Launched in 2021, grantmaking in this area aims to support new and established partnerships between STEM undergraduate and graduate programs nationwide that seek to identify and remove longstanding, systemic barriers to STEM master’s and doctoral degrees, with particular attention to undergraduate students enrolled in nonprofit public and private four-year broad access institutions, two-year colleges, or baccalaureate and special focus institutions with strong access missions. Most projects are led by teams of faculty across partnering institutions and support a range of activities designed to introduce students to, and prepare them for, STEM graduate study. The American Association for the Advancement of Science facilitates a community of learning and action for this portfolio, supporting 52 project teams across more than 120 institutions to date.

The 2026 Call for Letters of Inquiry for this initiative can be found here.