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Federal Departments: Search for Grant Opportunities

Click on the names of the departments to link to their grants pages.

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

  • Tip! Check out their HSI and Minority Scholars programs.
  • Tip! Be sure your application clearly states how your project will enhance an area of interest important to USDA. They take this very seriously.
  • Tip! Call the program officer to go over your idea.
Department of the Air Force
  • Tip!  Be sure to understand the research interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and make sure your proposed research aligns
  • Tip! Examples of some research program opportunities: Basic Research Initiative Program, Individual Investigator Program, Small University Grants Program, Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP)
  • Tip! Also look into their graduate fellowships and undergraduate research experiences

Department of the Army

  • Tip! Make sure your application clearly helps the Army overcome its current identified challenges. 
  • Tip! Check out the University Single Investigator, MURI, and DURIP Programs.

Department of the Navy

  • Tip! The Office of Naval Research expects proposers to discuss their idea first with the program officer then have a "white paper" approved before submitting a full proposal
  • Tip! Student opportunities include the Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program and the Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program

Department of Education (ED)

  • Tip! Attend a technical assistance workshop or a webinar for your program if offered.
  • Tip! Many ED programs are offered yearly or in intervals (every 2, 3 or 4 years). If you like a program, call the program officer and ask when the next competition is expected.

Department of Energy (DOE) 

  • Tip! DOE strongly recommends signing up to receive e-newsletters from programs that interest you to learn of funding opportunities as they are published or even before.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

  • Tip! Find out how to faculty and students can participate in paid summers of research at a Center of Excellence (COE). Some COEs are at Minority-Serving Institutions

Department of Justice (DOJ)

Department of Labor (DOL)

  • Tip! Applicants to the above program can be a lead organization or partner with another one

Department of State (State)

  • Tip! Some grant opportunities include the Fulbright Award, Community Colleges Award, Professional Fellows Program, Undergraduate Global Exchange, and Community Solutions Award.
  • Tip! The best way to learn of opportunities with State is to pay close attention to the ECA website and sign up for alerts on grants.gov