IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released solicitation NSF 24-564 for the program IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (IUSE/PFE: RED). This program is jointly managed by the Directorate for Engineering, through its Division of Engineering Education and Centers, and the Directorate for STEM Education, through its Division of Undergraduate Education. The solicitation was issued on April 4, 2024, and replaces NSF 23-553. The RED program is designed to catalyze fundamental, structural, and cultural changes in engineering education with the aim of improving the professional formation of engineers in the United States. NSF emphasizes that the goal is not incremental reform but radical rethinking of departmental structures, faculty incentives, and curriculum design to better prepare engineers for complex 21st-century challenges. The RED program builds on previous investments in engineering education research. Prior programs significantly improved first-year and capstone design experiences, but gaps remain in the sophomore and junior years. The program seeks to address this gap by focusing on integrating technical and professional skills throughout all four years of engineering education. NSF stresses the importance of weaving ABET-defined outcomes, such as communication, teamwork, ethics, and contextual understanding, across the curriculum. Projects supported by this program are expected to develop new ways of organizing courses, changing departmental structures, and forming partnerships with industry and other stakeholders. Special emphasis is placed on increasing participation of students from underrepresented groups in engineering. The solicitation outlines four tracks. Track 1, Planning, supports capacity-building activities that prepare eligible institutions—such as two-year colleges, EPSCoR jurisdictions, Primarily Undergraduate Institutions, and Minority Serving Institutions—to develop proposals for larger RED projects. Track 2, Adaptation and Implementation, allows institutions to adapt proven change strategies for their own contexts. Track 3, Innovation, funds projects that propose radically new strategies for transforming engineering education. Track 4, Innovation Partnerships, supports multi-institution collaborations to implement large-scale structural changes, with particular attention to projects that include two-year institutions and diverse partners. All proposals are expected to include a theory of change, clear evaluation plans, advisory structures, and strategies for long-term sustainability. Funding under this program is distributed as standard or continuing grants. Track 1 awards are limited to $75,000 per year for up to two years. Track 2 awards provide up to $1,000,000 for up to five years. Track 3 awards range from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 for up to five years, and Track 4 awards range from $1,500,000 to $2,500,000 for up to five years. NSF anticipates a total of 13 to 19 awards, with 10 to 13 in Track 1 and 3 to 6 across Tracks 2, 3, and 4. The overall program budget is expected to be between $7,000,000 and $8,000,000, subject to availability of funds. Cost sharing is prohibited, and projects must budget for attendance at annual Principal Investigator meetings in the National Capital Region. Eligibility is restricted to accredited two- and four-year U.S. institutions of higher education, including community colleges, acting on behalf of their faculty. For Track 1, additional eligibility restrictions apply, limiting proposals to institutions meeting one or more special criteria such as EPSCoR jurisdictions, PUIs, MSIs, or two-year transfer-focused institutions. Principal Investigators must be department chairs, heads, or equivalent leaders with authority to enact organizational change, though senior administrators may serve as PI if departmental leaders lack sufficient authority. Proposals must demonstrate inclusion of individuals with expertise in engineering education research and organizational change. Each proposal must include detailed letters of support from institutional leadership and partners. Applications must be submitted through either Research.gov or Grants.gov in accordance with the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. The next full proposal deadlines are September 10, 2024, April 8, 2025, and September 9, 2025, with recurring annual deadlines on the second Tuesday of April and September thereafter. Proposals must be received by 5:00 p.m. local time of the submitting organization. No letter of intent or preliminary proposal is required, but planning track applicants are encouraged to submit a concept outline to program officers at least 30 days before the deadline. Review will follow NSF’s standard merit review process, with evaluation based on intellectual merit, broader impacts, and solicitation-specific review criteria related to faculty development, sustainability, and potential for systemic change. NSF has identified three program officers as points of contact for this solicitation: Alice L. Pawley, reachable at apawley@nsf.gov or 703-292-7286; Christine Delahanty, reachable at cdelahan@nsf.gov or 703-292-8492; and Matthew A. Verleger, reachable at mverlege@nsf.gov or 703-292-2961. Applicants are advised to direct program-specific inquiries to these individuals. General questions about submission systems should be directed to the NSF Help Desk for Research.gov at 1-800-381-1532 or to the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726. Recipients will be required to submit annual reports via Research.gov and may be subject to program evaluations, including site visits in the second year. Reporting must include discussion of departmental dynamics and progress toward establishing cultures supportive of holistic professional formation of engineers.