JWST Observers are in the midst of getting their Cycle 4 proposals ready for submission. This year there are a significant number of changes affecting proposal preparation. Some key highlights are:

• The page limit is reduced by approximately a factor of two.
• Proposal size boundaries, scientific categories, and science keywords have been adjusted.
• The Observing Description section in APT will not be visible to the Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC).
• All special requirements (e.g., timing, orientation) must be listed and justified in the relevant proposal section and included on the APT Special Requirements section.
• JWST will now offer up to 8,500 hours for observations in Cycle 4 compared to 5,500 hours in Cycle 3. We do not expect an increase in the grant pool, so the increased observing time will impact the funding available to each program. STScI is working on budget preparation guidelines for successful investigators that will be announced at a later date.

The Exclusive Access Period remains unchanged for Cycle 4. For additional details, STScI  encourages prospective observers to review the Guide to Changes article and the Call for Proposals documentation.

To help navigate these changes, as well as proposal preparation tool updates relevant to the call (e.g., ETC, APT, and duplicate observation search), STScI invites all JWST proposers to join the What’s New in Cycle 4 JWebbinar. Registration closes on September 6. The recording and materials will be available shortly after the session on the JWebbinars page.

Please contact the JWST Help Desk with any questions.