← Back to search

U.S. National Science Foundation

Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Program

Open

Key facts

Deadline
Due Mar 25, 2027 · 169 days left
Award size
$300K – $1M
Total available
$14M · about 20 awards
Match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
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. Get-ready checklist

How this fits you

  • Available in Rhea County (nationwide program)
  • No match required
  • Past Tennessee awards on file: 116

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

View on Grants.gov Add deadline to my calendar

More from U.S. National Science Foundation

About this grant

The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Program is designed to encourage development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative approaches to STEM graduate education training. The program seeks proposals that a) explore ways forgraduate students in STEM master’s and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers, or b) support research on the graduate education system and outcomes of systemic interventions and policies. IGE projects are intendedto generate the knowledge required for the customization, implementation, and broader adoption of potentially transformative approaches to graduate education. The program supports piloting, testing, and validating novel models or activities and examining systemic innovations with high potential to enrich and extend the knowledge base on effective graduate education approaches. The program addresses both workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity-building needs in graduate education. Strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, informal science organizations, and academic partners are encouraged.

Who can apply, from the official notice

*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: -Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities. -Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs): Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of sub-awards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus. - Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131.

Ask a partner for a letter

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. Mar4
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
    Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
  3. Mar18
    Finish a complete draft for a final review
    Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
  4. Mar23
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. Mar25
    Deadline
    From the funder.

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

Writing the need statement? Rhea County facts with citations.

Who in Tennessee has won this program

41 awards to Tennessee groups in 10 counties since 2016 · 0 in Rhea County. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winnerWhereAmountFiscal year
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$13.3M2019
State of TennesseeNashville$13.2M spent that year2025
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$9.3M2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville$8.8M spent that year2025
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
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$3M2021
Tennessee Technological UniversityCookeville, Putnam County$3M2024
Tennessee Technological UniversityCookeville, Putnam County$3M2022
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson County$3M2026

Source: USAspending.gov, Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.

Tennessee groups that got this money through Tennessee Department of Education

This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. In Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Education passes it on: watch that agency for applications, not the federal agency. 75 pass-through grants on file · 0 in Rhea County. Largest shown:

Tennessee pass-through grant winners
Past winnerWhereThroughAmountFiscal year
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyGeorgia Tech Research Corp$1.2M2023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashvilleNorth Carolina State University$922K spent that year2025
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Missouri System$586K2023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyVirginia Polytechnic Institute & State University$534K2024
The University of TennesseePulaski, Giles CountyUniversity of North Alabama$433K2026
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Illinois$298K2025
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Illinois$298K2024
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Illinois$281K2023
Middle Tennessee State UniversityMurfreesboro, Rutherford CountyBoard of Regents of the University of Nebraska$275K2023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Missouri System$246K2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashvilleUniversity of Missouri$240K spent that year2025
Fisk UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyVanderbilt University$223K2025

Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).

About the federal program

STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources), also called “(EDU)”
Program number 47.076 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · National Science Foundation · Project grant

Match

None required (federal program listing).

This program on SAM.gov

Something wrong on this page? Tell us
What's wrong?

Source: Federal grants from Grants.gov · the official federal record. Last checked by GrantMe Oct 7, 2026.

Reference numbers: official notice number 24-529 · program number 47.076