NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program – Track 1

Description

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program is designed to encourage the comprehensive development of graduate students as versatile STEM professionals for a range of research and research-related careers within and outside academia. Please note that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) have been added to the national priority areas in which the NRT Program encourages proposals.

The NRT Program is dedicated to shaping and supporting highly effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through the use of comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. The goals of the program are to:

• Catalyze and advance cutting-edge interdisciplinary or convergent research in high priority areas;
• Increase the capacity of U.S. graduate programs to produce cohorts of interdisciplinary STEM professionals with technical and transferable professional skills for a range of research and research-related careers within and outside academia; and
• Develop innovative approaches and knowledge that will promote transformative improvements in graduate education.

The NRT program addresses workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity building needs in graduate education. 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 are encouraged. NRT especially welcomes proposals that will pair well with the efforts of NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) to develop STEM talent from all sectors and groups in our society (https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/nsfincludes/index.jsp). Collaborations are encouraged between NRT proposals and existing NSF INCLUDES projects, provided the collaboration strengthens both projects.

Estimated Number of Awards

NRT Track 1 Awards (14-16 awards each year) are expected to be up to five (5) years in duration with a total budget up to $3,000,000.

Internal Application Process

UCI (as a R1 institution), is not eligible to submit proposals to the Track 2 program.

UCI may submit no more than 2 proposals in response to this call. Interested applicants are asked to submit an internal proposal to the Office of Research (via the UCI Review application portal) by May 9th at 11:59 pm. The internal application should include the following:

• 2-3 page project summary: Please touch on the following:
  • Research area, theme, proposed program goals and who the program will serve (e.g. masters students, doctoral students or both).
  • Address intellectual merit and broader impacts
• List of Core Participants (2 page maximum):
  • Please provide a list of the core participants: PI, Co-PIs, other faculty and senior personnel, 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.
• NSF Style Biosketch of PI and any Co-PIs
• Budget Overview (1 page): Basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed budgets are not required.

If necessary, an ad hoc committee will convene to review the internal proposals and the selected PI(s) will be notified in time to meet the September 8, 2025 NSF submission deadline.

Questions about our internal campus review process may be directed to Mike Gallo at magallo@uci.edu.