STARs Program

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Description: The Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention, or STARs, program provides funding for faculty to purchase state-of-the-art research equipment and to make necessary laboratory renovations to perform their research. The STARs program is designed to help University of Texas System, or UTS, institutions both attract and retain faculty talent in the areas of science and technology. Full details about the STARs program may be found on the UT System Office of Academic Affairs website.

FY26 Internal Funding for Faculty: Award Guidelines

Award Limit

Award Limit: $25,000 - $150,000+

  • SFA is allotted up to $800,000 per year of STARs funding. The total number of awards made will vary based on the number and quality of merited applications that are received by colleges.

Allowable Expenses

What is Covered:

  • Equipment and renovations with a useful life of more than one year (PUF eligible).
    • Definition of Equipment: The federal definition of equipment is a tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-federal entity for financial statement purposes, or $10,000.

Note: Funds cannot be used for travel, salaries, consumable supplies, moving expenses, or other operating expenses.

Deadline for spending funds:

  • STARs awards are active for a three-year period upon award. In the final year, all funds must be spent by July 31.

STARs Award Categories

The STARs program has two categories of awards: Faculty STARs and Rising STARs.

  • Faculty STARs: Awards for retention of individuals currently employed at SFA with national reputations and promise of research excellence (e.g., election to national academies, honorary societies, among others).
    • Up to $500,000 of total STARs program award funds may be awarded as Faculty STARs awards.
  • Rising STARs: Awards for promising faculty who have been recently recruited to SFA in a tenure-track position at any academic level (i.e., assistant, associate, or full professor).
    • Up to $300,000 of total STARs program award funds may be awarded as Rising STARs awards.

Eligibility

Eligibility: STARs funding is available to all incoming (new/recently recruited) and currently employed faculty in a full-time tenured or tenure-track position.

  • Funding requests should be connected to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM.
  • There is not a single unified definition of STEM across federal agencies. As part of the InfoReady application process, applicants will refer to the provided STEM Designated Degree Program List published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, and enter the degree program CIP code most closely aligned to the requested funding.

Submission Deadline and Requirements

Deadline: January 1; July 1 (for the following fiscal year)

Submission: A complete STARs application includes materials submitted by both the applicant and their academic dean. In addition to submitting their application in InfoReady, applicants are responsible for coordinating with their unit head and academic dean to ensure the preparation of a one-page letter of support.

Letter of Support:

  • A one-page letter of support must be authored by the applicant’s academic dean and should address the applicant’s potential for research leadership.
  • This document may be developed in consultation with the applicant's unit head.
  • Applicants will not upload the letter of support.
  • Academic deans will receive a system-generated prompt to upload the letter of support during the routing process, following the applicant’s submission in InfoReady.

Review Criteria

Funds are intended to support faculty with high potential to enhance research capacity in science and technology. Applications will be evaluated based on the following:

  • The extent to which recruitment and/or retention will provide scientific leadership in an area of significant strength to the individual institution, the addition of a high-quality research program in an underdeveloped area within the institution, or a substantial enhancement of an existing program.
  • The extent to which recruitment and/or retention provides important research leadership in a priority area for the UT System and/or the State of Texas.
  • The extent to which the STARs award will grow the national reputation of SFA.
  • The extent to which the STARs award will grow cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Administration and Award Management

  • Award recipients are expected to spend at least 50% of awarded funds within the first 12 months with remaining funds to be fully spent within the allowable three-year period.
  • Awards must conform to all applicable SFA policies and guidelines, and local, state and federal regulations.
  • Research including the use of human subjects, laboratory animals or hazardous materials must be approved by the appropriate university committee prior to the initiation of the project.
  • As a condition of an award, award recipients will be expected produce the following:
    • One or more quality grant submissions within the award period. Proposals should target state or federal agencies that allow for full indirect cost recovery.
    • Documentation annually detailing expenditures and research outcomes associated with awarded funding. This documentation is due no later than the end of each fiscal year (August 31).