About the program
Mizzou’s spring semester CAREER Club is designed to help eligible researchers submit or resubmit a competitive application to the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Club participants receive training, support and proposal coaching throughout the process — from first draft to submission.
Apply by Dec. 11, 2026.
Who can participate
- Assistant professors or equivalent who are eligible for the NSF CAREER Program (see below) and plan to submit their applications by July 28, 2027.
- Assistant professors who plan to submit in future years and want to begin planning now.
- Postdocs who want to plan ahead for a future NSF CAREER submission.
Application elements
- Curriculum vitae
- Short summary of your research interests
- Anticipated NSF directorate
- The name of a mentor from your discipline who will give you feedback on your application. (Download optional letter of support template.)
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must:
- Hold a PhD and engage in research in an area supported by NSF.
- Be an untenured assistant professor with at least a 50% tenure-track position (you are eligible as long as you have not been awarded tenure by the application submission deadline).
- Have teaching responsibilities.
You are ineligible if you have:
- Received a CAREER award previously.
- Applied to the NSF CAREER program more than three times.
Please email muresearchprodev@missouri.edu with questions.