The Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Excellence in Research (HBCU-EiR) program was established in response to direction provided in the Senate Commerce and Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Report (Senate Report 115-139), and is built on prior and continuing efforts by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to strengthen research capacity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This report provided guidance to NSF to establish the HBCU Excellence in Research program "to provide opportunities for both public and private HBCUs, particularly for those who have not been successful in larger NSF Research & Related Activities competitions, in order to stimulate sustainable improvement in their research and development capacity" ( https://congress.gov/congressional-report/115th-congress/senate-report/139/1 ).
EiR supports such capacity building by funding research projects aligned with NSF's research programs. The program aims to establish stronger connections between researchers at HBCUs and NSF's research programs.
The TCEP-SE under assistance listing 10.517, provides informal, community-focused extension pilot projects at 1994 Institutions. Pilot projects may focus on community needs that address emerging issues such as agricultural productivity, improving food systems, community vitality, workforce and economic development, public health and well-being, engaging Tribal youths, and preparing the next generation of Tribal agriculture leaders.
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In accordance with EO 14332, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking, dated 7 August 2025, and EO 14303, Restoring Gold Standard Science, dated 23 May 2025, this Announcement seeks
proposals from universities to purchase equipment and instrumentation in support of research in areas of interest to the DoW, reflecting the basic research priorities for the Department of War and advancing the administration and agency priorities (c.f., OMB memo M-25-34 “Fiscal Year 2027 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities and Cross-Cutting Actions”).
DoW interests include the areas of research supported by the Army Research Office (ARO), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).
A central purpose of the DURIP is to provide equipment and instrumentation to enhance research related education in areas of interest and priority to the DoW. Therefore, your proposal must address the impact of the equipment or instrumentation on your institution’s ability to educate students through research in disciplines important to DoW missions.
The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the Fiscal Year 2027 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). DURIP is designed to improve the capabilities of accredited United States (U.S.) institutions of higher education to conduct research and to educate scientists and engineers in areas important to national defense, by providing funds for the acquisition of research equipment or instrumentation. For-profit organizations are not eligible for DURIP funding.
Department of Army:
The Department of War (DoW) announces the Fiscal Year 2027 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). DURIP is designed to improve the capabilities of accredited United States (U.S.) institutions of higher education to conduct research and to educate scientists and engineers in areas important to national defense, by providing funds for the acquisition of research equipment or instrumentation. For-profit organizations are not eligible for DURIP funding.
The NLGCA Program, under assistance listing number 10.326, will assist NLGCA institutions in maintaining and expanding their capacity to conduct education, research, outreach, and integrated activities relating to agriculture, renewable resources, and other similar disciplines. NLGCA institutions may use the funds to maintain and expand capacity:
1. to successfully compete for funds from Federal grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, outreach, and integrated activities that address priority concerns of national, regional, State, and local interest;
2. to disseminate information relating to priority concerns to:
a. interested members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities;
b. the public; and
c. any other interested entity;
3. to encourage members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities to participate in priority education, research, outreach, and integrated activities by providing matching funds to leverage grant resources, and through:
a. the purchase or other acquisition of equipment and other infrastructure (not including alteration, repair, renovation, or construction of buildings);
b. the professional growth and development of the faculty of the NLGCA Institution; and
c. the development of graduate assistantships.
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The National Science Foundation (NSF) plays a prominent role in the improvement of undergraduate STEM education at the Nation’s colleges and universities. Through the IUSE: Innovation in Two-Year College STEM Education (ITYC) program, the agency seeks to extend this effort by making an intentional investment in the country’s two-year institutions of higher education, or two-year colleges. The twin goals of the ITYC program are to (1) center students in the effort to advance innovation and promote success in STEM education at two-year colleges, and (2) enhance the capacity of two-year colleges to harness the talent and potential of their student and faculty populations through innovative disciplinary, multi-department, and college-wide efforts. These goals will be achieved by investing in projects at two-year colleges that contribute to student success in STEM-based foundational courses and academic pathways for both majors and non-majors. Project activities may be in any discipline that is currently supported by NSF funding, which includes the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Collectively, projects in the ITYC program will make progress towards ensuring that two-year college students and faculty have the resources to participate in and contribute to the broader STEM enterprise.
Aligned with the goals above, the ITYC program features two tracks: (1) A Focus on the Academic Experiences of Two-Year College Students and (2) Leveraging Two-Year College Strengths and Innovation. Each Track can support projects requesting up to $500,000 for a duration of up to three years. For institutions that have not received NSF funding in the past five years, an additional $100,000 may be added to the budget which may be used by the institution to support and carry out grant-funded activities over four years. This would result in a total maximum budget of $600,000 for a project over four years. Institutions that have been funded as part of a collaborative award with their own NSF Award Number are not eligible for this incentive, however, institutions that have had a subaward from another institution are eligible.
