Simons Historically Black Colleges and Universities Faculty Fellowship – 2027 Request for Applications: FAQs

Accredited Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 are eligible to apply.

The fellowship supports junior tenure-track faculty in mathematics, nueroscience, physics and ecology & evolutionary biology. Proposals outside these fields will not be considered.

This is an institutional grant. The HBCU institution applies on behalf of nominated faculty. Individual faculty members cannot apply directly. Institutions will nominate their fellows as part of the application process.

Junior tenure-track faculty who currently hold a position at the nominating institution are eligible. Institutions also have the flexibility to nominate newly recruited junior tenure-track faculty whom they are actively recruiting or have recently hired. In both cases, the nominee must hold or have been formally offered a junior tenure-track position at the nominating institution at the time of the full application.

Each institution may nominate up to four (4) fellows in total, in any combination across the eligible fields. For example, an institution may nominate two (2) mathematicians and two (2) physicists, or four (4) ecologists, or any other combination up to four (4).

No. Institutions may nominate up to four (4) fellows in any combination across mathematics, neuroscience, physics and ecology & evolutionary biology. There is no requirement to nominate one (1) fellow per field.

Nominated fellows should have at least one (1) peer-reviewed publication in a relevant field, or clear evidence of an active research program, such as a dissertation completed within the past five (5) years, a preprint under review or documented participation in an active research collaboration. SF recognizes that junior faculty at HBCUs may be at an early career stage and will evaluate candidates in light of their full trajectory and potential.

Nominees must hold a junior tenure-track position at the nominating HBCU institution. Joint appointment situations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Institutions with questions about joint appointment eligibility should contact SF before submitting their LOI.

Yes, an institution can apply to both awards. However, it is unlikely that an institution would be selected for both awards.

The fellowship funds a 50% teaching buyout for each fellow, as well as salary, fringe benefits, startup costs and indirect costs (capped at 20%). Allowable expenses include support for students, postdoctoral researchers, travel, conference registration, materials and supplies, equipment, fellow summer salary and publication fees.

The fellowship will fund a reduction of 50% of the fellow’s regular teaching load for the duration of the award. This protected time is intended for research activity, including conducting research, publishing findings and submitting federal grant proposals. Institutions will be required to confirm that the teaching buyout results in a genuine and verifiable reduction in the fellow’s teaching responsibilities.

Each participating institution will receive $320,000 annually for five (5) years, for a total of $1,600,000 per institution. This amount covers all fellows nominated by the institution.

Institutions have flexibility in allocating funds across their nominated fellows, provided that each fellow receives meaningful support and that the total does not exceed $320,000 annually. Budget allocations should be clearly justified in the full application.

Indirect costs are allowed for this award and must follow our indirect cost policy (see our policies). The indirect cost rate is nonnegotiable.

Yes. Summer salary for fellows is an allowable expense.

The award period runs from September 1, 2027, through August 31, 2032, a total of five (5) years.

The current program does not include a renewal mechanism. Fellows and institutions are encouraged to use the award period to build toward external federal funding that can sustain research activity beyond 2032.

The process has two (2) stages. First, HBCU institutions submit a Letter of Intent (LOI). SF staff will review LOIs and invite approximately 12 institutions to submit a full application. Full applications will then be reviewed by an external review committee, which will make funding recommendations to SF leadership.

The LOI (2–3 pages) should include: an institutional overview; the proposed fields and fellows; preliminary faculty profiles; a mentoring and student engagement summary; and an institutional commitment statement from senior leadership.

Institutions should have at least a preliminary sense of their candidate pool at the LOI stage. Finalist candidates do not need to be finalized until the full application, but the LOI should describe the research focus and candidate profile for each proposed position with enough specificity for SF to assess fit.

Yes, provided the institution is actively recruiting in that field and can demonstrate a credible plan to hire or appoint a junior tenure-track faculty member in that field before the award start date.

