Overview
The College of Natural Sciences (CNS) Pathways Grants Program is an annual internal funding mechanism open to all CNS tenured, tenure-track and professional-track faculty in CNS who want to introduce new teaching methods in their own undergraduate courses and expand their contribution to the undergraduate education mission. This program will support projects that align with the CNS strategic plan and have the potential to improve the college’s ability to offer excellent experiences for undergraduate students.
There are several different Pathways Grant opportunities:
- Dean’s Teaching Fellowships support individual faculty teaching innovations
- Exploration and Assessment Awards support individuals or groups of faculty in understanding a pressing educational challenge and identifying potential solutions
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Collaborative Innovation Awards support groups of faculty in improving student experiences and success across sections, courses, or degree plans.
Current Faculty
Visit our faculty and staff page (EID required) to learn about opportunities to apply.
Special Calls
Periodic opportunities targeting specific college-wide initiatives.
$3,000 Career Education Grants for Fall 2026
The Office of STEM Education Excellence (STEMx) is now accepting proposals for grants exploring innovative approaches to integrating career readiness and professional development into fall 2026 CNS courses. Grant proposals can be submitted anytime by May 15, but will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Awardees will be provided a $3000 honorarium for their contributions to undergraduate education.
Past Special Calls:
- AI in Education Grants (2024) supported CNS faculty and staff to explore effective uses of AI in post-secondary education. These efforts culminated in the collaborative e-book Enhancing STEM Higher Education with Artificial Intelligence. STEMx supports other AI in Education initiatives as well.
Past Awardees
STEMx Celebrates 2025 Pathways Awardees
Awards range from creating a chemistry hub to expanding access to product design resources.
STEMx Celebrates 2024 Pathways Awardees
Awards range from improving early neuroscience lab experiences to designing capstone opportunities in integrative biology.
STEMx Celebrates 2023 Pathways Awardees
Twelve Pathways Fellows will be funded to work on six projects over the next two years.
Contact
Additional questions about the Pathways program and proposal preparation and submission should be directed to stemx@cns.utexas.edu.