This program is open to two-year colleges, which includes the following institutions, as described by Carnegie Classifications:
Associate’s Colleges: Institutions at which the highest-level degree awarded is an associate degree. This may include transfer as well a career and technical oriented colleges.
Baccalaureate / Associate’s Colleges: Institutions that award at least one baccalaureate degree but confer at least 50% of their degrees at the associate level.
The ITYC program is aligned with NSF's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) framework, which is a comprehensive effort to accelerate improvements in the quality and effectiveness of undergraduate education in STEM fields.
Key programmatic objectives of the DoN HBCU/MI Program are achieved through the implementation and performance of three program goals:
• enhancing the research and educational capabilities of HBCU/MIs in scientific and engineering disciplines critical to the defense mission of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps,
• encouraging cross-institutional, collaborative efforts that explore innovative solutions to naval science and technology (S&T) challenges, and
• increasing the engagement of students in STEM fields important to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
This particular NOFO aims to enhance the research capacity and research infrastructure for HBCU/MIs. Competitive white papers and invited full proposals submitted to this NOFO must clearly and succinctly describe efforts that advance basic naval-relevant S&T, engage faculty and students in STEM discovery, and expand the research capacity of participant institutions.
This announcement is only for research efforts that also promote student/faculty engagement, and expand the institution’s research capacity. This announcement is not intended for projects that focus on non-research STEM activities.
The technical content of any proposed effort must contribute to the S&T mission and vision of the DoN.
Deadlines
White Paper Inquiries and Questions-Email: don_hbcufoa@navy.mil
09 September 2026 (Wednesday)
White Papers must be received no later than
18 September 2026 (Friday) at 5:00 PM Eastern Time
Application Inquiries and Questions
04 December 2026 (Friday)
TCRGP focuses on development of research capacity at Tribal colleges, specifically in agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. The program aims to teach leadership skills, knowledge, and qualities that are necessary to prepare students to be competitive with other students for agricultural and related careers in the private sector, government, and academia. Of interest are the projects involving innovative agricultural technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), data science, robotics, and other cutting edge digital tools. NIFA encourages incorporation of opportunities for training undergraduate students in these areas to equip them with the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to adapt to and thrive in an increasingly digital society and expose them to educational and career pathways in AI for food and agricultural sciences.
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The Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) provides awards to federally recognized 1 Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions to promote high quality science (including sociology, psychology, anthropology, linguistics, economics and bioeconomics, statistics, and other social and behavioral sciences; natural sciences; computer science, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, quantum information science, and cybersecurity), technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), STEM education, research, and outreach. Support is available to TCUP-eligible institutions (see the Additional Eligibility subsection of Section IV of this solicitation) for transformative capacity-building or community engagement projects through Instructional Capacity Excellence in TCUP Institutions (ICE-TI) , Targeted STEM Infusion Projects (TSIP) , TCUP for Secondary and Elementary Teachers in STEM (TSETS) , TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers) , Cyberinfrastructure Health, Assistance, and Improvements (CHAI) , and Preparing for TCUP Implementation (Pre-TI) . Collaborations led by TCUP institutions that involve non-TCUP institutions of higher education are supported through TCUP Partnerships , with the participation of other NSF programs to support the work of non-TCUP institutions. Finally, research studies that further the scholarly activity of individual faculty members are supported through Small Grants for Research (SGR) . Through the opportunities highlighted above, as well as collaborations with other National Science Foundation (NSF) divisions and directorates, and other organizations, TCUP aims to increase Native individuals' participation in STEM careers, improve the quality of STEM programs at TCUP-eligible institutions, and facilitate the development of a strong STEM enterprise in TCUP institutions' service areas.
TCUP supports transformative capacity-building, community engagement, or research projects at TCUP-eligible institutions through the following funding tracks:
Instructional Capacity Excellence in TCUP Institutions (ICE-TI) projects provide support to design, implement, and assess comprehensive institutional improvements in STEM education and research capacity at TCUP-eligible institutions of higher education. By strengthening STEM education and STEM education research, successful projects will increase the number of STEM students and improve the quality of their preparation. ICE-TI projects create and/or adapt and assess innovative models and materials for teaching and learning in STEM, embody knowledge about how students learn most effectively in STEM teaching and learning activities, and bring STEM disciplinary advances into the undergraduate or graduate experience. The objective of this strand is to expand STEM degrees offered by TCUP-eligible institutions or significantly enhance instructional approaches.
Targeted STEM Infusion Projects (TSIP) support the attainment of a short-term, well-defined goal to improve the quality of STEM education at an eligible institution. Targeted STEM Infusion Projects could, for example, enhance academic infrastructure by systematically adding traditional knowledge to the scope or content of a STEM course, updating curricula, modernizing laboratory research equipment, developing and delivering professional development for K-12 STEM educators, or improving the computational infrastructure. The objective of this strand is to expand STEM degrees or significantly enhance instructional approaches.
