Slots:
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Monday, June 10th, 2024, 5pm PT Contact RII.
LOI: July 1, 2024, 5pm EDT
External Deadline: Dates vary and are by invitation only.
Award Information
Award Type: Grant
Who May Serve as PI: All projects must have at least one MSI partner. When two or more institutions are the proposed grantees, it is preferred that the primary PI be housed at the MSI to create a direct connection between MSI expertise and project leadership.
Lead investigators from submitting and partner institutions should be at the full, associate, or assistant
professor level, a department chair, or in an administrative role with high connectivity to academic
positions. Such individuals should come from nonprofit two- or four-year institutions, or organizations
that serve higher education professionals or institutions.
Because our funds are limited, we are requesting that no individual be a PI on more than one project (although a PI for one project may also be a co-PI on a second project).
Link to Award: https://sloan.org/programs/higher-education/equitable-pathways/2024-Call-for-LOIs#call
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
The Higher Education Program at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is pleased to announce its third Call for Letters of Inquiry for the Creating Equitable Pathways to STEM Graduate Education initiative, continuing its investment in Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and in the establishment of partnerships between MSIs and graduate programs nationwide.
Grantees awarded via this initiative will engage the expertise of MSIs—and the unique experiences of their faculty and students—to model effective systems and practices that remove barriers and create opportunities for equitable learning environments in STEM graduate education so all students can thrive. Grant awards will support sharing MSIs’ institutional know-how on equitable undergraduate and graduate education, as well as modeling that know-how to create systemic changes that enhance pathways from MSIs to master’s and doctoral degree programs in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, Earth sciences, economics, engineering, marine science, mathematics, physics, and statistics at partner institutions.
Three types of grants will be funded:
- Planning grants to support two or more institutions to conduct internal reviews of existing barriers to student success and for analysis and planning for a future partnership(s) (up to $75,000 for up to 1 year)
- Seed grants to two or more institutions that seek to formalize an existing partnership(s) and launch one or more pilot initiatives (up to $250,000 over 1-2 years)
- Implementation grants to two or more institutions that allow for the augmentation or scaling of existing partnerships/collaborations (up to $500,000 over 2-3 years)
In addition to establishing seamless pathways, successful projects will address policies, processes, and practices that reinforce existing systems that are barriers to student access and success in graduate education. These projects could include efforts to examine or redesign graduate recruitment, admission policies and processes, mentoring practices, departmental climate, or other gatekeeping (or gateway) structures to and through STEM graduate education.
Since the barriers to equitable pathways do not end once students are admitted to graduate programs, Sloan is looking for evidence that projects will promote and enhance existing efforts to reduce and eliminate policies, procedures, and institutional climates and cultures that prevent students from successfully attaining a graduate degree.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.