Research Experiences for Undergraduates | 23 601

Opportunity Information: Apply for 23 601

The National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is a grant opportunity designed to expand hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate students across essentially any field that NSF supports. The central idea is to fund experiences where undergraduates do real research, not just observe it. Students are expected to participate in meaningful, active ways, either by joining ongoing research efforts already underway or by working on projects that have been built specifically to create strong undergraduate research experiences. While many REU activities are structured as summer programs, the opportunity itself is broader than that and can support research participation in different formats as long as it aligns with NSF-supported research areas and delivers a substantive research experience.

This solicitation offers two main ways for institutions and researchers to support undergraduate research. The first is the REU Site mechanism, which is a standalone, independently submitted proposal to create and operate a coordinated research program that hosts multiple undergraduate students. An REU Site can be centered in a single discipline or department, or it can be intentionally interdisciplinary or multi-department, as long as it is organized around a coherent intellectual theme that ties the participants' work together. In practice, an REU Site is often a structured cohort experience that includes research mentoring, professional development activities, and opportunities for students to present or publish results, though the specific design is up to the proposing team and must be justified in the proposal.

The second mechanism is the REU Supplement, which is an add-on request connected to an NSF-funded research award. Supplements can be requested as part of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements, or they can be requested for projects that are already funded by NSF and currently active. The purpose of a supplement is to provide additional funds so that undergraduate students can be brought into the project as research participants. Compared with Sites, Supplements typically support a smaller number of students and are closely tied to the specific scientific goals and activities of the underlying research grant.

The program explicitly welcomes REU projects that include an international dimension, meaning research experiences can incorporate international collaboration or work abroad when appropriate and feasible. However, there is a firm eligibility rule for student participants: undergraduates supported through either REU Sites or REU Supplements must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or U.S. permanent residents. That citizenship and residency requirement applies to the student participants, even if the research includes international components.

A key point about how participation works is that students do not apply to NSF directly, and NSF does not pick the student participants. Instead, NSF funds the institutions or investigators running the REU Site or holding the REU Supplement, and those awardees run their own recruitment and selection process. Each Site or research group sets its own application instructions, deadlines, and selection criteria consistent with program expectations and the project plan. In some cases, especially for supplements, investigators may pre-select students (for example, a student already working in a lab may be supported through a supplement), but the application pathway is still managed by the awardee rather than NSF.

For students trying to find opportunities, NSF directs them to use the online directory of active REU Sites, which functions as the primary listing of currently funded programs and is the most practical starting point for identifying programs to apply to: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reusearch.cfm. Because each Site operates independently, students should expect that application materials, program dates, stipend levels, housing arrangements, and research topics will vary by Site, and the best next step after finding a relevant program is to follow that program's specific instructions.

Administratively, this opportunity is a discretionary grant program administered by the National Science Foundation. The opportunity title is "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" with Funding Opportunity Number 23-601, created June 29, 2023, and originally listing a closing date of September 27, 2023. The award ceiling listed is $500,000, and the expected number of awards is 1,350. The program spans multiple NSF research areas, reflected in the several CFDA numbers associated with it (47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083, 47.084). Eligibility for applicants is described broadly as "Others" with additional clarification in the full solicitation, which is consistent with the fact that proposals are typically submitted by institutions and NSF-supported investigators rather than by students themselves.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083, 47.084.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 29, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 27, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1,350 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 23 601

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