NASA EPSCoR — Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research

NASA EPSCoR is NASA's capacity-building grant line for universities in underrepresented jurisdictions. It is built to strengthen research competitiveness and infrastructure in 25 designated states plus Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam, with a focus on helping those institutions connect to NASA-relevant science and technology work. The program is organized around three main award types: R&D Awards at about $750,000 over three years, EPSCoR RII Fellows awards at about $100,000, and Rapid Response R&D awards at about $100,000. The cycle is annual, applications go through NSPIRES, and peer review is part of the selection process. Eligible applicants are universities in the listed jurisdictions rather than individual founders or general-purpose companies. This is a good fit for teams that can turn NASA support into durable institutional capability. The strongest proposals usually show how the award will deepen research strength in the eligible state or territory, build a more competitive lab or faculty base, and align that capacity with a NASA-relevant field such as remote sensing, artificial intelligence, astrophysics, aeronautics, Earth science, or deep space exploration.