The Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) offers Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to encourage independence early in the fellow's career by supporting his or her research and training goals. The research and training plan of each fellowship must address important scientific questions within the scope of the SBE directorate and the specific guidelines in this solicitation. The SPRF program offers two tracks: (I) Fundamental Research in the SBE Sciences (SPRF-FR) and (II) Broadening Participation in the SBE Sciences (SPRF-BP). See the full text of the solicitation for a detailed description of these tracks.
Deadline: Nov 6, 2024
This SPRF program offers two tracks of fellowships. For both of these tracks, proposals are encouraged from a wide range of doctoral-level investigators including those from groups that continue to be underrepresented in their field. Some proposals may contain elements of both tracks, in such cases it is up to the proposer to choose which track to submit their proposal.
Track 1: Fundamental Research in the SBE Sciences (SPRF-FR):
The SPRF-FR track aims to support research that builds fundamental knowledge of human behavior, interaction, social and economic systems, organizations and institutions. The proposal must primarily fall within the purview of the SBE sciences – this includes programs supported through the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS), Division of Social and Economic Sciences (SES) and SBE Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (SMA). Specifically, this includes but is not limited to research to develop and advance scientific knowledge on human behavior, human cognition, language, social and organizational behavior and culture as well as research on the interactions between human societies and the physical environment. Interdisciplinary research with a primary SBE focus is also supported. The proposal must be motivated by a compelling research question (within the fields of social, behavioral and economic sciences). To acquire the requisite skills and competencies, a sponsoring scientist within the designated SBE field must be selected so that the postdoctoral fellow and their sponsor will complement each other's expertise. Proposals in the FR track will be evaluated on three general dimensions: first, the degree to which results would enhance theories or methodological approaches in the SBE sciences; second, the strength of the proposed postdoctoral fellow - sponsoring scientist team and host institution; and third, the promise of the postdoctoral fellow's investigation of driving research questions and future career development.
In addition to the scientific research, all proposals for the SPRF-FR track must include a specific section within the project description with the heading "How this fellowship will advance fundamental scientific knowledge in the SBE sciences."
Track 2: Broadening Participation in the SBE Sciences (SPRF-BP)
The SPRF-BP track offers fellowships in an effort to increase the diversity of post-doctoral level researchers who participate in NSF programs in the social, behavioral and economic sciences and thereby increase the participation of scientists from underrepresented groups in selected areas of science in the United States. Data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics have demonstrated that members of certain ethnic/racial groups (i.e., American Indians or Alaska Natives, Blacks or African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders) in addition to individuals with disabilities, are underrepresented in the SBE sciences in the U.S. The problem of underrepresentation in the nation's scientific enterprise has been well-documented and reported in the literature. The goal of the SPRF-BP track is to prepare underrepresented SBE scientists and others who share NSF's diversity goals for positions of scientific leadership in academia, industry and government. The research and training plan in these proposals must fall within the purview of the SBE sciences (see Section II.1 for details) at NSF, including research on the topic of the science of broadening participation (see SBE SBP). The SPRF program also welcomes proposals on research to develop and advance scientific knowledge on human behavior, human cognition, language, social and organizational behavior and culture as well as research on the interactions between human societies and the physical environment. Interdisciplinary research with a primary SBE focus is also supported. To acquire the requisite skills and competencies, a sponsoring scientist within the designated SBE field must be selected so that the postdoctoral fellow and their sponsor will complement each other's expertise. Proposals in the BP track will be evaluated on three general dimensions: first, the degree to which results would enhance theories and/ or methodological approaches in the SBE sciences; second, the strength of the proposed postdoctoral fellow - sponsoring scientist team and host institution; and third, the promise of the postdoctoral fellow's investigation of driving research questions and future career development.
In addition to the scientific research, all proposals for the SPRF-BP track must include a specific section within the project description with the heading "How this fellowship will help broaden or inform efforts to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in the United States".
Note: Proposers are not required to be a member of an underrepresented group to submit for the BP-track but the goals of the proposed research should be consistent with the aims of the track.
Proposals must be submitted by the individual and not the host institution.
NSF SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowship proposals are submitted directly by the postdoctoral fellow to NSF and the award is made directly to the postdoctoral fellow. Awards are not made or transferred to the host institution under any circumstance. Each postdoctoral fellow must identify one sponsoring scientist and host institution (with whom the sponsoring scientist is affiliated) at the time of proposal submission. Fellowship proposers may propose to hold the fellowship at:
- Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.
- Nonprofit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.
ellowship candidates must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:
- The proposer must be a U.S. citizen, national or legally admitted permanent resident alien of the United States as of the proposal deadline.
- The proposer must have obtained a doctoral degree in the SBE sciences within the 3 years prior to the proposal deadline or will obtain a doctoral degree within 12 months after the proposal deadline but before the anticipated start date.
- The proposer cannot already hold a full-time tenure-track faculty appointment.
- The proposer cannot submit the same research to another NSF program.
Proposals must be submitted by the individual and not the host institution.
NSF SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowship proposals are submitted directly by the postdoctoral fellow to NSF and the award is made directly to the postdoctoral fellow. Awards are not made or transferred to the host institution under any circumstance. Each postdoctoral fellow must identify one sponsoring scientist and host institution (with whom the sponsoring scientist is affiliated) at the time of proposal submission. Fellowship candidates may propose to hold the fellowship at:
- Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.
- Nonprofit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.
Note: It is anticipated that the research will be conducted at an institution other than the proposer's doctoral-granting or current postdoctoral fellowship institution. However, if the proposer chooses to remain at their current institution, the project description should include a strong justification detailing how this choice benefits their research and career development. There are no restrictions on the number of postdoctoral fellows a sponsoring scientist proposes to mentor.
Proposals that fail to meet the above eligibility requirements will be returned without review.
By signing and submitting the proposal, the fellowship candidate is certifying that they meet the eligibility criteria specified in this program solicitation. Willful provision of false information in this request and its supporting documents or in reports required under an ensuing award is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001).
Each candidate may submit only one Fellowship proposal per year.
The annual fellowship award amount of $80,000 consists of two types of payments, a stipend and a research and training allowance:
- An annual stipend of $65,000, paid directly to the postdoctoral fellow in quarterly installments of $16,250.
- An annual research and training allowance of $15,000, paid directly to the postdoctoral fellow and intended to cover the costs of the fellowship, including:
- Expenses directly related to the conduct of the proposed research and education activities, including but not limited to materials and supplies, equipment, computing resources, access to databases, travel, publication charges and subscription fees.
- Expenses in support of the fellow, such as office space, general purpose supplies and use of equipment, facilities and other institutional resources.
- Expenses in support of fringe benefits, including but not limited to employee contributions to individual or family health insurance provided through a group or individual plan, dental and/or vision insurance, retirement savings, dependent care and moving expenses.
Fellowships may be supplemented by sponsoring scientists and institutions with non-federal funds but only if the additional funds do not carry additional responsibilities beyond the research and training supported by the fellowship.