U.S. National Science Foundation · United States

IUSE / Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (IUSE/PFE: RED)

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U.S. National Science Foundation expects to make 19 awards of $50,000 – $2 million each, from a total budget of $8 million. Applications close on 13 Apr 2027. Eligible applicant types include others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification).

Deadline: 13 Apr 2027 (in 149 days)
Grant amount: $50,000 – $2 million per project
Total budget: $8 million
Funding rate: No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated
Total budget: $8 million
Expected awards: 19
Cost sharing: Not required
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Reference: 24-564
Assistance listing: 47.041 Engineering; 47.076 STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources)
Last checked: 13 Nov 2026

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About this call

Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (hereinafter referred to as RED) is designed to build upon previous efforts in engineering education research. Specifically, previous and ongoing evaluations of the NSF Engineering Education and Centers Division program and its predecessors, as well as those related programs in the Directorate for STEM Education, have shown that prior investments have significantly improved the first year of engineering students’ experiences, incorporating engineering material, active learning approaches, design instruction, and a broad introduction to professional skills and a sense of professional practice – giving students an idea of what it means to become an engineer. Similarly, the senior year has seen notable change through capstone design experiences, which ask students to synthesize the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities they have gained with professional capacities, using reflective judgment to make decisions and communicate these effectively. However, this ideal of the senior year has not yet been fully realized, because many of the competencies required in capstone design, or required of professional engineers, are only partially introduced in the first year and not carried forward with significant emphasis through the sophomore and junior years.

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The Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and STEM Education (EDU) are funding projects as part of the RED program, in alignment with the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) framework and Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) initiative. These projects are designing revolutionary new approaches to engineering education, ranging from changing the canon of engineering to fundamentally altering the way courses are structured to creating new departmental structures and educational collaborations with industry. A common thread across these projects is a focus on organizational and cultural change within the departments, involving students, faculty, staff, and industry in rethinking what it means to provide an engineering program.

In order to continue to catalyze revolutionary approaches, while expanding the reach of those that have proved efficacious in particular contexts, the RED program supports four tracks: RED Planning (Track 1), RED Adaptation and Implementation (Track 2), RED Innovation (Track 3), and RED Innovation Partnerships (Track 4). Two- and four-year institutions are encouraged to submit to any track as appropriate for their goals and context.

RED Planning (Track 1) projects will support capacity-building activities at institutions of special interest to NSF’s mission, including two-year engineering-centered programs building transfer partnerships, two-year or four-year institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions, Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) in order to create more opportunities in engineering for students in every part of the country. Planning projects should provide the support for such institutions to explore the development of a RED Projects in Tracks 2, 3, & 4.

RED Adaptation and Implementation (Track 2) projects will adapt and implement evidence-based organizational change strategies and actions to the local context, which helps propagate this transformation of undergraduate engineering education.

RED Innovation (Track 3) projects will develop new, revolutionary approaches and change strategies that enable the transformation of undergraduate engineering education.

RED Innovation Partnerships (Track 4) projects will achieve the same goals as Track 3 projects across multiple institutions. Of particular interest to this track are projects partnering two-year institutions with other eligible institutions.

Projects in tracks 2, 3, & 4 will include consideration of the cultural, organizational, structural, and pedagogical changes needed to transform one or more departments to ones in which students are engaged, develop their technical and professional skills, and…

Who can apply

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

*Who May Serve as PI:

For all tracks, the Principal Investigator (PI) must be a Department Chair/Head (or equivalent) of a department for whom a significant percentage of students will graduate or transfer to a program with a bachelor’s degree in engineering or engineering technology. The PI must be empowered to provide leadership for the proposed change process. In cases where the institutional responsibilities of a Department Chair/Head do not enable them to support the degree of change being sought, a Dean, Provost, or other senior leader may serve as PI, provided they will be responsible for the active leadership of the RED project. The qualifications of the PI can be justified in the required letter from senior institutional leadership.

It is recommended that projects consider including individuals with expertise in (a) engineering education research and (b) organizational change on the leadership team.

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Science and Technology and other Research and Development

Timing

Planning (Track 1) proposals

How to apply

Apply through the funder’s official page (link below); it states the procedure, documents and deadline.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where applicants must be based: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where to apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

U.S. National Science Foundation · grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov · 703-292-4203

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	13 April 2027	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicant	$50,000 – $2 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Total budget	$8 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Funding rate	No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026
Who can apply	Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Where to apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—

Official sources

Official call page · Funder's programme page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 13 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.