Grants for Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (US)

Deadline: 26-Apr-22

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship.

Purpose and Priorities

The purpose of the Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) Grants Program, is to provide funding to support graduate student training and completion of master’s and/or doctoral degree programs in identified national need areas within the food and agricultural sciences. The overarching goals and objectives of these graduate fellowships are to encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete graduate degrees in the areas of food and agricultural sciences designated by NIFA as national needs.
Awards made by the NNF program are specifically intended to support traineeship programs that engage outstanding students to pursue and complete their degrees in areas where there is a national need for the development of scientific and professional expertise in the food and agricultural sciences. NNF awards invest in graduate training and relevant international experiential learning for diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the USDA. This may or may not include the teaching and preservation of traditional ecological knowledge.
NIFA intends to support graduate Fellowship training grants for both masters and doctoral levels of study only.

Objectives

To support the training of NEW students at the master’s and doctoral levels, in order to fill nationally identified expertise shortage areas in the food and agricultural sciences.
To increase the number, quality, and diversity of students in the food, agricultural and related sciences by recruiting outstanding students, particularly those from traditionally underrepresented groups to enter and complete graduate training in these areas.
To ensure that the National Needs Fellows build science competencies through research and extension activities, and experience and engagement in an international setting within the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area (TESA) in the food and agricultural sciences through the IRTA awards.

Areas

The NNF program will support masters and doctoral levels of study.
The NNF program furthers exceptional graduate training in the food and agricultural sciences to develop human capital to participate in meeting the mission of the USDA
The NNF program supports NIFA’s goal to increase human resource diversity in the agricultural enterprise by providing funds for eligible full-time students pursuing graduate studies at the master’s and doctoral levels within the food and agricultural sciences disciplines identified as national needs or Targeted Expertise Shortage Areas (TESAs). The International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel Allowances (IRTA) component also supports NIFA’s goal by allowing students to have additional training through experiential learning or research opportunities and travel awards that are expected to expand the competencies and skills of USDA Fellows and eventually lead to their completion of advanced degrees in the food and agriculture sciences. IRTA grants, if requested, are provided to National Needs Fellows to be recruited under current applications to allow them to conduct thesis/dissertation research or undertake studies outside the United States. The duration for successful applications under this RFA must not exceed 60 months.

Funding Information

This RFA is being released prior to passage of a full appropriations act for FY 2022. Enactment of a continuing resolution or a full appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program. The anticipated amount available for Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) Grants Program in FY 2022 is approximately $3.1 million. The mechanism for receiving funds, if awarded, will be in the form of standard grants.
Estimated Total Program Funding: $3,100,000
Award Ceiling: $262,500
Award Floor: $41,000
Funding preference
- Funding preference will be given to applications that propose to:
  - Establish innovative and evidence-based frameworks for graduate training
  - Establish master’s degree or doctoral programs
  - Establish multidisciplinary graduate training programs
  - Increase the multicultural diversity of the nation’s scientific and professional expertise in the food and agricultural sciences
  - Partner with teaching/research/extension or across colleges/institutions or public/private sectors provide leadership skills opportunities
  - Develop performance measures for evaluating the overall effectiveness of the graduate training.

Eligibility Criteria

Student Eligibility
- Eligibility for NNF – The grantee institutions develop the selection criteria, and it is their responsibility to award fellowships to high caliber students in superior academic standing. Only individuals who meet the eligibility requirements listed below will be awarded fellowships.
- In order for individuals to receive Fellowship stipend support they must:
  - Be citizens or nationals of the United States of America as determined in accordance with Federal law.
  - Have strong interest, as judged by the institution, in pursuing a degree in a national TESA; are preparing for a career as a food or agricultural or natural resources scientist or professional; are registered as full-time students; and
  - Not have completed more than one semester or equivalent hours of full-time study as defined by the institution in the same academic program at the same degree level.
- Eligibility for IRTA – At the time of travel under the IRTA grant award.
  - USDA Fellows conducting research at alternate locations or outside the United States must:
    - Be supported under a USDA NNF grant and be registered as a full-time student
    - Have completed one academic year of full-time study, as defined by the institution under the fellowship appointment;
    - Have formalized arrangements to study and/or conduct research in the foreign/alternate location(s)
    - Have sufficient time remaining in their fellowship award to complete the proposed IRTA travel or research; and
    - Have a completed NIFA Form 2010 – Fellowship Appointment Form on file with the funding agency (NIFA).
Applicants for the Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) Grants Program must meet all the requirements discussed in this RFA. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or, preclude NIFA from making an award.