Office of International Science and Engineering

The National Science Foundation is funding international collaborative research partnerships and student exchange programs under the Office of International Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.079), with the most recent award disbursed on November 1, 2026.

The program supports a broad range of international research collaboration activities. Recent awards fund quantum sensor development with UK partners, workshops on water resources and spectrum management with Middle Eastern and UAE partners, smart agriculture systems integrating US and Indian research institutions, international research experiences for US students at host institutions in over a dozen countries, and foundational research on topics ranging from consciousness neuroscience to phytoplankton biodiversity to paleoclimate studies, all with international collaborative components. Scope spans student research exchanges (IRES programs), bilateral research agreements with peer nations and research councils, multi-institutional collaborative projects on next-generation materials and quantum technologies, and workshop and conference funding to establish or deepen international scientific partnerships.

The program is predominantly Project Grants (99 percent, 4,074 awards) with a small share of Cooperative Agreements (1 percent, 56 awards). The National Science Foundation is the overwhelming funder, accounting for 3,610 awards and $1.11 billion in federal dollars obligated across all its internal offices and divisions; the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering itself manages 516 awards worth $288.4 million. Combined federal and non-federal dollars obligated total $1.41 billion. Award volume has remained steady at 80–109 per year over the past five years, with 33 awards so far in 2026 as of mid-November. The program's funding history extends to 1993.

Representative recent awards include a quantum sensor collaboration between US and UK researchers on electrical readout for sub-diffraction imaging ($30 thousand), a US-UAE spectrum research workshop in Washington DC in FY27 ($75 thousand), a National Academies workshop on water resources for arid agriculture across Abraham Accords nations in Rabat, Morocco ($200 thousand), a US-India smart farming system for soybean monitoring ($25 thousand), and an International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program placing US undergraduates at the Cosmic Dawn Center in Copenhagen for astrophysics research ($394 thousand).

No new Assistance Listing-specific opportunities are currently open. However, related NSF solicitations open to international collaborations include the Accelerating Research Translation program (NSF 25-548, due March 12, 2026), NSF I-Corps Teams (NSF 25-549, due October 6, 2076), and the AccelNet program for international network-to-network collaborations (NSF 21-511, posted June 6, 2025), all accepting proposals from institutions of higher education and supporting international partnerships as eligible activities.