JWST Call for Proposals for Cycle 1

The policies governing the JWST General Observer (GO) and Archival Research (AR) programs in Cycle 1 are established in this Call for Proposals.



Late breaking news

November 11, 2020

  • Apple is releasing new Macs based on Apple Silicon (M1) on November 17, 2020. While we expect APT to be compatible we have not yet had an opportunity to verify that.

October 16, 2020

  • The Exoplanet Characterization ToolKit (ExoCTK) has released its version 1.1, which is the officially STScI supported version of this tool aimed at aiding observers interested in performing transiting exoplanetary science with JWST. It is now live through its suite of web-based services, and its associated Python package.
  • Clarification: The release of APT 2020.4.1 on Oct. 1, 2020, was made specifically to improve performance of the MSA Planning Tool component of APT.  Hence, those submitting NIRSpec MSA-related proposals are encouraged to install and use the newer version.  However, Cycle 1 proposals for all proposers can be submitted using either APT 2020.4 or APT 2020.4.1.

October 1, 2020

  • Support Letters for Proposed Mission Support: Proposers for observations in support of NASA/ESA missions who intend to include mission support letters should email them separately to jwstreview@stsci.edu no later than December 1, 2020. The letters should not be added or included in the PDF attachment as they would not likely be compliant with the guidelines for the dual anonymous review. When necessary, the letters will be provided to the TAC panels in the Team Expertise and Background review.
  • APT 2020.4.1 has been released. This patch improves the performance of the MSA planning tool to plan JWST NIRSpec MOS Observations.

September 9, 2020

  • The COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant, and often unpredictable, disruption to almost all aspects of everyday life in 2020, including scientific research and researchers. As a mitigating step to aid JWST proposers, following the recommendation of the JWST User Committee (JSTUC), STScI will allow proposers to request an extension of the proposal deadline to 8 pm Eastern time on December 3, 2020 if they are faced with unexpected events that occur shortly before the primary deadline, 8 pm Eastern time on November 24, 2020. See the JWST Cycle 1 Proposal Deadline Extension Request for further details.

August 31, 2020

  • ETC 1.5.2 has been released. This patch release provides APT consistency improvements, usability upgrades, and bug fixes. Changes to calculated results will be minimal, only affecting those calculations using a source normalized in the Spitzer/IRAC bandpasses. Read more in the ETC Release Notes.

July 23, 2020

  • The JWST Cycle 1 General Observer (GO) proposal deadline will be 08:00 pm Eastern Time (ET) on Tuesday November 24, 2020. 

June 9, 2020

  • APT v2020.3 has been released. APT version 2020.3 must be used to submit all proposals for JWST Cycle 1 until a new APT version becomes available. See Changes in APT 2020.3 release for information on the updates.

June 1, 2020

  • Due to the extended open period for the Cycle 1  Call for Proposals, subsequent versions of APT may be released prior to the deadline.  Proposers should use the latest version of APT to submit proposals for JWST Cycle 1 unless directed otherwise in official announcements from STScI.

March 31, 2020

  • ETC 1.5.1.1 has been released. This release provides an improvement to under-the-hood process communication. No changes to any calculated results will occur, nor will you be required to copy out-of-date workbooks. Read more in the Release Notes for the ETC Nano Releases article.

March 11, 2020

  • APT v2020.2 has been released. See Changes in APT 2020.2 release for information on the updates implemented in this version. 
  • Information on the currently planned calibration activities for Cycle 1 has been made available. See Explore How the JWST Will Be Calibrated in Cycle 1 page for details. These may be useful in crafting your Cycle 1 proposals, in particular, if you are planning to submit a proposal for additional calibrations, or if your science depends on specific elements of the calibration plan.

February 25, 2020

January 27, 2020

  • Support Letters for Proposed Mission Support: Proposers for observations in support of NASA/ESA missions who intend to include mission support letters should email them separately to jwstreview@stsci.edu no later than May 8, 2020. The letters should not be added or included in the PDF attachment as they would not likely be compliant with the guidelines for the dual anonymous review. When necessary, the letters will be provided to the TAC panels in the Team Expertise and Background review.

