Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA HEP 008012
The Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) is a competitive grant program run by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) that funds university-based graduate training aimed at building a strong pipeline of highly trained professionals in USDA mission areas. The opportunity is designed to support organized traineeship programs that recruit and train outstanding students pursuing masters and doctoral degrees in food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. In addition to standard graduate fellowship support, the program also allows for Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel Allowances (often described as IRTA) for eligible NNF fellows, which can help cover international research or study experiences tied directly to the students thesis or dissertation work.
A key feature of the program is its focus on Targeted Expertise Shortage Areas (TESAs), which represent fields where the nation needs more advanced expertise. Institutions applying for funds must offer graduate degrees in at least one of these TESAs, which include: (1) animal and plant production, (2) forest resources, (3) agricultural educators and communicators, (4) agricultural management and economics, (5) food science and human nutrition, (6) sciences for agricultural biosecurity, and (7) integrative biosciences training for sustainable food and agricultural systems. Applications are expected to do more than list coursework or research topics; they need to clearly explain the programs overall graduate training philosophy, show strong alignment with USDA mission sciences, connect to NIFA priorities, and demonstrate awareness of national science education policies and workforce statistics that justify the need for the proposed training approach.
Eligibility is institution-based rather than individual-based. Awards are made to eligible colleges and universities, not to students directly. Eligible applicants generally include land-grant institutions, colleges and universities with significant minority enrollments (as long as they can demonstrate capacity to teach food and agricultural sciences), and other colleges and universities that can demonstrate the capacity to provide this type of education and training. Research foundations maintained by an eligible college or university may also submit proposals under this announcement. While only eligible institutions can apply as the primary applicant, awardees are permitted to subcontract portions of the work to organizations that are not themselves eligible applicants if those partners are needed to carry out the project.
On the fellowship administration side, there are several strict program rules that shape how institutions must run their traineeships. Institutions that receive an award must select fellows, identify them, and formally award the fellowships within 18 months of the grants start date. If an institution fails to make fellowship appointments within that window, it can be required to return funds associated with unawarded fellowships to NIFA. The program does not support postdoctoral fellowships under this announcement, and it does not allow institutions to request partial fellowships. Fellowship appointments must go only to registered graduate students pursuing full-time study in an approved TESA field at the degree level supported by the grant.
The program also defines the allowable duration of support for funded students. Masters-level fellows who maintain satisfactory progress may receive support for up to 24 months within a 30-month window. Doctoral-level fellows who maintain satisfactory progress may receive support for up to 36 months within a 42-month window. The expectation is that fellows will pursue full-time, uninterrupted study and/or thesis or dissertation research during the support period, including time spent on approved international study or research supported through the programs travel allowance component. Fellows are not treated as employees for leave purposes; they are generally entitled to the normal student holidays observed by their institution rather than annual leave, and periods between academic terms are expected to be used as an active part of the training and research timeline.
At the same time, the program gives institutions some flexibility to enhance professional development. During the fellowship period, and at the institutions discretion, fellows may take on supplemental employment when it clearly benefits their training or research, such as teaching or research assignments that build skills or help the student qualify for tuition waivers. The program also recognizes that legitimate interruptions can happen. If a fellow must pause their program for health, personal, or other reasonable non-academic and non-disciplinary reasons, they must be allowed to resume funded study within six months of the interruption, as long as enough time remains before the overall award period ends (the 30-month total period for masters fellows or the 42-month total period for doctoral fellows).
From the funding opportunity details provided, this is a discretionary grant in the agriculture funding category (CFDA 10.210) administered by NIFA under opportunity number USDA NIFA HEP 008012. The listing included an original closing date of 2021-01-28 and an award ceiling of $262,500. Overall, the NNF program is best understood as a capacity-building investment in graduate education: it funds institutions to run structured, mission-aligned fellowship programs in high-need agricultural and food system disciplines, with clear accountability requirements for timely fellow selection, full-time engagement, and measurable progress toward degree completion.Apply for USDA NIFA HEP 008012
- 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 (NNF)" 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 2020-12-21.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-01-28. (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.
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (USDA NIFA HEP 008012) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program – Organic Transitions Apply for USDA NIFA ICGP 008060 Funding Number: USDA NIFA ICGP 008060 Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Category: Agriculture Funding Amount: $500,000 |
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| HIGHER EDUCATION MULTICULTURAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM (MSP) Apply for USDA NIFA HEMS 008061 Funding Number: USDA NIFA HEMS 008061 Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Category: Agriculture Funding Amount: $200,000 |
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| Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase II Apply for USDA NIFA SBIR 008080 Funding Number: USDA NIFA SBIR 008080 Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Category: Agriculture Funding Amount: $650,000 |
| Special Research Grants Program Potato Research Apply for USDA NIFA SRGP 008078 Funding Number: USDA NIFA SRGP 008078 Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Category: Agriculture Funding Amount: $900,000 |
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| Alfalfa Forage Research Program (AFRP) Apply for USDA NIFA OP 008140 Funding Number: USDA NIFA OP 008140 Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Category: Agriculture Funding Amount: $900,000 |
| RFI - Soybean Value Chain Research Innovation Lab Apply for USAID RFI SOYBEAN Funding Number: USAID RFI SOYBEAN Agency: Agency for International Development Category: Agriculture Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Resiliência Integrada na Nutrição e Agricultura (RESINA) Apply for 72065621 RFI RESINA Funding Number: 72065621 RFI RESINA Agency: Mozambique USAID-Maputo Category: Agriculture Funding Amount: $29,500,000 |
| FY21 Tribal Nations Wild Cervid CWD Opportunities Apply for USDA APHIS 10028 WSNWRC00 21 0009 Funding Number: USDA APHIS 10028 WSNWRC00 21 0009 Agency: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Category: Agriculture Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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