Solving For Science is proud to partner with National PROPEL (Postbaccalaureate Research Opportunities to Promote Equity in Learning) to further its mission to promote diversity and inclusion in the scientific workforce by providing research experiences and career development opportunities for post-baccalaureate scholars from historically excluded backgrounds as well as those with a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity in science. To this end, our larger goal is to create a national network of leaders in postbaccalaureate education who inspire and elevate postbaccalaureate programs across the country with support from the Postbaccalaureate Education Support Fund. We hope this fund will encourage and support the growth and expansion of postbaccalaureate education in more institutions nationwide.
The Postbaccalaureate Education Support Fund offers small grants of up to $10,000 to programmatic leaders that demonstrate commitment and foresight in postbac education. Solving For Science invites leaders with current or developing postbac programs to submit proposals describing their plan to expand or enrich their institution’s program.
In addition to the small grant, awardees will join the National PROPEL partner network, offering connection with leaders from other institutions to share best practices and resources. The National PROPEL leadership team will also offer consultation services in the form of regular meetings and access to a catalog of resources, including curriculum syllabuses, funding support best practices, and other support materials.
We strongly encourage interested applicants to contact National PROPEL chief strategist Jessica Allen (jessica.allen@ucsf.edu) to discuss your proposal before submission.
Our first application round is now closed. Please check back in May for another call for applications. We plan to reopen for new applications yearly in the summer. Awardee announcements will be distributed one month after the due date. Additional openings will be announced, but we hope to reopen for new applications yearly.
Award information
A grant of up to $10,000 will be awarded to applicants that can demonstrate a sound proposal to establish or expand a postbac program at their institution. This grant does not include indirect costs to your institution. We are particularly interested in proposals that focus on these areas:
- Scholar recruitment (especially development of a Diversity Supplement Matchmaking Event(link is external))
- Curriculum and career development workshops
- Community building and peer-to-peer networking
- Mentorship training (for postbac supervisors, especially faculty)
- Data tracking and program evaluation for the purposes of developing and understanding best practices in postbac education
Funds to support the above activities can be applied to a wide range of costs at the awardee’s discretion with justification, including event expenses, speaker honoraria, curriculum coordination effort, administrative or IT support.
Solving for Science and National PROPEL are interested in projects that propose to expand existing postbac programs or develop entirely new programs. Applicants with existing postbac programs should provide a summary of current activities and how these funds will expand existing efforts. Applicants with new program proposals should summarize their plan to implement, including a timeline and other funding support. We intend for all funds to be used to directly advance the above-described projects. The Postbaccalaureate Education Support Fund does not offer funds to defray indirect costs to your institution.
Funding will support projects and activities for 1 year, concluding with an annual report. Awardees may reapply for up to two years of consecutive funding. Awardees will be required to participate in quarterly National PROPEL Partner meetings for the duration of funding, but are both invited and encouraged to continue attending meetings after their own funding period has concluded.
Please download our full RFA here.