TCUP for Secondary & Elementary Teachers in STEM (TSETS) supports in-service professional development in STEM disciplinary or STEM education content and/or research for K-12 STEM teachers in the relevant service area. Examples of project activities include, but are not limited to, professional development involving seminar series and engagement in STEM instruction and content during the academic year, structured series of summer intensive workshops and trainings, and summer research opportunities. The objective of this strand is to broaden the instructional capacity for STEM in the K-12 workforce and thereby to the entire community, and to build the capacity for STEM disciplinary or education research among participating educational professionals.
TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers) coalesce the STEM and/or STEM education expertise into a team, designed to support and promote the STEM goals, needs, aspirations, or interests of the chartering reservation or tribe(s). TEA Centers may address a critical tribal or community need or focus on a realm of research or design that is beyond the scope of individual research grants or that is of interest to multiple tribes. The objective of this strand is to build on the capacity developed through prior TCUP support and apply expertise to collaborations with communities in the institution’s service area, or nationally.
The Cyberinfrastructure Health, Assistance, and Improvements (CHAI) strand supports projects at TCUP-eligible institutions of higher education to upgrade the cyberinfrastructure necessary to conduct, expand, manage and administer STEM programs of study, including research. The objective of this strand is to equip TCUP institutions to meet the demands of virtual instruction, advanced computing, and data science opportunities.
Preparing for TCUP Implementation (Pre-TI) provides support for activities that prepare an institution for Implementation-level projects. Consequently, they are available only to TCUP-eligible institutions of higher education that have never received TCUP support, have not received TCUP support within the previous five years, or are embarking on a significantly novel STEM strategic plan. Examples of supported activities include completing an institutional assessment of its current STEM instructional capacity, or engaging in conversations necessary to formulate a shared vision of what that capacity should be and how to achieve it. Pre-TI awards can support staff and faculty release time, travel, stakeholder gatherings, and associated administrative costs. The objective of this strand is to conduct self-studies and formulate strategic plans for the development of STEM instructional programs of study.
The TCUP Partnerships strand provides support for collaborations that will improve TCUP institutions' instructional and research capacity in STEM fields supported by NSF; attract, retain, and support TCUP students in internships and research endeavors deemed to be necessary for a complete curriculum offering; and engage partner universities to provide an academic grounding and a successful transition for students who wish to study or attain degrees in STEM fields supported by NSF. TCUP Partnerships broaden the number of scientific disciplines available to students at TCUP institution through collaborations with non-TCUP institutions. Active Pre-Engineering Education Collaboratives or Partnerships in Geoscience Education awards are not affected by this revision. The objective of this strand is the development, through instructional and research capacity-building, of academic and career pathways for TCUP students through supporting collaborative projects between and among TCUP and non-TCUP institutions. Interested teams of collaborators for which a TCUP institution serves as lead should contact the TCUP program directors. Support for non-TCUP partners must be obtained from other NSF programs, which follows the procedures of the prior Partnership strands.
Small Grants for Research (SGR) strand support STEM or STEM Education faculty members at TCUP-eligible institutions to initiate or pursue research projects or programs that may include undergraduate or graduate student engagement. Awards are intended to help further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness; improve research and teaching at his or her home institution and create and study new models and innovations in STEM teaching and learning. International research or collaborations are strongly encouraged. TCUP students may seek support for international research opportunities under the guidance of a TCUP STEM or STEM education faculty member and an international research collaborator. These awards are particularly appropriate as a means of recruiting and retaining highly qualified scientists, engineers, and educators at TCUP-eligible institutions. The objective of this strand is to support faculty research and professional development that build research capacity at TCUP institutions.
[1] Executive Order 13021 defines Tribal Colleges and Universities ("tribal colleges") as those institutions cited in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note), and other institutions that qualify for funding under the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978, (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), as well as Navajo Community College as authorized in the Navajo Community College Assistance Act of 1978, Public Law 95-471, Title II (25 U.S.C. 640a note). The term "Alaska Native-serving institution" means an institution of higher education that is an eligible institution under section 1058(b) of the Higher Education Act; and that, at the time of submission, has an undergraduate enrollment that is at least 20 percent Alaska Native students. The term "Native Hawaiian-serving institution" means an institution of higher education that is an eligible institution under section 1058(b) of the Higher Education Act; and that, at the time of submission, has an undergraduate enrollment that is at least 10 percent Native Hawaiian students. Most TCUP-eligible institutions of higher education are two-year or community colleges. See the Who May Submit Proposals section in this solicitation for further details.