Research Experiences for Undergraduates | 19 582

Opportunity Information: Apply for 19 582

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is a discretionary grant opportunity designed to increase hands-on research participation by undergraduate students across essentially any field that NSF funds. The core purpose is to place undergraduates into real research environments where they contribute in meaningful, substantive ways, either by joining established, ongoing research programs or by working on projects that are specifically structured and built for the REU experience. In practice, the program is meant to move students beyond classroom learning into the routines, expectations, and problem-solving culture of research, helping them build skills, professional confidence, and a clearer sense of what research careers look like.

This solicitation supports undergraduate research through two main funding mechanisms: REU Sites and REU Supplements. REU Sites are stand-alone proposals submitted to NSF to create and run a coordinated research experience for a cohort of students. A Site typically organizes a group of undergraduates around a defined research focus and provides mentorship, training, and a structured program over a set period (often associated with summer research, though formats vary). Sites can be housed within a single department or discipline, or they can be explicitly interdisciplinary or multi-departmental as long as they share a coherent intellectual theme that ties the work together. The solicitation also notes that proposals with an international dimension are welcome, which means Site designs may include research questions, collaborations, or experiences that extend beyond the United States when appropriate and well-justified within NSF guidelines.

REU Supplements operate differently. Rather than creating a separate Site program, a supplement is an add-on request connected to an NSF-funded research award. Supplements can be requested as part of a proposal for a new NSF grant, a renewal, or as an additional request for an already active NSF-funded project. The goal is to support one or more undergraduates to participate directly in the research being conducted under that NSF award, typically under the supervision of the funded investigator and research team. This mechanism is often used when an existing project can provide a strong mentoring and research environment for an undergraduate but does not require the infrastructure of a full Site.

A key eligibility rule applies to student participants across both mechanisms: undergraduates supported through REU Sites or REU Supplements must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the United States. Another important practical point is that students do not apply to NSF for placement. Instead, students apply directly to individual REU Sites (each of which runs its own recruitment and selection process) or they connect with NSF-funded investigators who have received, or plan to request, an REU Supplement. NSF maintains a public directory of active REU Sites to help students find opportunities, available at https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reusearch.cfm.

From the funding opportunity details provided, this opportunity is administered by the National Science Foundation and categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The funding instrument is a grant. The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $500,000 and an anticipated volume of awards (expected awards) of around 1,800, reflecting the fact that REU support is distributed across many disciplines and institutions through both Site awards and numerous supplement awards. The opportunity information includes the funding opportunity number 19-582 and indicates it was created on May 17, 2019, with an original closing date of August 28, 2019. Multiple CFDA numbers are associated with the program (47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083), which reflects NSF’s broad portfolio and the fact that REU can be hosted in many different NSF-supported research areas. The eligible applicant category is listed as "Others (see text...)," which is typical of NSF solicitations where eligibility can depend on the proposal type, the submitting organization, and NSF’s standard institutional requirements rather than a single narrow applicant class.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 17, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 28, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1,800 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 19 582

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