Cottrell Scholar Award

Eligibility

The Cottrell Scholar Award (CSA) is available to early career faculty at U.S. and Canadian research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions. Eligible applicants are tenure-track faculty who hold primary or courtesy appointments in chemistry, physics, or astronomy departments that offer bachelor's and/or graduate degrees in the applicant's discipline.

For the 2025 proposal cycle, eligibility is limited to faculty members who started their first tenure-track appointment anytime in calendar year 2022. Accommodations are made for faculty who have taken maternity or paternity leave, or who have experienced medical conditions or research delays that prompted a tenure clock extension. Please click here to submit a request for eligibility extension.

Summary

CSA proposals contain a research plan, an educational plan, and a clear statement on how the applicant will become an outstanding teacher-scholar with strong academic citizenship skills. Proposal plans must be for a period of three years. The ability of applicants to mount a strong and innovative research program, achieve excellence in education, and develop effective academic citizenship skills are key criteria in the selection process.

In applying for, and in accepting funds from Research Corporation for Science Advancement, each scientific investigator pledges to maintain a safe and harassment-free working environment, which includes appropriate training of all members of the research group and compliance with the requirements and guidelines established by that investigator’s institutional research safety office.

Cottrell Scholar Awards are for three-year projects in the amount of $120,000 for the entire project. CSA funds may be used to support both the educational and research projects of the Cottrell Scholar. Budgets are not required, and no budget page is included in the proposal. CSA funds are used at the discretion of the Scholar for most direct costs, including equipment and supplies, undergraduate and graduate salary/wages/stipends, graduate student tuition and fees, postdoctoral salaries, and travel to attend the annual Cottrell Scholar conference and other conferences/workshops. Salaries/wages/stipends and student tuition are only allowed if prorated to percent effort. Faculty summer salary is an allowable expense, but only for faculty in non-doctoral departments. Full benefits are only allowed for postdoctoral salaries. Fringe benefits for undergraduate students and graduate students (and for faculty in non-doctoral departments) should not exceed 15%. No funds are to be used for indirect costs or overhead, academic-year faculty salaries, routine administrative institutional services or salaries, books and journals, or building construction or renovation.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

The application process for 2026 Cottrell Scholar Awards opens March 4, 2025. To start, create a New User account in RCSA’s Proposal Review and Information System Manager (PRISM).

• The system will prompt you to complete the required registration form, then review and accept the terms and conditions of our system. You will receive an email from prism@rescorp.org with a link to set your password.
• Once logged in, complete Basic Information and Diversity & Inclusion Questionnaire.  Click on Manage My Details to update your Degree/Qualification, Employment, and Grant and/or Fellowships. Information from these fields will be pulled automatically into your application.
• To start your Cottrell Scholar Application, go to My Applications and click “New Application.” From the list of Open Calls, click apply on the Cottrell Scholar Application row. Complete the eligibility quiz and proceed to start your application.
• Institutional endorsement of your proposal is required. Applicants will enter the name and email address of their institution’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) in the PRISM application form. When submitted by the applicant, the application will first route to the AOR for approval. Once approved, the application will be submitted to RCSA to review. Please consult your internal policies on approval timelines and plan to submit accordingly to ensure your proposal meets the deadline above. Proposals cannot be submitted to RCSA without institutional approval by the AOR.