The Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) supports the Pathways into the Geosciences - Earth, Ocean, Polar and Atmospheric Sciences (GEOPAths) funding opportunity. GEOPAths invites proposals that specifically address the current needs and opportunities related to education, learning, training and professional development within the geosciences community through the formation of STEM Learning Ecosystems that engage students in the study of the Earth, its oceans, polar regions and atmosphere. The primary goal of the GEOPAths funding opportunity is to increase the number of students pursuing undergraduate and/or postgraduate degrees through the design and testing of novel approaches that engage students in authentic, career-relevant experiences in geoscience. In order to broaden participation in the geosciences, engaging students from historically excluded groups or from non-geoscience degree programs is a priority. This solicitation features three funding tracks that focus on Geoscience Learning Ecosystems (GLEs):
1. GEOPAths: Informal Networks (IN). Collaborative projects in this track will support geoscience learning and experiences in informal settings for teachers, pre-college (e.g., upper level high school) students, and early undergraduates in the geosciences.
2. GEOPAths: Undergraduate Preparation (UP). Projects in this track will engage pre-college and undergraduate students in extra-curricular experiences and training in the geosciences with a focus on service learning and workplace skill building.
3. GEOPAths: Graduate Opportunities (GO). Projects in this track will improve research and career-related pathways into the geosciences for undergraduate and graduate students through institutional collaborations with a focus on service learning and workplace skill building.
An organization may serve as sole submitting organization or as lead organization of a collaborative project on only one submission per cycle, regardless of track, but may serve as the non-lead organization of a collaborative project more than once per cycle.
Full Proposal Target Date(s): March 27, 2023; February 23, 2024
Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
An organization may serve as sole submitting organization or as lead organization of a collaborative project on only one submission per cycle, regardless of track, but may serve as the non-lead organization of a collaborative project more than once per cycle.
Additional eligibility requirements are described later in the solicitation.
Potential PIs are advised to contact their organization's office of research regarding processes used to select proposals for submission.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: A Principal Investigator may serve in the role of PI or co-PI on only one proposal per cycle if they are at the sole-submitting organization or the lead organization of a collaborative project, but may serve as the PI/co-PI for a non-lead organization of a collaborative project more than once per cycle.
Estimated Number of Awards: 15
NSF expects to make up to 15 awards in each fiscal year, with ~5 awards being made in each of the three tracks.
Anticipated Funding Amount: $6,000,000
NSF anticipates available funding for the GEOPAths program to be approximately 6 million total for new awards per fiscal year. See section III below for further information about the anticipated number of awards in the program's three tracks and the duration of awards. The estimated program budget, number of awards, and award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.
