Tsip: building a student research and stem pathway at fdltcc

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded $500,000 to Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College on July 1, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to expand research experiences for undergraduates and build sustainable STEM instructional capacity.

FDLTCC is expanding its Research Experiences for Undergraduates project to encompass additional discipline-specific areas of study. The award funds professional development for STEM faculty to strengthen their capacity to lead undergraduate research experiences and supports faculty embedding of research experiences into existing STEM curriculum. The project engages local experts to participate in and support various research studies. These initiatives address STEM instructional capacity in a way designed to produce sustained impacts across multiple cohorts of FDLTCC students.

The award period runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029. Work is performed at FDLTCC's location in Cloquet, Minnesota. The source indicates no sub-awards are planned for this funding. As a tribal college and 1994 Land Grant institution, FDLTCC aligns this project with the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program goal of expanding STEM capacity and creating opportunities for students to pursue careers in STEM fields while supporting research in locally and economically significant areas.

Abstract

A goal of the tribal colleges and universities program (tcup) is to increase the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education. Expanding the stem curricular offerings at these institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging rewarding careers in stem fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be locally or economically significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. Sustainability of capacity gains is significantly enhanced by retaining the talent of credentialed stem faculty. This project aligns directly with that goal. Fond DU lack tribal and community college (fdltcc) is expanding its research experiences for undergraduates project to include more discipline-specific areas of study; engaging stem faculty in professional development that expands their capacity to lead undergraduate research experiences, and facilitating the instructors' embedding of research experiences into the existing stem curriculum. This project addresses the stem instructional capacity of the institution in a sustainable way that will impact multiple cohorts of fdltcc stem students. The project's impacts are further assured by the participation of local experts that support the various research studies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.