All applications will be due by midnight on Monday, January 29, 2024.
Faculty Letters of Recommendation are due Monday, February 5, 2024.
Goals of the Program
The goal of the STEM Outreach Award is for undergraduate or graduate study providing direct, hands-on experience working with a variety of audiences through outreach and community engagement. These students will acquire important communication skills and strategies critical for their success in today’s 21st Century jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The SMART objective is enabling STEM literate students to develop and conduct NASA-related STEM outreach through a variety of communication means.
The STEM Outreach Award is designed to help communicate and increase awareness of the exciting opportunities in the aeronautics and space fields. The SOF Program awards fellowships for undergraduate or graduate students who are interested in providing direct, hands-on experience working with a variety of audiences through outreach and community engagement in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. Eligible students may be enrolled in any number of disciplines, such as STEM fields, Education, Public Relations or Communication programs.
Awards
Research money awarded by the SC Space Grant Consortium will be administered as a stipend through your institution’s Grants and Sponsored Programs Offices. Indirect charges (IDCs) are NOT ALLOWED on any SC Space Grant student awards. See the table above for your Campus Director. The full research stipend amount is $6,000.
Awardees will be required to participate in a minimum of Eight (8) outreach events or activities during their award cycle. They may be full or half-day events. Our main office, along with your institutions’ campus director, will assist you in locating applicable events for outreach.
Application Requirements
- Resume
- Education Information to include unofficial transcripts
- Project Title and Research Term (Academic Year or Summer)
- Outreach Proposal (no more than 2 pages-references not included in page count)
- General outline of your 2 outreach events
- Public Engagement methods to be used
- Goals and expected results
- Project Timeline
- Relevance to NASA
- Project Advisor
- Essay (500 words or less)
- Past activities
- Current Interests
- Future Plans
- 1 letter of recommendation, which MUST be from your faculty member research project mentor who will oversee your project. A post-doc or PhD student is not eligible to submit this letter.
Faculty Letters of Recommendation are due Monday, February 5, 2024.
Proposal Formatting Guidelines:
• Must be single-spaced, in English, use a font of at least 12 point (no more than ~15 characters per inch horizontally and 5.5 lines per inch vertically),
• Must use standard 1” margins on all sides.
• 10 mb file size max for each proposal, must be an unlocked and searchable pdf file.
Assistance in Arranging Public Engagements Events
Students interested in the STEM Outreach Award who do not have an outreach mentor should contact the main office (contact information below). Students should be prepared to provide potential mentors with their resume, college transcripts, a description of any previous outreach and/or research experiences, and a listing of potential outreach activities. Students should also indicate whether they are seeking a mentor for an academic year or summer research award. The South Carolina Space Grant Consortium can not guarantee that a student can be matched to an outreach mentor or that finding a mentor will result in a successful award proposal.
Selection of Proposals
The awards are determined by the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium Director and the Space Grant Campus Directors. Selection for the awards are based on: 1) the academic qualifications of the applicant, 2) two letters of recommendation, 3) description of past activities, current interests, and future plans concerning a space science or aerospace related field, 4) faculty sponsorship, and 5) a research proposal including its relevance to NASA’s mission.
Eligibility
Students must:
- Be a citizen of the United States (see U.S. citizenship requirements here).
- Attend a consortium member institution or educational partner;
- Have sponsorship from a faculty advisor;
- Be a rising sophomore, junior or senior; and
- Have an interest in Public Relations, communications, education, aerospace and space related studies.
Equal Opportunity
Applicants will not be denied consideration on grounds of race, creed, color, age, sex, or handicap. We encourage women and minorities to apply.
Reporting Requirements
- SC Space Grant Awardees are required to submit a final report of their 5 outreach activities at the end of their project term.
- If selected to participate in this program you agree to participate in the South Carolina Space Grant Longitudinal Tracking program that is designed to monitor student progress from award through first employment.
Obligation to the Government
While students who receive support through the National Space Grant Program do not incur any formal obligations to the government of the United States, the objectives of the program clearly will be best served if graduates from the program pursue further study or careers in science, technology, engineering, and support areas. *As required by NASA, all awardees will be tracked via email through their first year of employment.
For more information, please contact: Ms. Tara B. Scozzaro, MPA Program Manager
phone: 843.953.5463 | email: scozzarot@cofc.edu