International Research Experiences for Students
Last verified by NonDilute: 2026-06-08. Official notice and agency instructions control.
If you lead NSF-funded research, apply to bring cohorts of U.S. students to your international collaborators and access dedicated funding for their mentorship and travel.
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What this is
This is an NSF program that funds established researchers to organize cohorts of U.S. students for collaborative international research experiences in NSF-supported STEM fields. PIs must be from U.S. organizations and lead proposals around a coherent intellectual theme; students apply to these PIs, not directly to NSF. Awards support student travel, mentorship, and virtual/hybrid collaboration infrastructure alongside in-person international research.
Who can apply
Applicants must be PIs or co-PIs from U.S.-based organizations (universities, national labs, research institutes). Students must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents. Students do not apply directly; they apply to funded PIs through their projects.
Eligible applicant types
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Full description — from the agency
The International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program supports international research and research-related activities for U.S. science and engineering students. The IRES program contributes to development of a diverse, globally engaged workforce with world-class skills. IRES focuses on active research participation by undergraduate and/or graduate students in high quality international research, education and professional development experiences in NSF-funded research areas. The overarching, long-term goals of the IRES program are to enhance U.S. leadership in science and engineering research and education and to strengthen economic competitiveness through training the next generation of science research leaders. IRES focuses on the development of a world-class U.S. STEM workforce through international research experiences for cohorts of U.S. students. Student participants supported by IRES funds must be citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of the United States. Students do not apply directly to NSF to participate in IRES activities. Students apply to NSF-funded investigators who receive IRES awards. To identify appropriate IRES projects, students should consult the directory of active IRES awards. All PIs, co-PIs and Senior Personnel on IRES proposals must be from U.S. based organizations. Personnel from international partners should be listed as "non-NSF funded collaborators." Guidance on information to provide for "non-NSF funded collaborators" is found in Section V.A. IRES projects engage a group of undergraduate and/or graduate students in active high-quality collaborative research, in principle at an international site with mentorship from international researchers. IRES projects must be organized around a coherent overarching intellectual theme that may involve a single discipline or multiple disciplines funded by NSF. For all IRES proposals, PIs are strongly encouraged to outline a variety of virtual, hybrid or other alternative approaches to strengthen and maintain international collaboration in addition to travel. It is expected that these approaches will extend collaboration beyond the actual international trip and strengthen IRES proposals overall.
Topics: international research experience · student research abroad · NSF IRES awards · STEM workforce development · collaborative international research · undergraduate graduate research
Public-source funding discovery only. This summary is generated from public agency data and may be incomplete or stale. NonDilute is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government agency. Official notices and agency instructions control. NonDilute does not determine eligibility, provide grant-writing advice, or guarantee funding.