The Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (Early Career MSI Program) supports grants that prepare faculty at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to conduct high-quality education research that advances knowledge within the field of education sciences and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners.
The Early Career MSI Program supports the mentoring and training of faculty at MSIs who are in the early stages of their academic careers. Each award will provide an individual Early Career MSI faculty member with support to conduct exploratory research (including salary for protected time to conduct research) as well as support for career development that includes training under the guidance of an experienced mentor or mentors.
This program is part of IES's larger effort to develop a pipeline of talented education researchers who bring fresh ideas, approaches, and perspectives to addressing the issues and challenges faced by the nation's diverse students and schools. By awarding these grants to MSIs, IES seeks to prepare principal investigators (PIs) at MSIs to conduct the type of research IES funds in its research grant programs.
FY 2025 Funding Opportunities
For FY 2025, the Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Education Research and Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) have been merged into one program to simplify the application and review process. Early Career faculty at MSIs should apply to the Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Education Research. Under this program, MSIs that are R2: Doctoral Universities-High Research Activity (under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education) and located in the territorial United States may request additional funds to support the cost of grant administration and management.
Early Career grant applications will be due March 7, 2025. The PI must have completed a doctoral degree or postdoctoral position no earlier than April 1, 2017 and no later than the start of the award period. Additional details on the Early Career Program requirements and how to apply are available in the Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences (ALN 84.305B) Request for Applications.