The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an independent agency created by Congress in 1974, regulates the nation's civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment. This FOA is issued by the Nuclear Regulatory CommissionÂ’s Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) to fund Minority Serving InstitutionsÂ’ (MSI) programs and activities relevant to nuclear safety, security, environmental protection, or any other fields the Commission deems critical to its mission. The goal of the NRC SBCR MSIP to assist MSIs in their effort to increase the number of students and faculty from groups underrepresented in fields related to the nuclear industry. The MSIP objectives are to assist MSIs in their efforts to achieve academic excellence; build capability, capacity and infrastructure; develop human capital (faculty and students); gain knowledge and skills to effectively compete for grants, cooperative agreements, contracts and resources; participate in Federal and public programs; and to create a diverse skilled Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) pipeline. The program supports institutional grants with well integrated developmental activities that may include, but are not limited to, leadership development activities, research experiences at on or off-campus laboratories, specialty courses with a focus on critical thinking and development of research skills, collaborative learning experiences, career seminars, mentoring activities, scientific reading comprehension and writing skills, tutoring for excellence, recruitment activities and travel to professional meetings. Support is also available for evaluation activities.