NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program

NSF Research Traineeship (NRT)

Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO). Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity. If you are applying as a non-lead organization, you must apply to the internal competition per NSF’s stipulation: “Participation includes serving as a lead organization or non-lead organization on any proposal.”

Program Summary

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program seeks proposals that explore ways for graduate students in research-based master's and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas, through a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. Proposals are requested that address any interdisciplinary or convergent research theme of national priority, as described in section II.D below.

The NRT program addresses workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity building needs in graduate education. The program encourages proposals that involve strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, informal science centers, and academic partners. NRT especially welcomes proposals that reflect collaborations between NRT proposals and existing NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) Initiative, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP), NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM), and NSF STEM Ed Organizational Postdoctoral Fellowship program (STEM Ed OPRF) projects, provided the collaboration will strengthen both projects. Researchers at minority serving institutions and emerging research institutions are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. Collaborations between NRT proposals and existing NSF INCLUDES projects should strengthen both NRT and INCLUDES projects.

The NRT Program accepts proposals in any interdisciplinary or convergent research theme of national importance and encourages specific priority research areas that change periodically. All interdisciplinary or convergent research themes should align with NSF or other national STEM research priority areas and have high potential to develop novel, innovative practices in graduate education. Proposers should describe the importance of the NRT project's thematic focus to the Nation and the particular need to train students for a variety of careers in that thematic area.

Deadlines

CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST June 2, 2025

Sponsor Application Deadline: 5:00pm MT September 8, 2025

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

• Proposal Type: Lead or Collaborative Non-Lead
• Project Summary (3 pages maximum): Please provide a summary description of the project, addressing the following elements: research area and theme, the training plan, the research-education integration, the expected number of NRT trainees who will receive an NRT stipend, the number of additional NRT trainees who will not receive an NRT stipend, and the estimated grand total number of graduate students that will participate in project-funded activities. Include details about the required skills and competencies, including communication, teamwork, ethics, and other transferable professional skills, along with plans for assessing and providing structured feedback on these competencies to support the project's goals. Describe examples of the novel, potentially transformative research that the NRT will catalyze through interdisciplinary synergies emerging from currently funded activities at the institution(s) and/or via separate NRT-funded interdisciplinary or convergent initiatives. Reference the review criteria for additional details to include.
• List of Core Participants (2 pages maximum): Please provide a list of the core participants: PI, Co-PIs, other faculty and senior personnel, lead evaluator, and external collaborators. Include name, project role, departmental and institutional/organizational affiliation, and discipline(s). Please identify any other non-lead participating institutions or organizations.
• Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.

To access the online application, visit: https://cuboulderovcr.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/7043/home

Eligibility

An individual may serve as Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI on only one (1) proposal submitted to the NRT program per annual competition. Proposals that exceed the PI/co-PI eligibility limit (beyond the first submission based on timestamp), will be returned without review regardless of the individual's role (PI or co-PI) in the returned proposal.

NSF requires that Track 2 proposals focus on programs from institutions not classified as Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity (R1).

Limited Submission Guidelines

An eligible organization may participate in two proposals per competition. Participation includes serving as a lead institution or a non-lead institution (i.e., as part of a separately submitted collaborative proposal or as a sub-recipient) on any proposal. Organizations participating only as evaluators on projects are excluded from this limitation. Proposals that exceed the organizational eligibility limit will be returned without review regardless of whether the organization on such a proposal serves as lead or non-lead collaborative organization.

Award Information

• NRT Track 1 Awards (14-16 awards each year) are up to five (5) years with a total budget up to $3M.
• NRT Track 2 Awards (4-6 awards each year) are up to five (5) years with a total budget up to $2M. NSF requires that Track 2 proposals focus on programs from institutions not classified as Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity (R1).

Review Criteria

In addition to NSF’s standard criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts, note the solicitation specific criteria below. The internal review process will evaluate submissions following these criteria.

• Integration of Research and Education

Does the proposal address training needs that are not currently available at the institution(s) and/or in disciplines? Are there clear and compelling connections between the training elements and the interdisciplinary research theme? If this is a new program, is the degree path clear or, if trainees are drawn from existing degree programs, is there clear integration of research and with the timeline, requirements, and milestones of those programs? Is there indication that program activities will persist beyond the duration of the award?

• Interdisciplinarity or Convergence

What is the degree of interdisciplinarity or convergence and the potential for high impact synergies among the disciplines? Does the core team include appropriate expertise in the relevant fields? Does the interdisciplinary plan engage multiple disciplines appropriately to solve the research problems identified? Will the proposed convergent research and training integrate knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines to potentially form novel frameworks to catalyze scientific discovery and innovation?

• Professional Development

What is the breadth and quality of the plan to provide NRT trainees with professional development training for a range of research and research-related career pathways, both within and outside academia? Does the project provide the required communications and teamwork, team science or collaboration training and ethics training? Are the training expectations sufficient, and are they structured in such a way that they will not hinder trainee research or degree progress?

• Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities

What is the quality of the outreach and engagement efforts to support recruitment, retention, and mentoring plans to broaden participation? Does the plan represent a realistic path given the baseline data reflected in the Demographic Table? Is there evidence of sufficient engagement of key personnel? Are collaborations and/or existing programs appropriately engaged?

• Evaluation

Does the evaluation plan include outcomes, performance measures, benchmarks, and an evaluation timetable, as well as a description of how formative evaluation will improve practice? Are research and educational activities addressed? Is there a plan to share insights, practices, and findings broadly? Will the evaluation generate evidence to inform and document program sustainability?