No. Late proposals will not be reviewed. Proposals that do not follow the guidelines in this document will not be accepted.

For assistance navigating SAM, please refer to the SAM frequently asked questions and instructional videos webpage.

No. Please be advised that all deadlines are in U.S. Eastern time. We recommend registering early and submitting with ample time for corrections prior to the deadline hour. Site traffic can slow page-load times. You will not be able to submit after the deadline has passed.

Only one person can edit a record at a time. A record will be locked for editing if another user already has it opened, and a gray bar will display at the bottom of the record to prevent multiple users from overwriting one another’s changes. Ask other users at your institution to close the application, then refresh your page. If this still does not correct the issue, please reach out to [email protected].

Please note that in the event of budgetary or other considerations, The Simons Foundation, Inc. (“the Foundation” or “SF”) reserves the right to refer an application to SFI for consideration and funding. SFI and SF have entered into an agreement pursuant to which SF provides program operations and grant administration services, including payment processing, to SFI. SFI grant recipients are subject to SF Policies and Procedures.

All applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please refer to the submission instructions for detailed steps on how to complete and submit your application. You will not be able to submit if the deadline has passed. We will not accept applications or individual application materials submitted via email or mail.

Yes. Each nomination must include a senior faculty member who will serve as a mentor to the fellow. The mentoring plan is a required component of the full application and will be evaluated as part of the review process.

Yes. The senior mentor should be a faculty member at the nominating HBCU institution. Institutions with questions about exceptions to this requirement should contact SF before submitting their LOI.

The mentor is expected to provide regular one-on-one guidance to the fellow, support the fellow’s progression toward tenure and external funding, and participate in monthly program meetings and the annual convening at the Simons Foundation. Specific mentoring activities should be described in the mentoring plan included in the full application.

This is permissible if the mentor can demonstrate sufficient availability and capacity to meaningfully support each fellow. Reviewers will assess the credibility of mentoring arrangements when multiple fellows share a mentor.

SF will prioritize cutting-edge computational, data-driven and theoretical research in basic science and mathematics. Proposals in which observational or experimental work meaningfully supplements a primary computational or theoretical program will be considered in exceptional cases, but primarily experimental or observational research programs will be less competitive.

Yes, interdisciplinary proposals that span eligible fields are welcome, provided the research is grounded in basic science and aligned with SF research priorities.

Yes. A key goal of the fellowship is to prepare fellows for future NSF and NIH awards. Fellows will be expected to develop and submit federal grant proposals during the award period. SF will offer grant-writing workshops to support this goal.

Yes. The student-engagement plan is a required and evaluated component of the full application. Fellows will be expected to involve undergraduate and graduate students in their research and to actively support students’ awareness of graduate school pathways and career opportunities in science.

A strong plan will identify the number and level of students to be supported, describe specific research roles and mentoring structures, articulate a concrete approach to supporting student science identity and sense of belonging, and include a plan for tracking student outcomes such as graduate school enrollment and co-authored publications.

Yes. Participating institutions will be required to administer an annual survey to undergraduate participants for two to three (2-3) years following the conclusion of their participation in fellowship-supported research. SF will provide a standardized survey instrument.

Annual progress updates will be submitted through Simons Award Manager (SAM). PIs and fellows will be required to attend monthly faculty meetings. Graduate students supported by the award will be required to attend some meetings throughout the course of the award. PIs, fellows and graduate students will be required to attend the annual convening at the Simons Foundation.

SAM stands for Simons Award Manager. It is SF’s platform for submitting annual progress reports and managing award-related documentation.

Yes. All personnel supported by the award — including PIs, fellows, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students — will be required to register for and maintain an ORCID iD. ORCID iDs must be collected at the time of award and included in all annual progress reports.

SF will offer grant-writing workshops, institutional reporting support and technical assistance throughout the award period to help faculty and HBCU institutions build their capacity to pursue and manage large-scale public and private research funding.