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Toolkit for Programs for Junior Faculty
Contact for Junior Faculty Programs: Lucy Deckard (l-deckard@tamu.edu)
Overview, Programs for Junior Faculty
There are a variety of programs aimed specifically at junior (tenure-track, non-tenured) faculty funded by agencies, foundations and professional associations. These programs range from large multi-year grants such as the NSF CAREER program (>$400K over 5-years) to smaller, more targeted grants such as Franklin Research Grants ($6K, 1-year grants offered by the American Philosophical Society). As with any program, it is important to understand what the funding agency wants to accomplish through the program and to use that information to craft a proposal that clearly explains how the proposed project will help the agency meet those goals.
One objective common to most programs for junior faculty (named, variously, “Young/New Investigator,” “Early Career,” “Research Initiation,” and “Career Development” grants) is to help promising faculty at the early stages of their research careers to go on to highly successful research careers. Many of these agencies also want to encourage faculty to become excellent teachers and mentors and will therefore require program components addressing teaching and mentoring.
A key advantage of programs that are set aside specifically for junior faculty is the fact that the applicants do not have to compete with established senior faculty who have long lists of publications and funded projects and who typically win the lion’s share of competitive research funding. By narrowing the applicant pool to early-career researchers, the playing field is leveled somewhat. Nonetheless, these programs are highly competitive, and it is very important to prepare a thorough, creative and meticulously written proposal.
When considering whether to apply to a particular program aimed at junior faculty, special attention should be given to eligibility criteria, as they vary significantly among programs. For example, to apply to NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program, applicants must hold a tenure-track position of Assistant Professor or equivalent and must not have applied more the two times previously. Applicants to NASA’s New Investigators in Earth Science (NIP) program must be US citizens or permanent residents, have received their PhD’s within the last five years and be in either a tenure or non-tenure track position at a research or higher education institution. Some programs require that applicants have no other outside funding, while other programs consider external funding an indication of the applicant’s potential as a researcher.
Particular programs may also have unspoken expectations; for example, reviewers for NSF’s CAREER program are often reluctant to give awards to researchers who have not yet set up their labs and are therefore likely to require some start-up time before they can start their research projects. The Office of Naval Research usually awards their Young Investigator grants to researchers who have previously worked with the Office of Naval Research; e.g., through ONR-funded projects conducted by their research advisor or through other funded projects. The best way to find out about unspoken program expectations and review criteria is to talk to faculty who have served as reviewers for the particular program as well as to previous awardees. Awardees are usually listed on the funding agency’s web site or in other publicly available material. Identifying reviewers can be more challenging; previous awardees are often asked to review proposals, as are more senior investigators who have been well-funded by the agency. Investigating the agency’s funded projects database and talking to colleagues are usually effective ways to find colleagues who have served as reviewers for the program of interest.
In the following sections, specific information is given on NSF’s CAREER program, which is the largest and most broadly applicable funding program for junior faculty. However, there are many other programs that may be of interest, depending on the applicant’s field of research; a table of many of these programs is included at the end of this toolkit along with web addresses where more program information can be found. Links to other compilations of funding opportunities for junior faculty are also given at the end of this toolkit.
NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program
Funding Amount: Minimum of $400,000 (minimum $500,000 for proposals to the Biological Sciences Directorate).
Funding Duration: 5 years
Research Topics Funded: Officially, NSF funds CAREER awards in all areas of research that NSF supports; all directorates accept CAREER proposals (Biological Sciences, Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Education and Human Resources, Engineering, Geosciences, Math and Physical Sciences, Social and Behavioral and Economic Sciences and Office of Polar Programs). However, because the budgets of the various directorates and programs vary significantly, the numbers of CAREER proposals funded are much higher for some directorates than others (see Table 1 for statistics for 2004 awards).
Eligibility Criteria: Applicant must have a PhD, be untenured holding a tenure-track assistant professor position or equivalent, have not competed in CAREER program more than two times previously and have not won a CAREER award.
