USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) - Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields Program (WAMS)

Important: For the FY 2019 award cycle, NIFA intends to support projects with a target audience of K-14 students (kindergarten through twelfth grade plus two years of post-secondary schooling (e.g., vocational technical institutions or community or junior colleges). Projects must involve research and extension activities that increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas who will pursue and complete a postsecondary degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) disciplines. 4 year undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral focused projects are not supported by this program.

How: Please provide the following:

1. PI – Name, department, and contact information.
2. Co-PIs – Name, department, and institution
3. Participating Organizations
4. Educational Need Area (from the following)
   1. Curriculum Design, Materials Development, and Library Resources
   2. Faculty Preparation and Enhancement of Teaching
   3. Instruction Delivery Systems
   4. Scientific Instrumentation for Teaching and Research
   5. Student Experiential Learning
   6. Student Recruitment, Retention, and Educational Equity (including provision of student financial assistance

Questions should be sent to [email protected]
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RFA: 
https://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/rfa/fy-19-women-minorities-stem-rfa-revised-20190325.pdf

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For a list of current limited submission program please visit:https://research.columbia.edu/content/limitedsubmissions#text-6028
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Program Summary: NIFA requests applications for Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields Program (WAMS) to support research and extension activities that increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas who will pursue and complete a postsecondary degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

For the FY 2019 award cycle, NIFA intends to support projects with a target audience of K-14 students (kindergarten through twelfth grade plus two years of post-secondary schooling (e.g., vocational technical institutions or community or junior colleges). 4 year undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral focused projects will not be awarded under this grant announcement. Projects with a primary target of 4 year undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral studies should consider NIFA’s workforce and development focused programs. More information is available here: https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/nifa-reinforces-agricultural-education-pipeline

WAMS-funded project activities must support the creation, adaptation, and adoption of learning materials and teaching strategies to operationalize what we know about how students learn. Many of these concepts are identified in the National Research Council’s publication: How People Learn. WAMS-funded projects shall also focus on imparting both technical knowledge as well as ‘soft’ skills such as communication, team work, and problem solving, as these are abilities expected by employers. These concepts may be found in the publication: Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills: What is Important for New Graduates?

The purpose of this program is to support research, education/teaching, and extension projects that increase participation by women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas in STEM. NIFA intends this program to address educational needs, as determined by each institution, within broadly defined areas of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences.