Small and Mid-Sized Colleges and Universities will Gain as a Result of The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022

With bipartisan support, Congress passed and signed into law the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. This bill is poised to change the federal funding landscape for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at colleges and universities.
Small and Mid-Sized Colleges and Universities will Gain as a Result of The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022
Small & Mid-Sized Colleges & Universities November 1, 2022

With bipartisan support, Congress passed and signed into law the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. This bill is poised to change the federal funding landscape for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at colleges and universities.

Read on for McAllister & Quinn’s breakdown on what small and mid-sized colleges need to know.

The CHIPS and Science Act was enacted with the purpose to authorize the vast expansion of science and technology funding to bolster research and development in the United States. The National Science Foundation (NSF), a key agency in this space, will see its budget more than double over the next five years (increasing from $9 billion in 2022 to $19 billion by 2027). This represents the largest funding increase at the agency since the NSF was created in the 1950’s.

The NSF consistently funds important STEM initiatives to improve and innovate STEM education at primarily undergraduate institutions. The CHIPS and Science Act positions the NSF to increasingly support scholarships, faculty and undergraduate student research, and pedagogical and curricular improvements at small and mid-sized colleges and universities.

In a recent interview with Dr. Sethuraman Panachanathan, the National Science Foundation’s Director, he describes the potential funding opportunities for colleges and universities across the country. See below for ways the funding is likely to further STEM initiatives at primarily undergraduate colleges and universities.

CHIPS and Science Act Highlights

  • The number of scholarships awarded to talented STEM education students will double through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce).
  • A new NSF directorate, the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) will receive $20 billion over 5 years to house new and existing grant programs to support colleges with engineering, data science, cybersecurity, and other related science programs.
  • The largest investment ever recommended by Congress for EPSCoR jurisdictions will enhance research capacity at these colleges.

    See if your institution is located in an NSF eligible EPSCoR Jurisdiction.
  • The new Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service Program will be established in 2023 to increase the number of students training to be in artificial intelligence professions.
  • Increased grant funding and prioritization for Minority-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).
  • The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science will also realize doubled budgets over 5 years.

This funding still needs to make its way through Congress’s annual appropriations process for the CHIPS and Science Act funding to become available. A recent CHIPS webinar forecasted that new grant programs will be competed starting in 2023. McAllister & Quinn will continue to monitor, track, and analyze appropriations that will impact small and mid-sized colleges and universities.

Please contact McAllister & Quinn for more information by filling out the form here.