IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments

The IUSE Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments program is offered by the National Science Foundation to support transformative changes in undergraduate engineering education. As an independent federal agency, NSF funds research and education initiatives that advance scientific knowledge and workforce development across the United States. This program builds on prior investments in engineering education that improved first-year and capstone experiences but identified persistent gaps in the middle years of undergraduate engineering programs. The initiative is designed to catalyze systemic, department-level transformation rather than incremental improvements, emphasizing the integration of technical and professional competencies across the full undergraduate experience. The primary objective of this program is to foster revolutionary approaches to how engineering departments educate students, focusing on cultural, structural, organizational, and pedagogical change. Projects are expected to create cohesive, four-year learning experiences that integrate technical knowledge with professional skills such as communication, teamwork, ethics, and lifelong learning. The program supports four distinct tracks: Planning, Adaptation and Implementation, Innovation, and Innovation Partnerships. Each track serves a different stage of institutional readiness, from early capacity building to large-scale multi-institutional transformation efforts. Funding varies significantly by track. Planning grants may provide up to seventy-five thousand dollars per year for up to two years to support team formation, research development, and proposal preparation activities. Larger projects under Adaptation and Implementation may receive up to one million dollars over five years, while Innovation projects range from one million to two million dollars. Innovation Partnerships, which involve collaboration across multiple institutions, may receive between one and a half million and two and a half million dollars over five years. The program explicitly prohibits voluntary cost sharing and requires compliance with NSF budget and reporting guidelines. Eligibility is limited to accredited two- and four-year institutions of higher education located in the United States, including community colleges, acting on behalf of faculty members. Principal investigators must hold leadership roles such as department chair or equivalent and must be empowered to lead institutional change. Certain planning proposals are restricted to institutions such as minority-serving institutions, primarily undergraduate institutions, institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions, or two-year colleges with transfer pathways. Proposals must be submitted through Research.gov or Grants.gov and must follow the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, including detailed project descriptions, evaluation plans, and supporting documentation. The submission process requires full proposals with no letters of intent or preliminary proposals. Applicants must include detailed project plans, research strategies, evaluation frameworks, and dissemination plans. Review criteria are based on NSF’s standard merit review principles, including intellectual merit and broader impacts, as well as program-specific considerations such as faculty development, sustainability, and scalability. Proposals are evaluated by expert reviewers and NSF program officers, with final funding decisions made through a competitive merit-based process. The program operates on a recurring annual schedule with multiple deadlines depending on the track. Key deadlines include early September and the second Tuesday in April each year for various proposal categories. Awards are expected to be made following a review process that may take approximately six months. Funded projects must adhere to reporting requirements, including annual and final reports submitted through NSF systems. The program emphasizes long-term institutionalization of changes and encourages projects that broaden participation in engineering and align with national priorities such as artificial intelligence, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing.

Focus on transformational change rather than incremental improvements; align proposal with NSF intellectual merit and broader impacts criteria; demonstrate strong leadership and institutional commitment