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Higher Education Access Grants (2026)

Funding to widen access to and success in higher education — college access and readiness, persistence and completion, and support for first-generation and underserved students — for colleges, universities, and access nonprofits.FindGrants surfaces open grants in this area across federal agencies, state education agencies, and foundations. Below are open opportunities you can apply to — with amounts, deadlines, and a guided application builder for each.

36 open higher education access& education grants you can apply to

36 grants worth up to $113.5M match your search

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CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service

open

U.S. National Science Foundation

CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service

2026-07-21
general

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program

open

U.S. National Science Foundation

The main goal of the S-STEM program is to enable academically talented, low-income students to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. Ultimately, the S-STEM program seeks to increase the number of academically promising low-income students who graduate with an S-STEM eligible degree and contribute to the American innovation economy with their STEM knowledge. Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to institutions of higher education (IHEs) not only to fund scholarships, but also to adapt, implement, and study evidence-based curricular and co-curricular[a] activities that have been shown to be effective in supporting recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM. To be eligible, scholars must be domestic low-income students with academic ability, talent, or potential and demonstrated unmet financial need who are enrolled in an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program in an S-STEM eligible discipline. Proposers must provide an analysis that articulates the characteristics and academic needs of the population of students they are trying to serve. NSF is particularly interested in supporting the attainment of degrees in fields identified as critical needs for the Nation. It is up to the proposer to make a compelling case that such a field serves a critical need in the United States. [a] an activity at a school or college pursued in addition to the normal course of study. S-STEM Eligible Degree Programs Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Engineering, and Associate of Applied Science Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Applied Science Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Master of Engineering Doctoral (Ph.D. or other comparable doctoral degree) S-STEM Eligible Disciplines Disciplinary fields in which research is funded by NSF, including technology fields associated with the S-STEM-eligible disciplines (e.g., biotechnology, chemical technology, engineering technology, information technology, etc.). The following degrees and disciplines areexcluded: Clinical degree programs, including medical degrees, nursing, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and others not funded by NSF, are ineligible degrees. Programs for STEM teacher certification or licensure currently covered by the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program (NOYCE) are ineligible for S-STEM funding. Business school programs that lead to Bachelor of Arts or Science in Business Administration degrees (BABA/BSBA/BBA) are not eligible for S-STEM funding. Masters and Doctoral degrees in Business Administration are also excluded. Proposers are strongly encouraged to contact Program Officers before submitting a proposal if they have questions concerning degree or disciplinary eligibility. The S-STEM program particularly encourages proposals from 2-year institutions, predominately undergraduate institutions, and urban, suburban, and rural public institutions.

$1M – $5M
2027-03-02
sciencetechnology

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

UNIVERSITY OF VT & STATE AGRICULTURAL

open

Transportation Agency

UNIVERSITY OF VT & STATE AGRICULTURAL

Up to $30K
2027-03-31
Education

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

UNIVERSITY OF VT & STATE AGRICULTURAL

open

Transportation Agency

UNIVERSITY OF VT & STATE AGRICULTURAL

Up to $120K
2027-03-31
Education

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

Research and Development (RAD) Directed Energy (RD) University Assistance Instruments

open

Air Force -- Research Lab

Original Solictation: Closing Date of the FOA FROM: 18 July 2024 TO: 18 July 2029 Cost Ceiling $49M Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) Agreements Officer Mariah Salazar Agreements Specialist Monique Esquibel-Sena Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil Solicitation Amend 1: Closing Date of the FOA FROM: 18 July 2024 TO: 18 July 2029 Cost Ceiling $49M Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) Agreements Officer Mariah Salazar Agreements Specialist Monique Esquibel-Sena Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Updated information on Mandatory Letter of Intent to allow for interested parties to submit Letters of Intent through Valid Eval portal) Solicitation Amend 2: Closing Date of the FOA FROM: 18 July 2024 TO: 18 July 2029 Cost Ceiling $49M Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) Agreements Officer Mariah Salazar Agreements Specialist Monique Esquibel-Sena Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Added detail for Letter of Intent Evaluation Criteria) Solicitation Amend 3: Closing Date of the FOA FROM: 18 July 2024 TO: 18 July 2029 Cost Ceiling $49M Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) Agreements Officer Mariah Salazar Alternate Agreements Officer Jennifer Jaramillo Agreements Specialist Monique Esquibel-Sena Brendan Merritt Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil, jennifer.jaramillo@us.af.mil, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Changed Letter of Intent review from 10 business days to 30 business days, Added verbiage to Section, D. Review and Selection Process, on Security Risk Review, added Agreement Specialist, Brendan Merritt, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil) Solicitation Amend 4: Closing Date of the FOA FROM: 18 July 2024 TO: 18 July 2029 Cost Ceiling $49M Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) Agreements Officer Mariah Salazar Alternate Agreements Officer Jennifer Jaramillo Agreements Specialist Monique Esquibel-Sena Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil, jennifer.jaramillo@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Changed Attachment 2 of Solicitation to DoD R&D General Terms and Conditions MARCH 2025. Removed Agreement Specialist, Brendan Merritt, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil)

