards.

About the program (47.076)

STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) — (EDU)

How applications are judged

Not Applicable.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Examples of funded projects

Not Applicable.

Program listing on SAM.gov

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