NARST offers several scholarships, awards and other opportunities.

1. LSEP. This scholarship is supported by the International Committee for NARST members who seek to partner with science education colleagues in economically disadvantaged or educationally disadvantaged countries to provide support for science education research, teacher education, professional development and more in the host country. The goal is to “link” NARST and science education professionals in countries other than the United States. The fund offers $7000 to support activities to implement new ideas on science educational reform in the host country. The LSEP program supports round-trip economy airfare for “resource experts” from NARST. The host country members should additionally propose to provide resources towards efforts to support the proposed activities (conference/ workshop/ seminar, or other activity). Calls for project proposals are announced in December/January through NARST announcements to members and a call posted on the narst.org website.  For the 2023 Call For Proposals, click here.

2. Support for doctoral students going to ESERA Summer School during even years, or SAARMSTE Doctoral Research School during odd years. This scholarship is supported by the International Committee and offers $2500 each for two doctoral students. In the case of virtual doctoral schools, adaptations are made to fund participation for NARST graduate student members. Calls for applications are announced in December/January through NARST announcements to members and a call posted on the narst.org website.

3. International Committee Scholarships and Travel Funds. These scholarships are supported by the International Committee for graduate students and early career scholars (10 years or less as a postdoctoral scholar). Funds may be used to waive NARST registration fees (during Virtual conference attendance) and to reimburse costs related to travel (flights, trains, buses and hotels) for in-person conference attendance. Scholarships are dependent upon where participants are traveling from to attend the conference. Calls for applications are announced in December/January through NARST announcements to members and a call posted on the narst.org website.

4. The Jhumki Basu Scholar Award. This award is supported by the Equity and Ethics Committee and includes 15 scholarships aimed at supporting and nurturing promising young scholars (advanced doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty) that are members of underrepresented groups within the United States. The scholarships are meant to both help defray expenses to participate in the NARST Conference , as well as to intellectually support the development of the emergent scholars’ programs of research. Calls for applications are announced in late September/early October through NARST email to members.

5. Teacher Support Scholarship. The Publications Advisory Committee provides scholarships for supporting teachers or informal educators who collaborate with NARST members on research projects to participate in and present research papers at the NARST conference. It offers up to nine scholarships of up to $700 each. The scholarships may be used for air travel, ground transportation, and conference registration fees. Calls for applications are announced in September through NARST email to members, and applications should be submitted by December 15.

6. Graduate Student Travel Award. The NARST Graduate Student Committee offers graduate students the opportunity to apply for a travel award to attend the NARST annual conferences. Given on a one-time basis, four scholarship recipients will each be awarded $500.00. The funds must be applied to the current NARST conference in the academic year it is received. Applicants from ‘underrepresented’ institutions in the US and lower-middle-income and low-income countries are given priority. The applications that are ranked highest based on the eligibility criteria are selected on a lottery basis. The eligibility requirements include a) being a member of NARST; b) having an accepted proposal or being a first-time conference attendee; c) demonstrating some declared financial need; d) having not received any financial support from university institution; e) not also receiving a scholarship from another NARST committee (i.e., Basu Scholarship, International Committee travel award, etc.). Calls for applications are announced by November 15 through NARST announcements to members and a call posted on the narst.org website.

7. Sandra K. Abell Institute for Doctoral Students (SKAIDS). This Institute runs every other year (on odd years), and provides doctoral students opportunities for research mentoring. Calls for applications are announced in the spring of odd years through NARST email to members.  The Institute is sponsored by the NARST Research Committee.