Federal Agencies
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is the extramural science-funding agency within USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics mission area. NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and extension to help solve national challenges in agriculture, food, the environment, and communities.
NIFA supports research, education, and extension activities through three primary funding mechanisms – competitive grants, formula grants, and non-competitive grants.
See all the current NIFA funding opportunities here.
See the current and upcoming job opportunities at NIFA here.
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created to promote the progress of science, to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare and to secure the national defense. NSF is the only federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences. NSF is tasked with keeping the United States at the leading edge of discovery in areas from astronomy to geology to zoology.
NSF is divided into the following seven directorates that support science and engineering research and education:
- Biological Sciences
- Computer and Information Science and Engineering
- Education and Human Resources
- Engineering
- Geosciences
- Mathematical and Physical Sciences
- Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
See all the current NSF funding opportunities here.
See the current and upcoming job opportunities at NSF here.
Department of Energy
The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences, the steward of 10 of the Nation’s national laboratories, and the lead federal agency supporting fundamental research for energy production and security.
DOE-Office of Science administers research through six major program offices, spanning a broad range of disciplines:
- Advanced Scientific Computing Research
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Biological and Environmental Research
- Fusion Energy Sciences
- High Energy Physics
- Nuclear Physics
See all the current DOE-Office of Science funding opportunities here.
Within the Department of Energy, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment.