42 U.S.C. § 19113 — Scholarships and fellowships

(a) In general: The Director^*, through the Directorate, must fund undergraduate scholarships (including at community colleges), graduate fellowships and traineeships, and postdoctoral awards in the key technology focus areas.

(b) Implementation: The Director may carry this out by making awards (1) directly to students, and (2) to colleges or groups of colleges, including those running Regional Innovation Engines established under section 19108.

(c) Broadening participation: The Director must take steps to increase participation of groups underrepresented in STEM, which may include: (1) starting or growing programs targeted at underrepresented groups; (2) funding traineeships at HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, and minority-serving institutions; (3) helping low-income people pursue associate, undergraduate, or graduate STEM degrees; (4) addressing gaps in the STEM workforce's availability or skills, including by growing educational capacity and prioritizing awards to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and people who will grow the domestic workforce; and (5) addressing geographic diversity in the STEM workforce.

(d) Encouraging innovation: The Director must encourage innovation in graduate education — for example, encouraging colleges to give graduate students experience in industry or government as part of their training, and supporting students in professional master's programs tied to the key technology focus areas or to societal, national, and geostrategic challenges.

(e) Areas of funding support: Subject to available funds, the Director must: (1) issue (A) postdoctoral awards, (B) graduate fellowships and traineeships, including NSF Research Traineeships and Graduate Research Fellowships, and (C) scholarships — including undergraduate scholarships, research experiences, and internships, such as (i) community college scholarships and (ii) research experiences and internships under sections 1862p–5, 1862p–6, and 1862p–7; (2) make sure at least 10 percent of this section's funds support additional awards focused on community college training, education, and teaching that increases participation of historically underrepresented populations, including through programs like Advanced Technological Education; and (3) if funds remain, make awards to colleges to fund new or specialized programs of study for graduate, undergraduate, or technical college students, and to evaluate those programs' effectiveness.

(f) Low-income scholarship program: (1) In general — The Director must award scholarships to low-income individuals to help them pursue associate, undergraduate, or graduate STEM degrees. (2) Eligibility — (A) In general — To qualify, a person (i) must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, an alien admitted as a refugee, or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence; (ii) must apply as the Director requires; and (iii) must certify to the Director an intent to use the scholarship to enroll in a STEM degree program the Director has designated. (B) Ability — Scholarships must be awarded solely based on the applicant's ability, except that when two or more applicants are judged to have substantially equal ability and there aren't enough scholarships for all of them, the available scholarships must be awarded in a way that spreads recipients out geographically across the United States. (3) Omitted. (4) Authorization — $100,000,000 of the funds authorized for the Directorate is authorized to carry out this subsection.

(g) Existing programs: The Director may use or expand the Foundation's existing STEM education programs and work with education or entrepreneurial partners to carry out this section.