Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA HEP 010775
The Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) program is a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant opportunity that funds university-run training programs designed to recruit, train, and graduate high-performing students in USDA mission-related fields. The program focuses on building the future workforce in food, agriculture, and natural resource sciences by supporting fellows pursuing masters and doctoral degrees. It also includes an added component called the International Research Travel Allowance (IRTA), which can provide support for eligible fellows to conduct special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel that strengthens their graduate training and research outcomes.
Funding is aimed at institutions that can clearly explain how their graduate training model works, why it is effective, and how it aligns with USDA mission sciences, NIFA priorities, and broader national science and education priorities. In other words, proposals are expected to be more than a request for student support; they need to lay out a coherent traineeship program with a defined philosophy and structure for developing graduate talent in areas where the nation has identified expertise shortages. Applications must be tied to one or more Targeted Expertise Shortage Areas (TESAs), which include: animal and plant production; forest resources; agricultural educators and communicators; agricultural management and economics; food science and human nutrition; sciences for agricultural biosecurity; and integrative biosciences training for sustainable food and agricultural systems.
Eligibility to apply is limited to certain institutions rather than individual students. Eligible applicants include land-grant institutions, colleges and universities with significant minority enrollments that can demonstrate capacity to teach food and agricultural sciences, and other colleges and universities that can demonstrate similar capacity. Research foundations that are formally maintained by an eligible college or university may also submit proposals under this announcement. While awards go to eligible institutions, those institutions may subcontract specific project activities to organizations that are not themselves eligible applicants, as long as those partners are necessary to carry out the project.
This is not a direct-to-student fellowship application. Individuals cannot apply to NIFA for this funding to pay for their own graduate education; instead, universities compete for the grant and then select fellows internally. A key program requirement is that successful institutions must select and identify fellows and make fellowship awards within 18 months of the grant start date. If an institution does not meet that deadline, it may be required to return the funds associated with any fellowships that were not awarded. The program explicitly does not support postdoctoral fellowships under this announcement.
Fellowships supported through this program must be full fellowships awarded to registered graduate students pursuing full-time study in an eligible TESA field and at the degree level covered by the grant. Partial fellowships are not allowed. For masters students who maintain satisfactory progress, support can cover up to 24 months of funding within a 30-month window. For doctoral students who maintain satisfactory progress, support can cover up to 36 months of funding within a 42-month window. The program is designed around the expectation of full-time, uninterrupted study and/or thesis/dissertation research, including time spent on USDA-supported international research travel when applicable. Fellows generally follow the standard student holiday schedule of their institution rather than accruing annual leave, and the periods between terms are expected to be used as an active part of the funded training period.
The program also allows some flexibility for real-life interruptions. If a fellow needs to pause their program for health, personal, or other reasonable non-academic reasons, the institution must allow the fellow to resume funded study within six months of the interruption, assuming enough time remains before the overall award period ends (30 months total for masters funding windows and 42 months total for doctoral funding windows). Additionally, while the fellowship is intended to support full-time study, institutions may allow fellows to take on supplemental employment when it clearly contributes to their training or research and may help them qualify for tuition waivers, such as teaching or research assignments.
From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is a discretionary grant administered by USDA NIFA (CFDA 10.210). The funding opportunity number is USDA NIFA HEP 010775. The original application closing date listed is 2024-08-13. The opportunity indicates an award ceiling of $262,500 and anticipates making around 14 awards.Apply for USDA NIFA HEP 010775
- The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.210.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-11.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-13. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $262,500.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 14 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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