Division of Mathematical Sciences

The National Science Foundation Division of Mathematical Sciences, a civilian sub-agency within NSF, administers federal grant funding for mathematical-sciences research and related activities across the nation's academic and research institutions. The Division's primary transacting mechanism is competitive grant awards to universities and research centers; contract activity is minimal and episodic.

Grant activity dominates the Division's portfolio. Since 2000, the Division has awarded 8,455 grants totaling $2.38 billion in federal obligations across 430 distinct recipients. Recent volume shows 791 awards in 2023, 787 in 2024, 787 in 2025, 566 in 2026, and 12 awards recorded for 2027. The most recent recorded grant award date is 2027-06-01, seven months ahead of today. Grant assistance is structured almost entirely as Project Grants; only 4 awards (less than 1% of the portfolio) are Cooperative Agreements.

Recipient concentration is highly fragmented. The top five recipients by award count account for 9 percent of recent awards: Regents of the University of Michigan lead with 74 awards and $15.4 million in federal dollars obligated, followed by University of Wisconsin System with 68 awards and $15.9 million, and Regents of the University of Minnesota with 67 awards and $12.8 million. By federal-dollar distribution, concentration remains highly fragmented at 4 percent coverage among the top five: University of California, Los Angeles leads with 59 awards and $24.3 million obligated, The University of Chicago with 49 awards and $18 million, and University of Wisconsin System with 68 awards and $15.9 million.

Contract activity is marginal. The Division has awarded only 18 contracts cumulatively since 2008, totaling $23.4 million in combined potential value. Recent contract volume is sparse: 1 award in 2019, 1 in 2020, 1 in 2021, 2 in 2022, and 1 in 2026. Among the last five years of contract activity, four distinct prime contractors account for 100 percent of awards by count: Alpha Development Inc. ($1.4 million), Accessagility LLC ($24 thousand), American Mathematical Society ($15 thousand), and American Astronomical Society ($8 thousand). By potential value, Alpha Development Inc. holds 6 percent of combined value. Eighty-nine percent of contract awards carry no set-aside designation; 11 percent are small-business set-asides.

No recent contract opportunities are recorded against the Division. Recent grant opportunities, if any, are not detailed in available source data.

The Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) supports a wide range of projects aimed at developing and exploring the properties and applications of mathematical structures. Most of these projects are those awarded to single investigators or small groups of investigators working with graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Programs such as Mathematical Sciences Infrastructure handle activities that fall outside this mode.