Description

Society for Science - STEM Research Grants Application
STEM Research Grants provide support to U.S. middle and high school teachers engaging their students in authentic STEM research. Over 8 years, $775,000 has been awarded to 367 teachers. Priority is given to schools that lack access to funding for research equipment.

Teachers can apply for up to $5,000 in funding to purchase specialized equipment, to receive a set of pre-selected equipment valued at $1,000, or both. If selected, a teacher will receive either funds or kits, not both.  Additional special funding is available in 2025 for teachers in Middle Tennessee!

For the purposes of this grant, a research project is defined as an independent investigation by a student involving experimentation, engineering design, or invention. The grant is not intended to support whole class sets of materials for traditional classroom instruction. Independent research projects are frequently entered into science fairs and other STEM research competitions.  Equipment for large team competitions is not eligible.

Applications must be submitted as final before midnight EASTERN TIME on December 5, 2025 to be considered.  

Requirements

Eligibility
Teachers must be employed full-time by a school that includes at least one grade between 6th and 12th grade in the United States (including US territories) and will be asked to provide proof of employment.
A school can receive up to $5,000 in any combination of kits or funds every 3 years.
Funds must be accepted by the school or a nonprofit organization associated with the school such as a parent teacher association.  This institution must sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Society as the Grant Administrator.
Applications must be completed by teachers themselves of their own accord, as a reflection of their interest in supporting students long-term. This grant is not intended as a method of funding an individual project at the request of a student.
Use of AI tools in your application: We recognize that AI tools can be a constructive support when used appropriately. For the purposes of this grant application, we'd like to provide some guidance on how AI could and should not be used. Applicants should disclose when and how they used an AI tool in the application in the section provided at the end of the application. AI tools (such as chatGPT, Gemini, etc.) SHOULD NOT be used to: generate responses to application questions. For example, applicants should not enter in application questions to an AI tool in order to generate a response.  AI tools (such as chatGPT, Gemini, etc.) could be used to: take a response to an application question that has already been created by the applicant to make mild edits (ie. checking for grammar, punctuation, etc).