NSF / Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE) - Limited Submission Internal Due Date
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The Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE) program accepts proposals for research and educational projects to improve ethics education in all of the fields of science and engineering that the National Science Foundation (NSF) supports, especially in interdisciplinary or inter-institutional contexts. Proposals must focus on improving ethics education for graduate students in those fields, although the proposed programs may benefit advanced undergraduates in addition to graduate students. Participating directorates are the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, Division of Social and Economic Sciences; the Directorate for Biological Sciences; the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering; the Directorate for Education and Human Resources; the Directorate for Engineering; the Directorate for Geosciences; and the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences.
EESE is interested in encouraging innovative education and research projects likely to create long-term improvement in ethics education for graduate students in science and engineering. EESE invites proposals for research projects, education projects, and combinations of the two. It encourages applicants who are thinking creatively about ethics education, going well beyond standard approaches like providing students with a series of scenarios and having a discussion about them, or holding workshops and seminars with invited speakers, and then asking students to rate the activities on a survey form.
Education projects must be based on research findings that indicate successful ways to enhance ethics education for graduate students. They may include a wide range of activities such as mentoring programs, infrastructure-development activities, faculty capacity-building activities, training of postdoctoral fellows to implement programs, and graduate-student involvement in program development. Additionally, an example of such a context would be educating students with diverse cultural backgrounds. Projects to develop and test new materials or tools or teaching techniques are also eligible. Web-based modules that do not significantly advance the practice of ethics education are unlikely to be competitive. A common, often-effective approach in educational projects is to develop graduate-student programs. Another approach may focus on improving the ability of faculty to mentor students or create ethics-education programs and materials in collaboration with graduate students. A national training activity for graduate students or development and testing of a national interactive electronic resource would be yet another appropriate strategy. EESE education projects should test the feasibility and effectiveness of their activities or programs in more than one institution, incorporate ways to diffuse project activities even further, and evaluate project effectiveness, including assessment of expected student outcomes. Proposals are expected to include substantial and persuasive information about how this will be done. Proposals should specify plans to disseminate findings widely. Collaborations with appropriate professional associations are encouraged in this regard.
Research projects that examine ethics education for graduate students in science and engineering are also eligible for consideration in EESE. Proposals should build on earlier relevant research in ethics or other relevant fields, and add to the research base. Research projects should suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts. Projects can include qualitative or quantitative approaches, or both. The expectation is that project results will help in developing better ethics-education programs for graduate students; thus, proposals should specify plans to deliver findings to appropriate research and educational communities and assist them to implement projects or programs based on the findings. Research projects may also include a focus on ethical issues arising in educational research or in ethics education for graduate students. An example of such a context would be educating students with diverse cultural backgrounds.
Interdisciplinary partnerships among researchers in natural sciences and engineering and experts in social sciences, humanities, and education are strongly encouraged. Such collaborations will help to develop the theoretical and intellectual basis for training programs more carefully.
Proposals may also combine research and education components. For instance, the first year of a project might examine ethics education for graduate students in a scientific or engineering field. The second year might implement programs on several campuses based on what was discovered. Repetition and modification, evaluation, and diffusion might occur during the third year.
NSF does not consider proposals for medical research. The EESE program will not consider proposals focused on ethics for medical students or in medical education. EESE will not consider proposals that will start or provide incremental improvements to formal or informal educational activities responsive to federal mandates for research integrity or human-subjects training requirements.
CFDA 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, and 47.076
NSF 08-530 replaces NSF 07-541
