BIO Research Experience for Undergraduates Sites (BIO REU Sites)

The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) participates in the NSF-wide REU program. The Division for Biological Infrastructure (DBI) manages the REU Site program for BIO.

The NSF-wide Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) solicitation governs the overall competition. The following clarifications/explanations are specifically for REU Site proposals submitted to the BIO/DBI.   

• A BIO-funded REU Site hosts on average 10 students for a summer program lasting approximately 10 weeks long.
• In BIO, at least 50% of participants must come from outside the host institution.
• Stipend, meal allowance and travel to and from the REU site must be budgeted. A small research allowance of $1,000-2,000 per student can be added to Participant Support costs.
• Travel to conferences to present student research should NOT be included in the budget. Travel funds to students are provided through a Travel Award system administered in the https://bioreu.org website.
• Over the past several years, Site awards to institutions have the predominant costs under the Participant Support Costs (PSC); typically, PSC constitute 90% or more of the Total Direct Costs.
• Most awards provide 3 years of funding. Proposers wanting to request more than 3 years of support should contact the Program Directors.
• Assessment of BIO-funded REU Sites is done using the Student Assessment of Their Learning Gains Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (SALG URSSA) tool (see the https://bioreu.org website for details).