OCE Education
NSF OCE Education funds ocean-related undergraduate research internships at universities and marine laboratories and supports pre-tenure faculty CAREER projects that integrate research with education, with supplemental education requests handled through OCE science programs.
⚑ REU Site proposals are for universities and marine laboratories; annual August deadline. · CAREER is limited to pre-tenure researchers; annual July deadline. · Program also serves as contact point for OCE technical education, RET, GEO-VETS, and REU supplement requests, which are funded through OCE science programs and have no application deadlines. · Eligibility not otherwise stated in the notice.
This is an ocean-focused NSF education/training program (REU, CAREER, RET/supplements), which is outside IPPRA’s usual social-behavioral risk, energy, weather, security, and education-policy evaluation lines. Even though the team does some education work, it is not ocean science or ocean education as a core research program.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-09-26
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 50 partial | technical depth: substantial; funds training education (capped) |
| IPPRA | 40 partial | portfolio topics: energy, environment; signature methods: community engaged; social/behavioral work is minor; funds training education, not research (capped); capped at 40 (non-research funding) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 10 none | deep-tech content; no commercialization signal |
Description
OCE Education supports efforts to integrate ocean research and education via two main program areas, which are:
1) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Program . This program provides funding to Universities and Marine Laboratories that allows them to offer summer internships to undergraduate students who would like to participate in ocean-related research efforts. Proposals may be submitted annually (August deadline).
2) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) . This program supports pre-tenure researchers who would like to combine their research efforts with excellent educational programs. Proposals may be submitted annually (July deadline).
The Ocean Education program is the point of contact for anyone interested in submitting Ocean Technical Education , Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), Geoscience Veterans Education and Training Supplements (GEO-VETS) , and Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) supplement requests . RET, GEO-VET, and REU supplements are funded through the OCE science programs and have no application deadlines.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: U.S. National Science Foundation <grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · National Science Foundation conventions SEE AN NSF EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — National Science Foundation's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.