Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0009496
The FY 2023 BridgeUSA Global STEM Scholarship Fund is a U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) funding opportunity run through the Office of Private Sector Exchange (BridgeUSA). It seeks one organization to administer a global STEM scholarship program that brings foreign students and professionals to the United States under the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program. The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the recipient would implement the program while working in close coordination with ECA/BridgeUSA on planning, oversight, and key decisions tied to program goals and compliance.
The program’s main purpose is to strengthen STEM education and career pathways in the United States through international exchange, while also advancing U.S. engagement with partners overseas. The selected awardee would be responsible for providing roughly 20 to 30 STEM scholarships for foreign participants and ensuring those scholarships are distributed evenly across eligible countries in three priority regions: Africa (AF), East Asia and Pacific (EAP), and the Western Hemisphere (WHA). The scholarship recipients are expected to enter through specific eligible J-1 categories that align with academic and professional STEM experiences: College/University Students, Interns, Research Scholars, and Trainees. In practical terms, this implies the recipient would manage recruitment and selection pipelines, confirm eligibility for the appropriate J-1 category, coordinate placements or affiliations with U.S. host institutions, and handle the program support structure that enables participants to complete their academic or professional activities successfully.
A central requirement is that proposals must incorporate a climate change focus. The opportunity is not simply looking for general STEM mobility; it is prioritizing STEM exchanges that directly contribute to climate-related knowledge, tools, and resilience. Competitive proposals are expected to build partnerships with U.S. institutions and other collaborators working in STEM fields that have clear cross-continental relevance. Examples explicitly emphasized in the announcement include improving understanding of climate systems, developing precision agriculture capabilities, enhancing risk assessment tools, and increasing societal resilience to catastrophic natural or human-induced disasters. In other words, applicants are expected to show how the scholarship-funded experiences will connect STEM training and research to real-world climate challenges, and how those efforts will be strengthened through institutional collaboration rather than stand-alone placements.
Eligible applicants include U.S. accredited colleges and universities, consortia of accredited institutions (including community college consortia), and U.S. public or private nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status. The announcement encourages consortia representing universities and colleges to apply, signaling that BridgeUSA is open to multi-institution models that can offer broader STEM capacity, more diverse host sites, and stronger support networks for participants. The grant is listed under CFDA 19.451 and categorized as discretionary funding.
Funding for the opportunity is expected to result in one award with an approximate ceiling of $360,000, contingent on the availability of funds. The funding opportunity number is SFOP0009496, and it was posted on March 8, 2023 with an original application deadline of May 10, 2023. Overall, this competition is aimed at selecting a single capable administrator that can recruit participants across multiple world regions, place them into well-structured U.S.-based STEM experiences under appropriate J-1 categories, and tie the exchange outcomes to climate change-related STEM priorities through durable institutional partnerships.Apply for SFOP0009496
- The Department of State, Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2023 BridgeUSA Global STEM Scholarship Fund" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.451.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 08, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 10, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $360,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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