NASA Office of STEM Engagement (Space Grant, EPSCoR)
(STEM Engagement)
NASAStudents and researchers in all 50 states through Space Grant consortia; minority university programs
Summary
NASA's Office of STEM Engagement funds four programs that support science, math, and engineering education nationwide: the Space Grant college network, EPSCoR research grants for under-resourced states, the Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), and Next Generation STEM projects. The FY2027 budget proposes eliminating the entire office, a 100% cut of $143 million, arguing these activities are peripheral to NASA's core mission and that universities should self-fund them.
Who Is Affected
The cut would end funding for the 52 Space Grant consortia operating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, which support more than 850 university, college, and museum affiliates offering student fellowships and scholarships. It would also eliminate NASA EPSCoR, which funds aerospace research capacity in 28 less-research-intensive states and territories, and MUREP, which channels grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, tribal colleges, and other minority-serving schools.
What this cut would actually mean
If eliminated, thousands of undergraduate and graduate STEM scholarships, faculty research grants, and campus aerospace research projects that currently rely on this funding would lose their federal support with no NASA-run replacement, since the administration expects universities to cover the cost themselves. In practice, many smaller and less-resourced institutions -- especially those in EPSCoR states and minority-serving colleges under MUREP -- would likely be unable to fully replace the funding, shrinking the pipeline of students entering aerospace and STEM careers and weakening research capacity built up over decades; Congress has already pushed back on this specific elimination in recent appropriations bills, restoring funding for these programs.
Sources
- Roundup of FY2027 Research Agency Requests: Significant Cuts Abound for NIST, NASA, and NIH - CRA GovAffairs — Reports that the administration's FY2027 budget request recommends eliminating the STEM Engagement budget line and all its programming, citing NASA's primary role as space exploration.
- FY2027 Budget Request Slashes Billions in Science Funding - Eos — Confirms the $143 million proposed cut to NASA's Office of STEM Engagement as part of a broader 23% reduction to NASA's discretionary budget.
- Great News for NASA in the House-Senate FY2026 Appropriations Report - SpacePolicyOnline.com — Breaks down the $143 million STEM Engagement total into its component programs: $58 million for Space Grant, $26 million for EPSCoR, $45.5 million for MUREP, and $13.5 million for Next Generation STEM, and notes Congress rejected the proposed elimination.
- National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project - NASA — Describes the Space Grant network of 52 consortia and more than 850 affiliated institutions across all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico that fund student fellowships and scholarships.
- About MUREP - NASA — Explains that MUREP provides competitive awards to Minority Serving Institutions, including HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and tribal colleges, to build research and academic capacity.
- NASA Office of Inspector General Audit of NASA's STEM Engagement Activities — NASA OIG audit noting OSTEM managed a $143.5 million budget in FY2023 and detailing which EPSCoR jurisdictions receive funding, including Alabama, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma.
Administration's Stated Rationale
“STEM engagement programs considered peripheral to NASA core mission; universities to self-fund.”