Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate  (AGEP)

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PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  12-554

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

SYNOPSIS

AGEP is committed to the national goal of increasing the numbers of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (URMs), including URMs with disabilities entering and completing graduate education and postdoctoral training to levels representative of the available pool of URMs. Increased URM participation in advanced STEM education and training is critical for supporting the development of a diverse professional STEM workforce especially a diverse STEM faculty who serve as the intellectual, professional, personal, and organizational role models that shape the expectations of future scientists and engineers. To achieve this long term commitment, the AGEP program will support the development, implementation, study, and dissemination of innovative models and standards of graduate education and postdoctoral training that are designed to improve URM participation, preparation, and success.

AGEP projects must focus on URM U.S. citizens in STEM graduate education, and/or postdoctoral training, and their preparation for academic STEM careers at all types of institutions of higher education.  STEM professional development more broadly may be included in projects with a strong and compelling argument.  AGEP is interested in proposals that include any or all science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields supported by NSF including the social, behavioral and economic sciences, and multi-, cross-, or inter-disciplinary STEM fields.

AGEP encourages community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, minority-serving institutions (Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities), women's colleges, and institutions primarily serving persons with disabilities to participate as lead institutions and as alliance partners in all three types of AGEP projects.

AGEP intends to support the following types of projects:

• AGEP-Transformation - Strategic alliances of institutions and organizations to develop, implement, and study innovative evidence-based models and standards for STEM graduate education, postdoctoral training, and academic STEM career preparation that eliminate or mitigate negative factors and promote positive practices for URMs.
• AGEP-Knowledge Adoption and Translation (AGEP-KAT) - Projects to expand the adoption (or adaptation) of research findings and evidence-based strategies and practices related to the participation and success of URMs in STEM graduate education, postdoctoral training, and academic STEM careers at all types of institutions of higher education. 
• AGEP-Broadening Participation Research in STEM Education (AGEP-BPR) - Investigator initiated empirical research projects that seek to create and study new theory-driven models and innovations related to the participation and success of URMs in STEM graduate education, postdoctoral training, and academic STEM careers at all types of institutions of higher education.

Note to students and postdoctoral scholars seeking support: The AGEP program does not make awards to individual students or postdocs to undertake their education or research activities. Undergraduates and graduate students seeking support for graduate education should review the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship program (GRFP) which is a fellowship program (http://nsfgrfp.org/).  Postdoctoral scholars seeking support should review the NSF postdoctoral programs summarized at www.fastlane.nsf.gov/servlet/fastlane.pdoc.DisplayProgramType.  Additionally, some NSF Directorates may have special funding opportunities to support students and postdoctoral trainees that contribute to broadening participation in STEM. The pilot AGEP-Graduate Research Supplements by the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences in this solicitation and in Dear Colleague Letter NSF 12-021 is an example. Another Dear Colleague Letter of interest is the Directorate for Engineering's Graduate Research Diversity Supplements Dear Colleague Letter NSF 12-007. NSF principle investigators seeking funds to support diverse students and postdoctoral trainees are encouraged to contact your NSF program officer for information on potential opportunities.

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RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Frequently Asked Questions: Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program (NSF 12-071)

Dear Colleague Letter: MPS AGEP-GRS (NSF 12-021)

Dear Colleague Letter - DGE-REESE-AGEP-AISL Call for Research Proposals on STEM Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Training (NSF 12-091)

Dear Colleague Letter - Prepare, Engage, and Motivate a Diverse STEM Workforce - Design Proposals to Develop a Broadening Participation in STEM Resource Network (NSF 12-034)

RELATED PROGRAMS

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

RELATED URLS

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the AGEP Solicitation

AGEP-Graduate Research Supplements by the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)

DGE-REESE-AGEP-AISL Call for Research Proposals on STEM Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Training

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowships and Other Programs

Programs at The National Institutes of Health (NIH) for institutions and for individuals related to the AGEP program goal

Search for past AGEP awards