Dear Colleague:
The Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer and Information Science and
Engineering (CISE), STEM Education (EDU); Engineering (ENG), Geosciences (GEO),
Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social, Behavioral, and Economics Sciences
(SBE) and the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) at the National Science Foundation (NSF),
through this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) provide support for alternate pathways to
encourage veterans’ engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) research in academia and industry. NSF’s commitment to broadening participation is
embedded in its Strategic Plan. Initiatives such as the Veterans Research Supplement (VRS)
program emphasize the need to proactively seek and effectively develop STEM talent from all
sectors and groups in society. NSF recognizes that veterans represent an underutilized
workforce for U.S. STEM communities. Through this DCL – BIO, CISE, EDU, ENG, GEO,
MPS, OIA and SBE hope to provide additional support to veterans transitioning from active
military service to civilian careers and exploring education options through the Post-9/11 GI
Bill.
This DCL affords veterans who are undergraduate and graduate students, K-12 teachers, or
community college faculty the opportunity to work with active NSF recipients to conduct basic
and/or industrially relevant research and to gain a deeper understanding of Science,
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Education
Eligibility to participate in the VRS program is limited to the following four groups:
- Veteran full- or part-time STEM undergraduate students at U.S. 2- and 4-year
institutions of higher education (IHEs) - Veteran full- or part-time STEM graduate students
- Veteran K-12 STEM teachers
- Veteran community college STEM faculty
Graduate students that are being nominated for support must not have other government funded support (stipend and tuition), e.g., students currently being supported full-time by the Principal Investigator (PI) on any NSF award as a doctoral student are not eligible for VRS support. NSF Graduate Research Fellows also are not eligible for VRS support. However, students who have received past support from the Post-9/11 GI Bill (and/or associated programs such as the Yellow Ribbon program) are eligible for support.
There is no deadline for submissions of supplemental funding requests.
Supplemental funding requests must be submitted electronically via Research.gov. PIs
should follow the instructions for requesting supplemental support found in Chapter VI.E.5 of
the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).