Program Application

• Key information to know before you apply:
  • Applications are closed. Check back in the summer of 2025 for the next round of educator applications.
  • Educators in the following areas are welcome to apply:
    • Educators across all subject areas.
    • Informal educators who can incorporate polar science education into their work.
    • Faculty from community colleges and Minority Serving Institutions. 
    • Middle and High school educators.
  • Virtual and field collaborations are available
  •  Before you apply, please read the FAQs.
  • Applications must be submitted through the application portal, InfoReady, below. Emailed applications will not be accepted.
  • Please reach out to [email protected] with questions.
  • To stay connected and receive updates about future opportunities, join our email list and follow us on social media @polarsteamteam.

Key information:

• Polar STEAM is a partner in your broader impacts work and facilitates collaborations between educators, artists, & writers and polar researchers.  Virtual and field collaborations are available.
• We are currently recruiting researchers for the following polar seasons:
  • Arctic field research, boreal summer 2026  
  • Antarctic field research, austral summer 2026/27
  • Virtual collaborations, Arctic and Antarctic, 2026/27
• We are also interested in talking with researchers who are submitting NSF proposals for future work and are interested in collaborating with Polar STEAM.
• Polar STEAM welcomes applications from NSF-funded polar researchers across a wide spectrum of research disciplines including social sciences.
• Designate one researcher on the team as the primary point of contact with Polar STEAM. We work with PIs and other members of the research team, including graduate students. 
• Please read the FAQs for more information
• Researchers can request a meeting with the team via Zoom or send questions by email to [email protected].
• To stay connected and receive updates about future opportunities, join our email list and follow us on social media @polarsteamteam.

May 2024 update: 

• The US Antarctic Program has experienced significant delays in recent years due to COVID restrictions and the ongoing construction and modernization project.  The U.S. National Science Foundation released an update on Science Support and Infrastructure in Antarctica on April 1, 2024.  This statement provides an update to NSF-funded programs (including Polar STEAM) on the status of supporting projects in Antarctica.  While there continues to be a backlog and restrictions on space, the NSF is prioritizing support for projects already funded while also issuing a hiatus on any new proposals.
• Therefore, Polar STEAM will not issue an open call for the Antarctic Artists and Writers Program for 2025/26. This mirrors the NSF’s practice of deferring currently funded science to address the Antarctic backlog.  Polar STEAM has invited some candidates from the 2024/25 pool of applicants to renew their candidacy for available slots in the 2025/26 season.  See below for instructions on how to check your application status.
• Polar STEAM, similar to many other projects, received fewer slots for the 2024/25 season than originally anticipated.  To accommodate for these changes, Polar STEAM will use the strategy outlined above and draw from the significant number of excellent proposals submitted in 2024/25 to fill the slots provided by the NSF in 2025/26. 
• Applicants can check their status in the following ways: 
  • An application status email has been sent to all 2024/25 applicants.  Please note – this email will come from PRAx and Submittable with the subject line “Polar STEAM update”.
  • Applicants can also find their status by logging in to Submittable, click on the application, and then select the messages tab.  The program is unable to respond to messages or provide further detail by email. 
• For those invited to renew their applications, please complete this process by May 31, 2024.  Please be aware that the selection process will not take place until fall 2024, or once we have received notification from the NSF regarding available slots. 
• We understand this may be disappointing.  We encourage you to stay connected through social media @polarsteamteam and through our email list.  We look forward to announcing future opportunities.