National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grant Program | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grant Program (Funding Opportunity Number USDA NIFA HEP 004338) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) designed to build the next generation of highly trained professionals in USDA mission areas. The program focuses on supporting institution-run graduate traineeship programs that recruit and train outstanding students pursuing Masters and doctoral degrees in food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. In addition to core degree training, the program also includes Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel Allowances (IRTA) for eligible USDA National Needs Fellowship (NNF) beneficiaries, helping fellows conduct international study or research that strengthens their thesis or dissertation work when it aligns with program goals.

A central aim of the opportunity is workforce development in areas where the nation has recognized expertise shortages. Applications are solicited from graduate-degree-granting institutions that can clearly articulate their graduate training philosophy, explain how their training model produces strong outcomes, and demonstrate relevance to USDA mission sciences, NIFA priorities, and national science education policies and statistics. In practice, that means proposals are expected to go beyond simply listing courses and advising structures; they should make a coherent case for how the traineeship will be delivered, how fellows will be selected and supported, and how the program will prepare graduates to contribute to agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and related national needs.

Eligible institutions must confer a graduate degree in at least one of the Targeted Expertise Shortage Areas (TESAs) identified in the announcement. These TESAs 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. The structure of the program is intended to ensure that funded fellows are trained in disciplines where specialized talent is needed, while still allowing institutions flexibility to design a traineeship that fits their strengths and regional or national priorities.

Applicant eligibility is broad within higher education but tied to demonstrated capacity to deliver high-quality education in food and agricultural sciences. Eligible applicants include land-grant institutions (including the University of the District of Columbia), colleges and universities with significant minority enrollments that can demonstrate capacity to teach food and agricultural sciences, and other colleges and universities that can similarly demonstrate capacity in these fields. Research foundations maintained by an eligible college or university may also apply on the institution's behalf to submit graduate training proposals under this request for applications, which can be useful for institutions that route sponsored programs through affiliated foundations.

From a funding perspective, the opportunity listed an estimated total funding amount of $2,800,000, with an award ceiling of $262,500 and an award floor of $4,500, and it did not require cost sharing or matching. The assistance listing is CFDA 10.210 (Higher Education Graduate Fellowships Grant Program), and the activity category is agriculture education. Key dates in the posted record show it was posted and created on July 23, 2013, with an original and current closing date of August 30, 2013, and an archive date of September 29, 2013.

For support, NIFA provided a help desk contact for difficulties accessing the full announcement (phone 202-401-5048, business hours Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern, excluding federal holidays), and the announcement indicates additional contact support for questions related to preparing application content.

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