Division of Graduate Education

The National Science Foundation Division of Graduate Education, a civilian sub-agency within the NSF, administers federal grant funding and limited contract support for graduate education research, training, and related programmatic activities. The Division operates within NSF's broader research-funding mission, supporting graduate students, doctoral fellows, and institutional capacity-building across U.S. higher-education and research communities.

The Division awarded 29 federal contracts totaling $36.3 million in combined potential value across a 15-year portfolio since 2010, with $27.9 million obligated to date. Contract activity has remained steady but modest, averaging just under two awards per year over the last five years (two awards in 2021, two in 2022, two in 2023, one in 2024, and two in 2025). Among the top five primes by award count and potential value over the last five years, Montage + Magnum, LLC leads with a single contract worth $13.3 million, followed by Chainbridge Solutions Incorporated at $3.7 million. Royal Media Network, Inc. holds two awards totaling $48 thousand. Competitive concentration among primes is fragmented; the top five capture 51% of recent contract potential value while accounting for 75% of recent award count, indicating that smaller vendors secure individual awards at lower dollar values. Across the contract portfolio, 76% of awards carry no set-aside designation, with the remainder split among 8(a) sole-source awards (14%), Total Small Business (7%), and Competitive 8(a) (3%).

The Division awarded 1,153 federal grants totaling $3.34 billion in combined federal dollars obligated since 2010. Grant activity fluctuated over the last five years, with 93 awards in 2023, 179 in 2024, 41 in 2025, 116 in 2026, and one recorded award in 2027. Recipient concentration is highly fragmented; across 354 distinct recipients, the top five by award count (North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, University of Wisconsin System, Purdue University, University of Hawaii, and University of Arizona) collectively account for only 6% of recent awards. By federal dollars, University of Hawaii, New York University, and Purdue University lead, but the top five recipients capture only 2% of recent federal dollars obligated, reflecting the Division's broad distribution of graduate-education funding across the higher-education sector. Nearly all awards are Project Grants (1,151 awards, 100%), with two Cooperative Agreements.