Pivot Fellowship – 2026 Request for Applications: FAQ

The deadline to apply is 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), May 14, 2026. 

Applicants must apply through Simons Award Manager (SAM), sam.simonsfoundation.org. Informational videos on submitting applications in SAM can be found here.

Fellows and mentors will each submit a unique application in SAM independently of each other. After logging into your SAM account, click the ‘Funding Opportunities’ icon to access the Pivot Fellowship calls. 

Applications for fellows can be created through Pivot Fellowship – Fellow – 2026 

Applications for mentors can be created through Pivot Fellowship – Mentor – 2026

Please refer to the How to Apply tab for detailed instructions.

No, proposals must be submitted online via the Simons Award Manager (SAM).

Yes, the signing official must sign and submit the application. Please see the instructional video “Send an application for signature” found here.

No. Fellows must have tenured and tenure-track positions to be eligible for the fellowship.

No.

Yes, foreign institutions may apply. Please see our policies regarding international grants.

No.

Yes, Pivot Fellows can be mentored anywhere, including their home institution.

Yes. The $50,000 mentor fund will be split equally among mentors and paid directly to their institutions.

Yes

Within the application, you will be asked to justify that you are pivoting to a new field within astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, neuroscience, physics or mathematics.

Explain how and why the new discipline is a significant change from your current field. Questions to consider include:

• To what extent is the new discipline a different culture?
• Is there a different approach to publication in the new discipline?
• Is there a different approach to experiment or theory in the new discipline?

Within the application, there will be an opportunity for you to explain the differences between your previous and proposed fields that our review committee will take into consideration.

There are no seniority requirements for the mentor. However, we will be evaluating how well they can guide you into the new field from their background and track record.

Positions at research institutes, etc. that are permanent, long-term positions at the level of faculty. Judged on a case-by-case basis.

No, applicants must hold a faculty position at the time of application.

If you are selected for the fellowship, we will work with you and your institutions to the best of our ability to get you the funds.

Proposals must use a legible 11-point font with 0.5-inch margins on all sides.

References are not included in the page limit and can be appended to the end of the narrative.

Two separate grants will be awarded, one to the fellow’s institution and one to the mentor’s institution.

You must contact the Simons Foundation before 12:00 p.m. ET on May 14, 2026, to un-submit your application. Please email [email protected] if you would like to un-submit your proposal for any modifications.

When the full proposal application is complete, click on the Submit Application button. A confirmation page will appear once the application is successfully submitted. It will appear in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed. If the problem persists, please contact [email protected].

The Submit button is located at the bottom right of the screen. You will be unable to submit if you have not provided all the required information. If the submission deadline has NOT passed, use the Check Application Progress button to check for missing requirements.

No extensions will be given. If you have any difficulties, please email [email protected].

No, all deadlines are in Eastern Time (ET). We recommend registering early and submitting proposals with ample time for corrections prior to the deadline. Site traffic can slow page-load times.

Yes, a confirmation email is sent upon submission. Make sure that spam filters allow emails from no- [email protected]. Additionally, the proposal will be in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table after submission.

The Check Application Progress button reviews your proposal for missing sections. The submission instructions list the required sections and attachments. You must complete the missing items listed in the error message. If you are still receiving error messages after completing and saving the indicated sections, please contact [email protected].