NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training Program

The challenges of educating scientists, mathematicians and engineers for the 21st century mandate a new paradigm in graduate training. To meet the need for a cadre of broadly prepared PhDs with multidisciplinary backgrounds and the technical, professional and personal skills essential to addressing the varied career demands of the future, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announces an agency-wide, multidisciplinary graduate training grant program for graduate research institutions.

The goal of the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) Program is to enable the development of innovative, research-based graduate education and training activities that will produce a diverse group of new scientists and engineers well-prepared for a broad spectrum of career opportunities. Supported projects must be based upon a multidisciplinary research theme and organized around a diverse group of investigators from U.S. PhD-granting institutions with appropriate research and teaching interests and expertise. NSF organizations participating in the IGERT program include the Directorates of Biological Sciences; Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Education and Human Resources; Engineering; Geosciences; Mathematical and Physical Sciences; Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; and the Office of Polar Programs.

Awards will be made in amounts up to $500,000 per year (including direct and indirect costs) for a duration not to exceed five years; up to an additional $200,000 will be available for appropriate state-of-the-art research instrumentation and special purpose research materials during the first year of the award. The number and size of the awards will depend on the advice of reviewers and on the availability of funds. About 20 awards per year are anticipated during the first three years of the IGERT program.

Applicants compete for support from the IGERT program in a two-stage process. Preproposals outlining the planned IGERT activity must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM EDT, September 8, 1997. These will be reviewed by multidisciplinary advisory panels, after which approximately 60 applications with promising programs will be invited to submit a formal proposal. The formal proposals must be submitted electronically no later than 5:00 PM EDT, December 15, 1997.

Inquiries about the IGERT program in the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, can be directed to Henry N. Blount III, 703-306-1946. Further information, including proposal criteria and application information, can be obtained from the NSF Website by accessing "IGERT" under "Crosscutting Activities" in the section entitled "Program Areas."