2014 DHS Scientific Leadership Awards for Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Granting Bachelor Degrees

A. Program Overview and Priorities The mission of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate is to strengthen America’s security and resiliency by providing knowledge products and innovative technology solutions for the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE). to develop a technically savvy future workforce for the HSE. The DHS Scientific Leadership Awards (SLA) program is one of several educational research programs administered by the S&T Office of University Programs. The SLA program will develop homeland security educational and research capabilities within the MSI communities. OUP invites applications from minority serving intuitions to establish HS-related scientific leadership awards programs. OUP expects to fund these programs for several years to ensure a lasting capability at recipient MSIs. Critical elements of a successful SLA proposal will address the following: 1) Coordinated teaching and DHS relevant research projects or initiatives with significant involvement of an early career faculty 2) Establishment of collaborative relationships with the DHS research Centers of Excellence (COEs), DHS / DOE and other federal labs 3) HS-STEM (Homeland Security- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum development and course content 4) Financial support for undergraduate students in the form of scholarships and other direct student support 5) Student internships and other experiential learning opportunities 6) Best practices for successful student mentoring and career guidance 7) Processes with the potential for highly successful transition of supported students to HS-STEM related careers, or admission to graduate school 8) Student success tracking, measurement, and reporting methodology The proposal must contain a subproject that allows collaboration or faculty exchange between early career faculty and a researcher at one of the COE Research lead universities, a DHS / DOE laboratory or other related federal research center. Additional requirements may apply, see full description in Funding Announcement.