---
kind: "section"
citation: "7 C.F.R. § 3430.303"
title: "7"
number: "3430.303"
heading: "Eligibility."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/7/3430.303"
---

# §3430.303. Eligibility.

- (a) **General.** Unless otherwise specified in the RFA or this subpart, eligible applicants for the grant program implemented under this subpart include:
  - (1) State agricultural experiment stations;
  - (2) Colleges and universities (including junior colleges offering an associate's degree);
  - (3) University research foundations;
  - (4) Other research institutions and organizations;
  - (5) Federal agencies;
  - (6) National laboratories;
  - (7) Private organizations or corporations;
  - (8) Individuals; and
  - (9) Any group consisting of 2 or more entities identified in [paragraphs (a)(1) through (8)](#a-1..a-8) of this section.
- (b) **Integrated projects.** Eligible entities for the integrated component under this subpart include:
  - (1) Colleges and universities;
  - (2) 1994 Institutions; and
  - (3) Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities (as defined in [section 1404](/cfr/7/1404.md) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 ([7 U.S.C. 3103](/usc/7/3103.md)).
- (c) **FASE Grants—**
  - (1) **New investigator awards.** To be eligible to apply, a new investigator must be in the beginning of his/her career, without an extensive publication record, and must have less than 5 years of postgraduate, career-track experience. To be eligible to receive a grant, the new investigator may not have received competitively awarded Federal funds, with the exception of pre- or postdoctoral awards or NRI/AFRI Seed Grants. The AFRI RFA will contain specific instructions for New Investigator Grant eligibility, restrictions, and application preparation.
  - (2) **Pre- and postdoctoral fellowships.** The following eligibility requirements apply to applicants for pre- and postdoctoral fellowships.
    - (i) The doctoral degree of the applicant must be received not earlier than January 1 of the calendar year three years prior to the submission of the proposal and not later than nine months after the proposal due date; and
    - (ii) For pre-doctoral applications, the applicant must have advanced to candidacy by the application deadline.
  - (3) **Strengthening grants.** Eligibility for all strengthening categories includes:
    - (i) Small and mid-sized academic institutions that have had limited institutional success;
    - (ii) Degree-granting institutions and State agricultural experiment stations (SAES) in USDA Experimental Program for Stimulating Competitive Research (EPSCoR) states; and
    - (iii) **Minority-serving institutions with limited institutional success.**

## Notes

### Source

Source: 75 FR 54761, Sept. 9, 2010, unless otherwise noted.

### Authority

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 3316; Pub. L. 106-107 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note)

### Source

Source: 74 FR 45740, Sept. 4, 2009, unless otherwise noted.