DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA)
Supports early-stage defense-relevant research by junior faculty at United States institutions.
About
DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) 2026 sits under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the U.S. federal defense R&D agency. It is aimed at junior faculty at U.S. institutions and carries DARPA's usual defense-and-dual-use orientation rather than a broad academic research posture.
The award is a grant with a $500,000 base over 24 months and a $500,000 option for an additional 12 months, so…
Max award$1M
Realistic median$750K
Success rate5–10%
Decision time—
No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: Annual.