Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have awardeda large share of bachelor's degrees to African American students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), andnine of thetopten baccalaureate institutions of African American STEM doctorate recipients from 2008-2012 are HBCUs.[1]In 2012, 8.5% of black undergraduates attended HBCUs,[2] and HBCUs awarded 16.7% of the bachelor's degrees and 17.8% of the S&E bachelor's degrees to black students that year.[1] To meet the nation's accelerating demands for STEM talent, more rapid gains in achievement and successful degreecompletion in STEM for underrepresented minority populations are needed. The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) is committed to enhancing the quality of undergraduate STEM education and research at HBCUs as a means to broaden participation in the nation's STEM workforce. To this end, HBCU-UP provides awards to develop, implement, and study evidence-based innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue STEM graduate programs and/or careers. Support is available for Targeted Infusion Projects, Broadening ParticipationResearch Projects, Research Initiation Awards, Implementation Projects, Achieving Competitive Excellence Implementation Projects, andBroadening Participation Research Centers;as well asother funding opportunities. Targeted Infusion Projects (TIP)provide support to achieve a short-term, well-defined goalfor improving the quality of undergraduate STEM education at HBCUs. The Broadening Participation Research (BPR) in STEM Educationtrack provides supportfor research projects that seek to create and study new theory-driven models and innovations related to the participation and success ofunderrepresented groups in STEM undergraduate education. Research Initiation Awards (RIA) provide support for STEM faculty at HBCUs to pursue new research at the home institution, a NSF-funded research center, a research intensive institution or a national laboratory. Implementation Projects provide support to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional effortsfor increasing the number of students receiving undergraduate degrees in STEM and enhancing the quality of their preparation by strengthening STEM education and research. Within this track, Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Implementation Projectsare intended for HBCUs with exemplary achievements and established institutionalized foundations from previous Implementation Project grants.Broadening Participation Research Centers provide support to conduct world-class research at institutions that have held three rounds of Implementation or ACE Implementation Projects and with demonstrated capability to conduct broadening participation research. Broadening Participation Research Centers are expected to represent the collective intelligence of HBCU STEM higher education, and serve as the national hubs for the rigorous study and broad dissemination of the critical pedagogies and culturally sensitive interventions that contribute to the success of HBCUs in educating African American STEM undergraduates.Centers areexpected to conduct research on STEM education and broadening participation in STEM; perform outreach to HBCUs in order to build capacityfor conducting this type of research; and work to transfer and disseminate promising broadening participation research in order to enhance STEM education and research outcomes for African American undergraduates across the country. [1] National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2015. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2015, Special Report NSF 15-311. Arlington, VA. Available from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/. [2] U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.2012. Digest of Education Statistics. NCES 2014-015. Washington, DC. Available from:http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/.
- The Principal Investigator for a Targeted Infusion Project should be the individual whowill direct the implementation of the project activities.
- The Principal Investigator for a Broadening ParticipationResearch Project should be responsible for managing the project and should be one of the key researchers. At least one of the Principal Investigators must have experiencein educationor social science research.
- The Principal Investigator for a Research Initiation Awardshould be a faculty member in a STEMdiscipline at the HBCU. Co-Principal Investigators and senior personnel are not permitted.
- The Principal Investigator and co-Principal Investigators foran Implementation Project, ACE Implementation Project, or a Broadening Participation Research Centershould be the key personnel that will beresponsible for guidingthe implementation of the project or Center.
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