NSF Career Program | Division of Research

Support for NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award Proposal Preparation

The National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Award Program (CAREER) is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the most prestigious award from the NSF. The intent is to provide five years of stable support for junior faculty to develop their careers as outstanding researchers as well as committed educators who advance teaching, learning, and broader impacts. The central goal of the award is the integration of education and research within the context of one's institutional mission. See eligibility requirements and program information here. OSRI provides dedicated support for CAREER applicants. This page contains details on our Commit-to-Submit program, other resources, and a list of current CAREER awardees.

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CAREER Commit-to-Submit Program

What is the CAREER Commit-to-Submit (C2S) program?

C2S is an intensive, holistic program that helps faculty envision, draft, and revise every aspect of their proposal for this year’s NSF CAREER competition. The Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) program is one of the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards for early-career faculty. In addition to providing substantial support for research, teaching, and outreach activities over a five-year period, it recognizes pre-tenure faculty who have the potential to lead advances in their field and institution over the course of their academic careers. The C2S program will run from January to July 2025 and will help faculty prepare competitive NSF CAREER proposals. NSF CAREER proposals are due July 23, 2025.

Over the course of this seven-month program, participants will receive dedicated support from OSRI staff and outside experts to help navigate the unique challenges (and opportunities) that come with writing a CAREER proposal. Faculty who participate in the C2S program will have access to:

Dedicated direct one-on-one coaching, strategic guidance, and writing support from OSRI staff
Regular small group meetings with other proposers to share work-in-progress, receive constructive feedback, and stay on track
Mock reviews of a draft proposal by an outside expert, paid for by the Division of Research
Regular workshops and events on key elements of the proposal, including education and broader impacts plans
CAREER-specific templates, sample proposals, and planning documents.

Who is C2S for?

C2S is only available for faculty who will submit a CAREER proposal this July, whether for the first time or as a resubmission. The NSF CAREER program is open to all non-tenured tenure-track faculty whose research falls under an area of science, engineering, or education supported by NSF (read more about these areas here). You may apply a total of three times before you reach tenure. If you are unsure if you are in an eligible field, please reach out to our office before applying to the C2S program (osri@binghamton.edu)

To get the most out of this program, you should have an idea of the research project you’d be proposing and some sort of a track record (publications, presentations, previous grants, etc.) related to the work you plan to do. Generally speaking, we suggest that first-year faculty wait until their second year to apply, so that they can have the time necessary to develop the groundwork for their research, education, and outreach goals.

What would I be committing to?

Faculty admitted to the C2S program will commit to three main benchmarks:

Each month between January and July, participants will attend three types of C2S meetings, which will include:

One-on-one consultation with OSRI staff (1 hour in January or early February, more if requested by faculty participants)
Group meetings with other C2S participants (about 1.5 hours/week from late January to end of April)
At least one related workshop or event (about 1-2 hours/month)

Participants will complete a full draft of their Project Description by May 1, 2024 to submit for external review by a content expert of their choice, paid for by the Division of Research.
Participants will submit their application package to their relevant Grant & Contract Administrator in the Office of Sponsored Programs by July 16, 2025 (seven business days before the NSF deadline, per OSP rules).

While we are strict about participants meeting these three main commitments, we do our best to be flexible in scheduling meeting times and events to accommodate all participants.

Want more information before you commit?

We plan to hold an informational webinar about the C2S program in November 2024. Those planning to attend should first read the current CAREER solicitation on NSF’s website.

Use this link to register for the webinar.

If you have additional questions, please reach out to our office at osri@binghamton.edu

This sounds great. So how do I apply?

We expect to post the request for applications on the Binghamton University Internal Opportunities Portal in November with a deadline in December. Due to the resource-intensive nature of this program, space is limited. We have set up a competitive application process that takes into account a number of factors, including overall preparedness of the applicant, number of previous submissions to the CAREER program, and time left until tenure.