Higher Education Challenge Grants Program

The Higher Education Challenge Grants Program is a competitive Federal grant program administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program is authorized to strengthen higher education in the food and agricultural sciences and is listed under Assistance Listing Number 10.217. For Fiscal Year 2026, NIFA anticipates making approximately $5,700,000 available. The program supports U.S. colleges and universities in delivering high quality, evidence based academic programs that prepare citizens, nationals, and permanent residents of the United States for leadership and professional roles in the food and agricultural sciences workforce. Projects are expected to align with USDA research and development priorities and contribute to strengthening the domestic agricultural workforce. The program is intended to strengthen institutional capacity in areas including curriculum, faculty, scientific instrumentation, instruction delivery systems, and student recruitment and retention. Projects must primarily focus on advanced baccalaureate education involving third and fourth year students, graduate education, or first professional degree education in veterinary medicine. HEC projects are expected to produce measurable impacts, promote innovative educational practices, and include rigorous evaluation. Projects must focus on one or more specified Educational Need Areas and engage more than a single course or individual instructor. The identified Educational Need Areas include Curriculum Development for Promoting Student Career Opportunities, Faculty Preparation and Enhancement for Teaching, and Facilitating Interaction with Other Academic Institutions. Teaching applications must also demonstrably incorporate leadership development. Applicants may seek a Standard Grant, Collaborative Grant Type 1, or Collaborative Grant Type 2. Standard Grants support targeted original Education Projects and may request up to $150,000 total. Collaborative Grant Type 1 projects may request up to $300,000 total and must involve the applicant institution and at least one additional institution, with partners sharing grant funds and no more than half of the total award transferred to partner institutions. Collaborative Grant Type 2 projects may request up to $750,000 total and must involve the applicant and at least two additional institutions contributing distinct expertise. For CG2 awards, the applicant must retain 30 to 70 percent of the award and each partner must receive at least 10 percent. Grant durations are 36 to 48 months for all three grant types. Indirect costs may not exceed 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded. Stipends may support eligible students participating in qualifying experiential or academic learning activities outside the traditional classroom but may not be used for tuition or scholarships. The HEC program has no matching requirement, although voluntary cost sharing is encouraged and is not considered an evaluation criterion. Eligible applicants include land grant institutions and other colleges and universities that demonstrate capacity to teach food and agricultural sciences and offer four year or graduate level degrees in at least one food and agricultural discipline. Degree granting institutions should be accredited by an agency or association recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Research foundations maintained by eligible colleges or universities are also eligible. Award recipients may subcontract with otherwise ineligible organizations when those organizations are necessary to conduct the project. Individuals may not apply for grants to support their own graduate education. There is no limit on the number of applications an institution may submit, but each institution or applicant group may receive no more than two awards in an annual HEC competition, and each institution or organization may receive only one CG2 grant per competition. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov using funding opportunity number USDA-NIFA-CGP-011315. The deadline is October 15, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Required materials include the SF 424 R&R Cover Sheet, Project and Performance Site Location form, Senior and Key Person Profile, budget forms, a Project Summary of no more than 250 words, a Project Narrative, a Logic Model, Budget Justification, Mentoring Plan or applicable written justification, Data Management Plan, Collaborative Arrangements attachment, Expected Outcomes attachment, Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending Support, and Conflict of Interest information. CG1 and CG2 applications additionally require subaward budget materials. Resubmitted applications must provide a response to the previous review and the previously assigned NIFA proposal number. The Project Narrative is generally limited to 20 pages of written text, with additional allowances specified for figures and tables, and must address the educational problem, project justification, institutional goals, innovation, methodology, timetable, evaluation, dissemination, partnerships, institutional capacity, key personnel, budget, cost effectiveness, continuation, and logic model. NIFA first screens applications for compliance with administrative requirements. Applications that satisfy those requirements proceed to scientific peer review. The five evaluation criteria are weighted equally: Potential for Advancing Quality of Education and Significance of the Problem; Proposed Approach and Cooperative Linkages; Institutional Capability and Capacity Building; Key Personnel; and Budget and Cost Effectiveness. Applicants should demonstrate measurable educational impact, sound methodology, strong partnerships where applicable, institutional commitment, appropriate personnel, reasonable costs, effective evaluation and dissemination, and a credible plan to sustain project impacts after USDA funding ends. NIFA may negotiate project scope, funding level, period, or method of support before recommending an application for funding. The current application deadline is October 15, 2026. The Grants.gov synopsis was posted August 5, 2026, and the NOFO establishes the application deadline at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Awards must have an effective date no later than September 30 of the Federal fiscal year in which the project is approved and funds are appropriated, unless otherwise permitted by law, and projects should begin as soon as practical thereafter. The NOFO refers to an annual HEC competition, supporting treatment of the program as recurring. Program questions may be directed to hec@usda.gov. General NOFO and application questions may be sent to grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov, while award questions may be sent to awards@usda.gov. Grants.gov technical support is available at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726 and 606-545-5035.

Establish a compelling educational challenge and measurable impact; explicitly align the project with HEC goals and one or more Educational Need Areas; engage more than a single course or individual instructor; incorporate leadership development; demonstrate innovation and sound educational methodology; provide a rigorous evaluation plan with appropriate metrics and a qualified evaluator; document strong institutional commitment and resources; substantiate partnerships with supporting evidence; explain dissemination and sustainability after USDA funding ends; justify costs and demonstrate cost effectiveness; verify all required attachments and administrative requirements before Grants.gov submission.