MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (MSIPP) AND TRIBAL EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (TEPP) | DE FOA 0002494

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002494

The Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP) and the Tribal Education Partnership Program (TEPP) funding opportunity is a competitive grant program run by the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to strengthen the STEM education and research pipeline that feeds the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE). NNSA ties the purpose of this opportunity directly to its national security mission: maintaining a safe, secure, and effective U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The core idea is that this mission depends on a highly skilled, innovative STEM workforce, and that the United States needs an education and talent-development ecosystem that is both excellent and inclusive to keep pace with global competition for technical talent.

MSIPP and TEPP focus on building long-term institutional capacity at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), while also creating clearer pathways for students to move from education into NSE-relevant careers. The programs are designed to connect universities with DOE/NNSA laboratories and other enterprise partners so students and faculty can engage in research experiences and training aligned to NNSA mission areas. In practice, this means the funding supports strategic partnerships and consortia that expose students to high-impact, cutting-edge work, while also helping schools improve the research and education infrastructure needed to sustain that engagement over time.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is workforce pipeline development across the full education spectrum, described as “K-20 to post-doctoral level.” That framing signals that applicants are encouraged to think beyond a single intervention (like a standalone internship program) and instead propose integrated activities that can recruit students early, support them through key transition points (high school to college, community college to university, undergraduate to graduate school), and keep them engaged through advanced training. Alongside recruitment, the opportunity highlights retention and development of talent, reflecting the goal of not only attracting students into STEM fields, but also providing mentoring, enrichment, and real-world research experiences that help them persist and become “NSE-ready.”

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0002494; CFDA 81.123) with an award ceiling of $1,000,000 and an expectation of about six awards. The announcement is managed under DOE/NNSA’s Management and Budget, Learning and Career Management, and it is categorized under the Education funding activity area. Eligibility is listed broadly as “Others,” with applicants expected to rely on the announcement’s additional eligibility language for the specific details, but the program description makes clear the intended recipients are MSIs and TCUs and their partners.

For applicant communications, the opportunity routes content questions through the FedConnect portal, and organizations need to register in FedConnect to submit questions and view posted answers. DOE/NNSA indicates it will generally respond within three business days unless the answer is already available in previously posted Q&A. Questions and comments must be submitted no later than three calendar days before the application due date. For technical help related to registration, system requirements, application forms, or submission mechanics, applicants are directed to Grants.gov support (1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov), and DOE/NNSA notes it cannot address those Grants.gov process issues itself.

• The Department of Energy, NNSA in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (MSIPP) AND TRIBAL EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (TEPP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.123.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 13, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 04, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for DE FOA 0002494

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