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Posted opportunity — confirm at source

PFE: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF)

U.S. National Science Foundation · 20-558

Award range

See source for award amount

Deadline

2026-11-10-00-00-00

Confirm exact timezone in the announcement.
Eligible applicants

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

Geographic eligibility and all attachment-specific conditions require review of the original announcement.

Eligibility details

*Who May Serve as PI: The PFE: RIEF program is designed to expand the community of engineering faculty equipped to conduct research in professional formation of engineers. At least one (co) PI must be a member of an engineering department AND not have received engineering education or professional formation funding through EEC in the last three years. Submissions from faculty with active disciplinary research programs, or faculty seeking a shift in their research focus, are especially encouraged. The program is not intended to create an additional funding channel for researchers with expertise in social science or education research; such researchers should apply to the Research in the Formation of Engineers program (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/rfe-research-formation-engineers), or other related NSF opportunities.

Matching funds & resources

Source matching-funds field: Not Required.

Matching funds and leveraged resources are different requirements. Read the description and reviewed rules below before determining resource commitments.

About this opportunity

The PFE: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF) program has two goals: 1) Support research in the Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE), and 2) Increase the community of researchers conducting PFE research. PIs are expected to have little or no experience conducting social science or education research. PFE: RIEF is not intended for established researchers in engineering education or other social science fields to initiate new projects. Those researchers should consider the Research in the Formation of Engineers program ( https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/rfe-research-formation-engineers ). The NSF Engineering (ENG) Directorate has launched a multi-year initiative, the Professional Formation of Engineers, to create and support an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for the 21st Century. Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) refers to the formal and informal education and value systems by which people become engineers. It also includes the ethical responsibility of practicing engineers to sustain and grow the profession. The engineering profession must be responsive to national priorities, grand challenges, and dynamic workforce needs; it must be equally open and accessible to all Americans. Engineering faculty possess both deep technical expertise in their engineering discipline and the primary responsibility for the process of professional formation of future engineers. As such, engineering faculty are in a unique position to help address critical challenges in engineering formation. The Professional Formation of Engineers: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF) program enables engineering faculty who are renowned for teaching, mentoring, or leading educational reform efforts on their campus to develop expertise in conducting engineering education research.

Funding geography: Not specified — review source. A funder’s address does not establish eligibility.

Review original source ↗

Funding instrument: Grant. Issuing jurisdiction: Federal. This is not a geographic eligibility determination.

Source fields and evidence

id: 363764
Source ↗ · id

opportunityNumber: 20-558
Source ↗ · opportunityNumber

opportunityTitle: PFE: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF)
Source ↗ · opportunityTitle

revision: 3
Source ↗ · revision

agencyDetails: {"code":"NSF","seed":"NSF","agencyName":"U.S. National Science Foundation","agencyCode":"NSF","topAgencyCode":"NSF"}
Source ↗ · agencyDetails

owningAgencyCode: NSF
Source ↗ · owningAgencyCode

cfdas: [{"id":435288,"opportunityId":363764,"cfdaNumber":"47.041","programTitle":"Engineering"},{"id":435289,"opportunityId":363764}]
Source ↗ · cfdas

applicantTypes: [{"id":"25","description":"Others (see text field entitled \"Additional Information on Eligibility\" for clarification)"}]
Source ↗ · applicantTypes

applicantEligibilityDesc: *Who May Serve as PI: The PFE: RIEF program is designed to expand the community of engineering faculty equipped to conduct research in professional formation of engineers. At least one (co) PI must be a member of an engineering department AND not have received engineering education or professional formation funding through EEC in the last three years. Submissions from faculty with active disciplinary research programs, or faculty seeking a shift in their research focus, are especially encouraged. The program is not intended to create an additional funding channel for researchers with expertise in social science or education research; such researchers should apply to the Research in the Formation of Engineers program (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/rfe-research-formation-engineers), or other related NSF opportunities.
Source ↗ · applicantEligibilityDesc

fundingInstruments: [{"id":"G","description":"Grant"}]
Source ↗ · fundingInstruments

fundingActivityCategories: [{"id":"ST","description":"Science and Technology and other Research and Development"}]
Source ↗ · fundingActivityCategories

awardFloor: 200000
Source ↗ · awardFloor

awardCeiling: none
Source ↗ · awardCeiling

responseDate: Nov 10, 2026 12:00:00 AM EST
Source ↗ · responseDate

responseDateStr: 2026-11-10-00-00-00
Source ↗ · responseDateStr

costSharing: false
Source ↗ · costSharing

lastUpdatedDate: Oct 05, 2026 04:00:48 PM EDT
Source ↗ · lastUpdatedDate

status: posted
Source ↗ · oppHits[id=363764].oppStatus

Related collections: Research funding opportunities · NSF funding opportunities ·

Source retrieved 10/16/2026 · Revision 3. Always confirm current requirements and dates with the funder. Structured source fields are checked; this is not a determination that every applicant qualifies.

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