Early Career
Grant Funding Opportunities
Research Grants for Early Career Faculty
Most of the federal agencies that Mines receives significant grant support from have early career awards. Eligibility is typically un-tenured, tenure-track faculty members who have recently completed their doctoral degree (criteria ranges between 7 and 10 years).
The link below takes you to a Mines fileshare to access a sample early career proposal development timeline (pinned at the top) plus many additional resources in the links/files below.
Agency |
Program |
Target Annual Deadline |
Eligibility |
Amount and Duration |
| National Science Foundation | Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) | 4th Wednesday in July | Untenured, at least 50% TT or equiv. position as asst prof. Can only apply 3 times. | $400K or $500K over 5 years |
| NASA | REDDI Space Technology Research Grants Program – Early Career Faculty (ECF) | February/March | Untenured TT asst. prof. Must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident. No restrictions on time since degree or how many times you can apply. | $200K over 3 years |
| NASA | ROSES – Early Career Investigator Program in Earth Sciences | NOIs due in July, Proposals due in August (competed every 3 years) | Must have received their degree w/i 6 years and have not held tenure or equivalent. Proposers are not required to be in a TT position. No citizenship requirement is mentioned. | $300K over 3 years |
| Department of Energy | Early Career Research Program | January for Concept, March for Application | Untenured TT asst. or assoc. prof. Must have received PhD w/i 12 years (temp. extension from 10 yrs due to COVID). Can only apply 3 times. | $875 over 5 years |
| Department of Energy | Office of Nuclear Energy Distinguished Early Career Program | September | Untenured TT asst. prof. no more than 7 years beyond degree and can only apply 3 times. Cannot have received a previous early career award from any agency. No citizenship requirement is mentioned. | $625K over 5 years |
| Department of Defense | DARPA Young Faculty Award | November for Concept, February for Application | U.S. citizen, national, or perm. resident in TT or equiv. position w/i 3 years of tenure date or w/i 12 years of receipt of PhD | $500K over 2 years |
| Department of Defense | Army Research Office Early Career Program | Included in the Army Research Office Broad Agency Announcement | Must have held tenure-track position for fewer than 5 years. Must be U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident. | $360K over 3 years |
| Department of Defense | Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) | July | U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident and in a TT or equiv. position and no more than 7 years since earning degree. | $750K over 3 years |
| Department of Defense | Air Force Young Investigator Program (YIP) | June for White Paper, August for Application | U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Don’t have to be TT. Must be w/i 7 years of earning degree. | $450K over 3 years |
| Department of Defense | Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) New Investigator Award | Varies by program; pre-announcements are released each Dec-Jan | At or below asst. prof. or equivalent | Varies |
| National Institutes of Health | NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2) | January 25, May 25, September 25 | Early Stage Investigator (ESI) status, defined as having completed their post-grad clinical training or terminal research degree w/i past 10 years. | $1.5M |
| National Institutes of Health | Academic Career Development Award (K07) | February 12, June 12, October 12 | ESI Status. Must be U.S. citizen or resident | Varies |
| National Institutes of Health | Independent Research Scientist Development Award (K02) | February 12, June 12, October 12 | ESI Status. Must be U.S. citizen or resident | Varies |
| National Institutes of Health | Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25) | February 12, June 12, October 12 | ESI Status. Must be U.S. citizen or resident | Varies |
| National Institutes of Health | Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (R21) | February 16, June 16, October 16 | Open to all investigators but R21s are attractive to ESIs because they support early and conceptual stages of projects. | $275K direct costs over 2 years |
Early Career Pivot Search
Many foundations also provide grants to early career researchers. Check out this curated list on Pivot, which contains federal, foundation, and corporate opportunities.
Other Resources
In an increasingly competitive funding environment, many universities provide a variety of opportunities and resources to help researchers at the beginning stages of their careers. Here are a few outside resources that you may find helpful.