Distance Education Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas
Grant Opportunity Analysis
The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture is offering the Distance Education Grants Program for institutions of higher education in insular areas to strengthen distance education capacity in food and agricultural sciences. The program supports projects that create, adapt, and adopt learning materials and teaching strategies for resident instruction, curriculum, and teaching, with attention to both technical knowledge and employability skills. Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education located in the specified insular areas, and projects are reviewed through administrative screening and scientific peer review, with no matching funds required. The application deadline is June 15, 2026, with approximately $1,000,000 available in total funding and individual awards ranging from $50,000 to $200,000; application questions may be directed to grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov.
Eligible Applicants
For the purposes of the DEG program, an eligible institution is an institution of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1995 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), that is located in an insular area and that has a demonstrable capacity to carry out teaching and Extension programs in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. All public or nonprofit two-year and four-year accredited institutions of higher education that offer certificate/degree programs in food and agricultural sciences are eligible. Individual Land-grant Colleges and Universities, and other institutions that have secured Land-grant status through Federal legislation, and which are located in insular areas are automatically eligible for awards under the DEG grant program as direct individual applicants. The eight insular areas are as follows: 1. American Samoa 2. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 3. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 4. The Federated States of Micronesia 5. Guam 6. The Republic of the Marshall Islands 7. The Republic of Palau 8. The United States Virgin Islands Branch Institutions of a State System. Individual branches of a State university system or public system of higher education that are separately accredited as degree-granting institutions are treated as separate, individual institutions eligible to apply for and receive awards, provided they otherwise satisfy the definition of "eligible institution" as specified above. Independent Branch Campuses. Independent branch campuses of individual institutions may apply for and receive grant awards under this program if they satisfy the definition of eligible institution as specified above. An "independent branch campus" is a unit of a two-year or four-year institution of higher education that is geographically apart from the main campus, is permanent in nature, offers courses for credit and programs leading to an associate or bachelor's degree, and is autonomous to the extent that it has its own faculty and administrative or supervisory organization and its own budgetary and hiring authority.