Up to $49M
2029-07-18
sciencetechnology

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

Research and Development (RAD) Directed Energy (RD) University Assistance Instruments

open

Air Force -- Research Lab

<p>Original Solictation:</p> <ul> <li>Closing Date of the FOA</li> <li>FROM:&nbsp;18 July 2024</li> <li>TO:&nbsp;18 July 2029</li> <li>Cost Ceiling</li> <li>$49M</li> <li>Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC)</li> <li>Agreements Officer</li> <li>Mariah Salazar</li> <li>Agreements Specialist</li> <li>Monique Esquibel-Sena</li> <li>Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil</li> </ul> <p><br></p> <p>Solicitation Amend 1:</p> <ul> <li>Closing Date of the FOA</li> <li>FROM:&nbsp;18 July 2024</li> <li>TO:&nbsp;18 July 2029</li> <li>Cost Ceiling</li> <li>$49M</li> <li>Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC)</li> <li>Agreements Officer</li> <li>Mariah Salazar</li> <li>Agreements Specialist</li> <li>Monique Esquibel-Sena</li> <li>Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil</li> </ul> <p>(Revisions made: Updated information on Mandatory Letter of Intent to allow for interested parties to submit Letters of Intent through Valid Eval portal)</p> <p><br></p> <p>Solicitation Amend 2:</p> <ul> <li>Closing Date of the FOA</li> <li>FROM:&nbsp;18 July 2024</li> <li>TO:&nbsp;18 July 2029</li> <li>Cost Ceiling</li> <li>$49M</li> <li>Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC)</li> <li>Agreements Officer</li> <li>Mariah Salazar</li> <li>Agreements Specialist</li> <li>Monique Esquibel-Sena</li> <li>Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil</li> </ul> <p>(Revisions made: Added detail for Letter of Intent Evaluation Criteria)</p> <p><br></p> <p>Solicitation Amend 3:</p> <ul> <li>Closing Date of the FOA</li> <li>FROM:&nbsp;18 July 2024</li> <li>TO:&nbsp;18 July 2029</li> <li>Cost Ceiling</li> <li>$49M</li> <li>Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC)</li> <li>Agreements Officer</li> <li>Mariah Salazar</li> <li>Alternate Agreements Officer</li> <li>Jennifer Jaramillo</li> <li>Agreements Specialist</li> <li>Monique Esquibel-Sena</li> <li>Brendan Merritt</li> <li>Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil, <span style="color: windowtext;">jennifer.jaramillo@us.af.mil</span>, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil</li> </ul> <p>(Revisions made: Changed Letter of Intent review from 10 business days to 30 business days, Added verbiage to Section, D. Review and Selection Process, on Security Risk Review, added Agreement Specialist, Brendan Merritt, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil)</p> <p><br></p> <p>Solicitation Amend 4:</p> <ul> <li>Closing Date of the FOA</li> <li>FROM:&nbsp;18 July 2024</li> <li>TO:&nbsp;18 July 2029</li> <li>Cost Ceiling</li> <li>$49M</li> <li>Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC)</li> <li>Agreements Officer</li> <li>Mariah Salazar</li> <li>Alternate Agreements Officer</li> <li>Jennifer Jaramillo</li> <li>Agreements Specialist</li> <li>Monique Esquibel-Sena</li> <li>Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil, <span style="color: windowtext;">jennifer.jaramillo@us.af.mil</span></li> </ul> <p>(Revisions made: Changed Attachment 2 of Solicitation to DoD R&amp;D General Terms and Conditions MARCH 2025. Removed Agreement Specialist, Brendan Merritt, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil)</p>