Due: Typically late July (different dates for different directorates)
Helpful Web Sites:
CAREER program page (look for link to abstracts of recent awards at bottom of page):
Table 1. CAREER proposals awarded and success rates for proposal submitted 2003 (funded 2004) by NSF Directorate
Directorate Success Rates for 2003 Numbers of Awards for
Proposals Submitted Proposals Submitted 2003
MPS 24% 122
SBE 7% 14
CISE 22% 119
GEO 29% 22
BIO 17% 51
EHR 20% 10
General comments: NSF established the CAREER program in order to encourage junior faculty develop careers that “integrate research and education.” A competitive proposal must describe a career development plan that, according to the solicitation, will “build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education.”
The career development plan typically consists of a research plan, an education and broader impacts plan and a discussion of how the two will be integrated. When developing the research plan the applicant should consider the following questions: 1) Where is my field going over the next 20 years? 2) What will help me to become established at the national level? The proposed research should not simply be an extension of the applicant’s dissertation work since a goal of the program is to help the awardees to establish themselves as independent researchers. On the other hand, reviewers must be convinced that the applicant has the background, expertise and resources to successful accomplish the proposed research, so if the applicant proposes to conduct research in a dramatically different area, it must be clear how his or her previous experience will apply to the new topic of research. If the proposed research topic requires a particular type of skill or equipment that the applicant does not have, the research can propose to bring in a mentor, advisor or collaborator who will supply the needed resources. That person cannot be included in the budget but can write a letter of collaboration (which will be included in the Supplementary Documents portion), detailing how they will assist the applicant in the proposed research.
Reviewers who are evaluating the research plan must answer the following questions:
- Does the proposed research address an important question in the field?
- Is the research innovative and exciting?
- Is it likely that the researcher will be successful in reaching her/his goals?
- Are the researcher’s goals and methods clear?
The education and broader impacts plan is often the discriminator among many technically excellent proposals. The plan should be innovative and should propose activities that are significantly beyond what would normally be expected as part of the applicant’s duties as a faculty member. However, the plan should also be realistic and should not require so much time that the applicant’s ability to meet the requirements to make tenure is compromised. All proposals should address the issue of how to increase diversity in the applicant’s field. Including meaningful, innovative and well-thought-out activities to integrate education and research, to increase diversity and to provide other broader impacts (e.g., dissemination to the public, enhancement of K-12 education, benefits to society) can make the difference in whether a proposal is funded; these components of the proposal therefore deserve serious attention.
Examples of education and broader impact plan activities included in successful CAREER proposals in the past are:
- Mentoring science fair projects for magnet school students (where the school had a high percentage of under-represented students)
- Designing an undergraduate course using an innovative, interdisciplinary approach
- Including undergraduates as researchers and providing additional mentoring and opportunities to attend research conferences
- Setting up a Saturday physics program for high school students to learn about cutting-edge physics
- Incorporating visualization techniques in courses and as tools to communicate science concepts to high school and middle school students
The following characteristics of successful and unsuccessful CAREER proposal, presented by Joanne Tornow of NSF in a 2004 workshop, are given below:
Strengths of successful CAREER proposals:
- Novel or high-impact research focus
- Innovative research plan
- Education plan is well-developed, integrated with research and includes some consideration of evaluating its success
- Education plan goes beyond routine course development expected of all assistant professors
Weaknesses of Unsuccessful CAREER proposals:
- Research is either too ambitious or too narrowly focused
- Proposed methods do not address the stated research goals
- Educational component is either limited to routine courses or is unrealistically overambitious
- Integration of research and education is weak or uninspired
A note about the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE): The PECASE program is often listed as a program for junior faculty; however, it is an honorary award and researchers cannot apply directly to the PECASE. Researchers can be nominated for the PECASE award by participating agencies. NSF nominates its highest ranked CAREER awardees; other agencies that participate are: National Science and Technology Council, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services: National Institutes of Health, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs. Selection criteria vary by agency.
Listing of Grant Programs for New Investigators and Junior Faculty