The Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) solicitation (NSF 20-525) contains key updates this year:

• A single deadline has been implemented for all directorates. The deadline is July 27, 2020 and the fourth Monday of July annually thereafter.
• Principal Investigators must hold at least a 50% tenure-track or equivalent position as an assistant professor to be eligible to apply.
• This year’s applicants must meet all eligibility criteria as of July 27; future applicants must meet all eligibility criteria by each year’s respective deadline of the fourth Monday of July.

The CAREER Program offers the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty. Each year, NSF also selects nominees for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from recent CAREER awardees. Approximately 500 CAREER awards are made each year; the total anticipated funding amount for this year’s awards is $250,000,000.  

To assist applicants in meeting the deadline, NSF has developed supplementary guidance on key milestones to complete before submitting your CAREER proposal. For example, CAREER proposals submitted through Grants.gov should be submitted by July 17 to allow for the additional processing required before they can be accepted by NSF. If submitting through FastLane or Research.gov, submit by July 20 to allow time for resolving any system errors and also to avoid high volume delays at NSF’s Help Desk.