SAM Houston State University

Sam Houston State University (SHSU), a public, state-controlled Hispanic-Serving Institution and Minority Institution based in Huntsville, Texas, operates as a federal grant recipient delivering education, STEM training, forensic science research, agricultural extension, and law enforcement professional development to federal agencies as a prime recipient (84% of recent awards) and sub-recipient on multi-institutional research programs. The university does not hold federal prime contracts; its federal footprint is exclusively grant-based, with no set-aside designations applicable.

SHSU's capability portfolio spans three distinct domains. In military education support, the university provides tuition and fees for Navy and Marine Corps medical personnel training under a multi-year Basic Ordering Agreement with the Department of Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery running through June 2031, with recurring delivery orders ranging from $85 thousand to $138 thousand. In research and STEM education, SHSU serves as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education and delivers forensic science research through the Center for Advanced Research in Forensic Science (CARFS), a multi-site NSF Industry University Cooperative Research Center led by Florida International University. Recent grants include a $823 thousand NIJ award for forensically relevant biomolecule research in bone, a $216 thousand NIJ grant for electrical tape characterization, and a $1.999 million NSF STEM Education grant funding scholarships and support for chemistry and forensic chemistry undergraduates. In agricultural pest management and invasive species control, SHSU operates the Texas Invasive Species Institute and holds a heavy concentration of USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) cooperative agreements conducting pest surveys, species distribution modeling, and public outreach across Texas counties—62 APHIS awards represent 17% of SHSU's total prime award count but constitute a smaller share of combined potential value due to typical award sizes of $100 thousand to $200 thousand.

Customer concentration is diffuse across 67 distinct federal agencies. The USDA APHIS dominates by award count (62 awards) but represents a modest share of potential dollars. By potential value, NASA's Shared Services Center (Office of STEM Engagement) leads with 5 awards worth $1.6 million, including a $1.198 million cooperative agreement for NASA-aligned STEM learning experiences and a $399 thousand award for authentic NASA mission-connected education. The Department of Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery holds 9 tuition-support delivery orders (combined potential value $684 thousand). The National Science Foundation, Department of Justice National Institute of Justice, and Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education each account for 19 to 25 awards. Obligated dollars ($236.7 million) exceed combined potential value by more than 20 times, indicating substantial completion and drawdown of multi-year grant cycles.

Activity trajectory shows steady recent volume: 27 awards in 2022, rising to 42 in 2024, then settling to 36 in 2025 and 11 in the first six months of 2026 (a partial-year figure). Twenty-three awards face ultimate completion in the next 24 months, creating recompete opportunity primarily in APHIS agricultural surveillance, NSF research training, and Department of Education student support programming.

SHSU operates two parent vehicles anchoring recurring work: the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Basic Ordering Agreement N0018921GZ016 (10 task orders, $950 thousand combined potential value) and a secondary BOA under DAKF1979H0049. Beyond these, the university competes full-and-open in NSF, NIJ, and Department of Education grant competitions with no reliance on set-aside vehicles.

In its sub-recipient capacity, SHSU partners with Texas Division of Emergency Management (disaster recovery assistance and campus restoration), George Mason University (criminal justice research and training coordination through the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network), University of Arkansas (behavioral research data collection), and Colorado State University (entomological field work). The university also receives sub-awards from Texas Education Agency and Texas Department of Agriculture for school-based programming and agricultural education initiatives.

SHSU maintains a subsidiary, the SAM Houston State University Charter School, designated as a Minority Institution and Hispanic-Serving Institution, but this entity does not appear as a named prime or sub-awardee in the source data.

The university's federal grant footprint clusters heavily in STEM education (NSF scholarships, professional development, and mathematical sciences research), forensic science (NIJ paint and tape analysis, genetic genealogy, drug characterization), law enforcement training (de-escalation, leadership development, critical incident debriefing), agricultural extension (pest surveys, invasive species management, digital marketing education), and international law enforcement capacity building (corrections leadership training in Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and Georgia). Regional concentration within Texas is pronounced in APHIS work, while research and education grants distribute nationally across NSF, NIH, and Department of Education programs. The university's role as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and Minority Institution anchors its federal priority alignment with workforce development, underrepresented-group recruitment, and rural/urban educational equity initiatives.