Research in Undergraduate Institutions  (RUI)    

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Announcement  00-144

Please be advised that the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) includes revised guidelines to implement the mentoring provisions of the America COMPETES Act (ACA) (Pub. L. No. 110-69, Aug. 9, 2007.) As specified in the ACA, each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals. Proposals that do not comply with this requirement will be returned without review (see the PAPP Guide Part I: Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II for further information about the implementation of this new requirement).

DUE DATES

Full Proposal Accepted Anytime

Many NSF programs have deadlines or target dates to allow time for consideration by review panels that meet periodically. Proposals must be submitted by the investigator's home institution in accordance with the target dates or deadlines, if any, of the NSF disciplinary program in the proposed research area. To confirm a date, refer to the program's page on the NSF Web site (http://www.nsf.gov/) or to the NSF E-Bulletin, at http://www.nsf.gov/home/ebulletin/. Inquiries about deadlines may be made also to the appropriate research program officer. Such inquiries are especially important for shared-use instrumentation proposals, which are sometimes funded cooperatively by two or more programs, depending upon the disciplinary mix of the users. Some programs require the submission of preliminary proposals prior to the submission of full proposals, with due dates posted on program Web sites and in the NSF E-Bulletin.

SYNOPSIS

The Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) activity supports research by faculty members of predominantly undergraduate institutions through the funding of (1) individual and collaborative research projects, (2) the purchase of shared-use research instrumentation, and (3) Research Opportunity Awards for work with NSF-supported investigators at other institutions. All NSF directorates participate in the RUI activity. RUI proposals are evaluated and funded by the NSF programs in the disciplinary areas of the proposed research. Eligible "predominantly undergraduate" institutions include U.S. two-year, four-year, masters-level, and small doctoral colleges and universities that (1) grant baccalaureate degrees in NSF-supported fields, or provide programs of instruction for students pursuing such degrees with institutional transfers (e.g., two-year schools), (2) have undergraduate enrollment exceeding graduate enrollment, and (3) award an average of no more than 10 Ph.D. or D.Sc. degrees per year in all NSF-supportable disciplines. Autonomous campuses in a system are considered independently, although they may be submitting their proposals through a central office. A Research Opportunity Award is usually funded as a supplement to the NSF grant of the host researcher, and the application is submitted by the host institution.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

This program provides educational opportunities for  Undergraduate Students . Individuals interested in applying for funding should see the program guidelines above.

Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program

Discoveries