Up to $49M
2029-07-18
science_technology_and_other_research_and_development

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

open

U.S. National Science Foundation

The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program seeks to encourage talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers. The Noyce Scholarship Track provides funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends, and academic programs for undergraduate STEM majors and post-baccalaureate students holding STEM degrees who earn a teaching credential and commit to teaching in high-need K-12 school districts. The NSF Teaching Fellowship/Master Teaching Fellowship Track supports STEM professionals who enroll as NSF Teaching Fellows in master's degree programs leading to teacher certification by providing academic courses, professional development, and salary supplements while they are fulfilling a four-year teaching commitment in a high need school district. This track also supports the development of NSF Master Teaching Fellows by providing professional development and salary supplements for exemplary mathematics and science teachers to become Master Teachers in high need school districts.Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) projects enable faculty, administrators, and others in institutions to think and act strategically about the creative integration of NSF-funded awards, with particular emphasis on awards managed through programs in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), but not limited to those awards. For Fiscal Year 2010, proposals are being solicited in nine EHR programs that advance I3 goals: CREST, GSE, HBCU-UP, ITEST, LSAMP, MSP, Noyce, RDE, and TCUP.

$75K – $3.3M
rolling
sciencetechnology

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001167 Buildings University Innovators and Leaders Development (BUILD) - 2015

open

Golden Field Office

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Building Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled ?Buildings University Innovators and Leaders Development (BUILD) ? 2015.? The BUILD FOA will have the following objectives: (i) Improving the competitiveness of American universities to conduct building energy-efficiency R&amp;D (ii) Enabling American universities to develop stronger partnerships with industry (iii) Improving manufacturing education in American universities EERE envisions awarding multiple competitive financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements with an estimated period of performance of approximately 2 years to USA-based university teams to research and develop innovative building energy efficiency technologies. These student teams must include undergraduate students, and be led by faculty with relevant expertise in energy efficient technologies, manufacturing (for projects developing hardware), and commercialization. The Lead Institution must be an Institution of Higher Education, which includes, but is not limited to universities, 2-year community colleges, and predominantly undergraduate institutions. The Lead Institution can choose to team with external partners such as a manufacturer or a government laboratory, but an external partner is not required at the time of application. Teams may propose to develop any technology (hardware), software, or manufacturing process with direct application to resi dential, multi-family and/or commercial buildings in the USA, with significant primary energy savings potential. The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Building Technologies Office, on behalf of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), intends to issue a FOA titled, Buildings University Innovators and Leaders Development (BUILD) - 2015. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange late calender year 2014.

rolling
energyclean energy

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative

open

Office of Naval Research

The DoD Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI), one element of the University Research Initiative (URI), is sponsored by the DoD research offices: the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) (hereafter collectively referred to as "DoD agencies").The MURI program supports basic research in science and engineering at U.S. institutions of higher education (hereafter referred to as "universities") that is of potential interest to DoD. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts where more than one traditional discipline interacts to provide rapid advances in scientific areas of interest to the DoD. As defined by the DoD, basic research is systematic study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind. It includes all scientific study and experimentation directed toward increasing fundamental knowledge and understanding in those fields of the physical, engineering, environmental, and life sciences related to long-term national security needs. It is farsighted high payoff research that provides the basis for technological progress. (DoD 7000.14.R, vol. 2B, chap.5). DoD s basic research program invests broadly in many specific fields to ensure that it has early cognizance of new scientific knowledge.

rolling
sciencetechnology

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

Delta State University -MIDE NHA

open

National Park Service

Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area

$1 – $1.3M
rolling
Education

Free to search & build · $99 one-time to unlock the application pack · No subscription

Higher Education Access grant FAQ

Who funds higher education access programs?

Higher Education Access programs are funded by the same education ecosystem as the rest of the field: the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies, the state education agencies that administer and sub-grant federal formula funds, and private and community foundations. Some funders run dedicated lines; many fund this work through broader education and student-support programs.

What can higher education access grants pay for?

Funding to widen access to and success in higher education — college access and readiness, persistence and completion, and support for first-generation and underserved students — for colleges, universities, and access nonprofits. Typical eligible costs include staff and instructor time, curriculum and materials, professional development, technology and equipment, and program operations for schools, districts, and education nonprofits.

How do I find higher education access grants I'm eligible for?

Eligibility depends on your organization type, your location, and the funder's priorities. Browse the open opportunities below, or run your organization's profile through FindGrants to see the higher education access and education grants you qualify for right now, ranked by fit.

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