January 23, 2020

  • Most proposals can be developed using the current version of the Astronomer’s Proposal Tool (APT v2020.1.1). A final version (v2020.2) for JWST Cycle 1 will be released no earlier than March 10, 2020. This is the reference version for all Cycle 1 proposals. The list of new features in v2020.2 can be found here. The final submission of all Cycle 1 proposals must use APT v2020.2.

  • Proposers should check for potential duplications against existing GTO and ERS programs. See JWST Observation Duplication Checking for instructions on how to check whether a proposed observation would duplicate any existing observations. GTO and ERS teams will update their observations using APT v2020.2, but will not add any new targets or additional observations of current targets. The Late Breaking News section will be used to notify the community of any such changes by March 31 2020. 

  • ETC 1.5.1 will be released 01/27/2020 and will include improvements to the thermal model and cosmic ray treatment. Please, use this version for proposal preparation. 
  • Proposers who intend to request funds for supporting resources, including support for ground-based observations, should make those intents clear in their scientific justifications. The Financial Review Committee may not approve requests to cover costs for resources in budget proposals (from successful programs) that are not justified in the approved science proposals.



About this document

We invite scientists to participate in Cycle 1 of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The telescope and its instruments were built under the auspices of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Management of JWST's scientific program is carried out by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). JWST observing programs are allocated against wall-clock time, with up to 6,000 hours available for general observers in this cycle, divided by program sizes as 3,500 hours for Small programs (≤ 25 hours), 1,500 for Medium programs (> 25 and ≤ 75 hours), and 1,000 for Large programs (> 75 hours). Observing time has already been allocated for Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) and Director's Discretionary Early Release Science (DD-ERS) programs. This document establishes the goals, requirements, and policies for the General Observer (GO) and Archival Research (AR) programs in Cycle 1.

The online documentation is the authority and will be updated with the latest information. 



Important dates

The Cycle 1 proposal deadline is November 24, 2020 by 8pm ET. The Time Allocation Committee meeting date will be scheduled for February 2021.

The Budget deadline is May 20, 2021.

Cycle 1 science observations will start with the completion of commissioning, 6 months after launch. Cycle 1 will have a duration of one year. 

Science justification templates

Templates for JWST Cycle 1 proposal PDF attachments

Note: The templates have intentionally different margins to accommodate about the same amount of text per page.

Make sure you use the appropriate template for your proposal type. Proposers are encouraged to refer to Getting Started with JWST Proposing in planning and submitting their proposals. Proposers should also be familiar with the policies on data rights, duplications, and other important topics covered in JWST General Science Policies.



Who's responsible

Members of the Science Mission Office at STScI are responsible for the oversight of the JWST science program selection process. The members involved include Neill Reid (Associate Director for Science), Alessandra Aloisi (Head of the Science Mission Office), Claus Leitherer (Head of Science Policies Group), Amaya Moro-Martin, Lou Strolger, Christine Chen, Katey Alatalo, Andy Fruchter, Molly Peeples, Laura Watkins, and Technical Manager Brett Blacker. As delegated by NASA Headquarters, the selection official for JWST proposals is the STScI Director.



Where to get help

Submit questions to the JWST helpdesk at jwsthelp.stsci.edu.  Consult JWST documentation at jwst-docs.stsci.edu, and see jwst.stsci.edu for additional tools and resources. 



Download PDF

JWST Cycle 1 GO/AR Call for Proposals, [PDF]


Next: JWST Cycle 1 Anonymous Proposal Review




Latest updates

  • proposal extension requests available


  • ETC release date


  • proposal deadline updates


  • proposal deadline updates


  • proposal deadline indefinitely postponed in response to covid-19


  • proposal deadline delayed.

  •  
    additional breaking news items, as listed above.

  •  
    added guidelines to proposers on JWST/HST overlapping capabilities. 
Originally published