DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA)
Supports early-stage defense-relevant research by junior faculty at United States institutions.
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 the total support can reach $1 million. The program runs annually, allows both for-profit and nonprofit recipients but not individuals, and is limited to U.S.-employed researchers at U.S. institutions. The technical window is TRL 1-3, no prototype or pilot evidence is required, and prior DARPA or DoD support above the stated thresholds can make an applicant ineligible. The best fit is a young faculty member with a sharp technical idea that can be framed as early-stage defense-relevant research and carried through a two-stage federal award. The program favors investigators who can work inside institutional constraints, stay within the eligibility rules, and present a credible path from first principles to initial evidence without leaning on existing funding depth.
No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: Annual.