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NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program
Enriching college curricula to raise awareness of the role of standards and standardization in science, technology, engineering, math, law, public policy, business, and other related or multi-disciplinary fields.
The deadline to submit a proposal for the NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program (SCOCD CAP) was July 13, 2026. To learn more about awards made between 2012-2025, please see NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program: Awardees.
Background
The Standards Coordination Office (SCO) launched the Education Challenge Grants program in 2012 with an initial budget of $150,000. During its inaugural year, six grants were awarded to support the development of new learning resources and course modules that integrated standards and standardization into business and engineering programs. In 2013, the initiative transitioned from a grant program to a cooperative agreement program, enabling SCO to collaborate more closely with award recipients and provide greater support for advancing education related to standards and standardization. In 2023, it was renamed the SCO Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program.
The number of awards made under the program has varied based on factors such as the availability of funding and the number of proposals received. Although the evaluation criteria have evolved over time as NIST has refined and strengthened the program, its core mission has remained consistent: to advance standards education at U.S. colleges and universities.
Program Criteria
Applicants are evaluated on their ability to meet criteria in four major categories:
- Project Approach and Project Execution Plan;
- Communication and Dissemination Plan;
- Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel; and
- Resource Availability.
Subscribe for Updates
To receive email updates and information about this program, please click on the “CONNECT WITH US” box on the right of this page. Enter your email address, and scroll down to the heading for Standards.gov. Check the box for NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program News and Announcements, and click submit at the bottom of the page.
Updates
Past Awardee Publishes New Book on Standards
D. Linda Garcia, author and Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University, recently published Standards, Emergence, and Complex Outcomes: The Missing Link between Cause and Effect. In the book, Garcia proposes a multidimensional approach in which standards are the mechanisms driving change, complexity is the backdrop for this change, emergence is the process by which change unfolds, and evolution is its ultimate outcome.
ANSI Workshop on Building a Standards-Ready Workforce, Dec 9
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is hosting Building a Standards-Ready Workforce, an in-person standards education workshop taking place on December 9, 2026, in Washington, DC.
NIST 2027 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program Accepting Applications – Deadline is Jan 26, 2027
The SURF program provides research opportunities for students to work with NIST scientists and engineers, to expose them to cutting-edge research and promote the pursuit of advanced degrees and careers in STEM.
Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE) Program Accepting Applications for Summer 2027 – Deadline is Feb 15, 2027
Through the collaborative efforts of several professional engineering societies, the Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE) program prepares future leaders to contribute to important issues at the intersection of science, technology, and public policy.
2026 World Standards Day Paper Competition
Deadline is September 30
Sponsored by SES – The Society for Standardization Professionals and the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day Planning Committee, the competition is open to individuals in academia, industry, government, and standards developing organizations.
New ANAB Emerging Professionals Scholarship Announced
Deadline is November 6
The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) has launched a new award supporting students pursuing careers in quality, safety, science, accreditation, standards, and credentialing.
ASTM International Awards Four $10,000 Scholarships to 2026 Graduate Students
ASTM recently awarded four $10,000 scholarships to graduate students for their studies in fields where technical standards play a crucial role.
ANSI 2026 Student Paper Competition Winners Announced
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and its Committee on Education (CoE) recently announced the winners of the 2026 Student Paper Competition. This year’s theme was Imagine a World Without Standards.
NIST Awardee Case Western Reserve University Seeks Collaborators for Case Studies
CWRU’s Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Kelvin Smith Library have developed standards education modules centered on case studies involving quality systems, biocompatibility, and software development for medical devices. The curriculum is available at https://osf.io/79s6z/.
Looking ahead, PI’s Colin Drummond, Daniela Solomon, and Matthew Williams are actively seeking partners from standards development organizations and industry to co-develop additional case studies that will enhance the awareness, knowledge, and importance of industry standards. Please contact the PI’s directly for more information.
NIST Awardees Publish Book on Standards Information Literacy
A new publication, Teaching and Collecting Technical Standards: A Handbook for Librarians and Educators, is available for free download or purchase from Purdue University Press. Awardees Margaret Philips, Purdue University, and Daniela Solomon, Case Western Reserve University, are co-authors and co-editors of the book.
For more details on these stories and others, please see the Ongoing Impact page.
To receive future program updates, please click Connect With Us and input your email. Then scroll down the list of subscription topics to Standards.gov, check the NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program News and Announcements box, and click "Submit."
Contacts
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NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program