AFRL/AFOSR Center of Excellence
Supports early-stage Air Force fundamental research at universities, nonprofits, and industry partners.
The AFRL/AFOSR Center of Excellence (CoE) program is a joint initiative between the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and an AFRL Technology Directorate (TD) that funds a university or consortium of universities to conduct high-priority collaborative basic research. Topics are defined each year when AFRL Technology Directorates propose new CoE themes to the AFOSR Chief Scientist; app…
High-priority topics proposed annually by AFRL Technology Directorates to AFOSR Chief Scientist; posted as FOAs on Grants.gov.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility
Sign up free to see how to apply
Sign up free to see the timeline
Sign up free to see where teams trip up
Guides for this application
All guides →SAM.gov Registration and UEI Guide for Federal Grant Applicants
Learn how SAM.gov registration, UEI numbers, Grants.gov accounts, organization profiles, workspace roles, and renewal timing fit together.
Find grantsGovernment Grants for Startups: What Deeptech Founders Should Know
A practical guide to government grants for startups, including Grants.gov, SBIR/STTR, state programs, eligibility, fit, timelines, and when to apply.
BudgetIndirect Costs in Grants: Rates, MTDC, and Examples
Understand indirect costs in grants, including direct vs indirect costs, negotiated rates, de minimis rates, MTDC, funder caps, and budget narrative implications.
More from AFOSR
All grants from this funder →DURIP (AFOSR)
🇺🇸AFOSR · United States
Supports United States universities acquiring major research equipment for defense-relevant research capabilities.
Fiscal Year 2027 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP)
🇺🇸AFOSR · United States
Funds research equipment and instrumentation for U.S. universities doing science important to national defense.
AFOSR YIP
🇺🇸AFOSR · United States
Supports early-career researchers in the United States through long-term federal science initiatives.
FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) - RESEARCH COLLABORATION (RC)
🇺🇸AFOSR · United States
Funds a first-time faculty investigator paired with an experienced DoD-funded mentor on defense-relevant research.
FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) CAPACITY BUILDING (CB)
🇺🇸AFOSR · United States
Funds multi-year defense-relevant research at universities in states that get little competitive DoD research funding.
MURI (AFOSR)
🇺🇸AFOSR · United States
Supports multidisciplinary university consortia tackling mission challenges in Air Force research domains.
Similar grants
Browse the directory →
AFRL/AFOSR Center of Excellence — FOAs
🇺🇸AFRL · United States
Funds sustained university center partnerships with the United States defense research community.
AFOSR STTR
🇺🇸AFRL · United States
Funds collaborative basic research pathways for technology transfer from concept through scalable prototypes.
JobsOhio R&D Center Grant
🇺🇸JobsOhio · United States
Supports Ohio companies building strategic corporate innovation centers with matched funding.
AFOSR BAA — Basic Research
🇺🇸AFRL · United States
Funds basic research at United States universities across defense science, materials, aerospace, and quantum topics.
Texas Proof of Concept Award (Tier 1)
🇺🇸UT Austin DTI / Dell Med · United States
Supports University of Texas researchers with early-stage gap funding to validate emerging technologies across research fields.
Texas+ Proof of Concept Award (Tier 2)
🇺🇸UT Austin DTI / Dell Med · United States
Supports University of Texas researchers with larger follow-on gap grants to advance promising early technologies toward adoption.