Institutionally Limited External Competitions
These are competitions for awards by outside agencies for which USC can nominate a limited number of candidates. Applications for any of the awards listed here must go through an internal review process and receive approval from the USC administration prior to submission to the sponsoring agency. Moreover, internal USC application deadlines are typically at least one to two months in advance of the sponsoring agency’s own deadlines, given the time required for the internal review process.
Faculty should indicate their interest in being considered for a given competition prior to the internal selection process being initiated and their research dean at least two months in advance of the sponsor’s deadline.
Investigators interested in applying for any of the awards should contact the Office of Research Initiatives and Facilities at orif@usc.edu or (213) 740-6709.
Process for Limited Submissions: PIs must submit their application through the Office of Research Initiatives & Facilities (ORIF) Application Portal. Any limited submission that is not Camille Dreyfus, NSF-MRI, or the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation Inventor Fellows can select the ‘Limited Submission’ up top to submit.
Materials to submit – unless otherwise noted in the Office of Research Initiatives & Facilities (ORIF) write-ups below – include:
(1) Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
This portal requires information about the PIs and Co-PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
If you are interested in renewing an existing limited submission grant, please contact us as soon as possible by writing to Office of Research Initiatives and Facilities at orif@usc.edu.
For a list of recurring institutionally limited competitions, please click here.
Advance to: National Science Foundation (NSF) || Foundations & Others
National Institutes of Health (NIH):
RFA-LM-21-001: NLM Institutional Grants for Research Training in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (T15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested; first-come, first-served due to time constraint.
LOI: April 14, 2021
External Deadline: May 14, 2021
PAR-21-189: Medical Scientist Training Program (T32)
Internal Deadline: April 16, 2021
External Deadline: May 25, 2021
RFA-DK-20-034: Program to Advance the Career Development of Scientists from Diverse Backgrounds Conducting Nutrition, Obesity, Diabetes, and Related Research (U24 Clinical Trial Optional)
Internal Deadline: April 16, 2021
LOI: May 17, 2021
External Deadline: June 17, 2021
RFA-RM-21-019: NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program: FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: March 23, 2021
External Deadline: April 23, 2021
PAR-21-147: Maximizing Access to Research Careers (T34)
Internal Deadline: March 26, 2021
External Deadline: May 26, 2021
RFA-AI-20-080: Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC) Coordinating Center (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: May 4, 2021
External Deadline: June 4, 2021
RFA-AI-20-079: Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC) (U19 Clinical Trial Optional)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: May 4, 2021
External Deadline: June 4, 2021
RFA-TR-21-009: Screening for Conditions by Electronic Nose Technology
Internal Deadline: Friday, March 26th, 2021, 5pm PT
LOI: May 10, 2021
External Deadline: June 10, 2021
PAR-19-215: Team-Based Design in Biomedical Engineering Education (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: April 26, 2021
External Deadline: May 28, 2021
PAR-21-074: Mentored Research Experiences for Genetic Counselors (R25)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: 30 days prior to application due date
External Deadline: May 25, 2021
PAR-21-075: Research Experience in Genomic Research for Data Scientists (R25)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: 30 days prior to application due date
External Deadline: May 25, 2021
RFA-TR-21-001: New Chemistries for Un-drugged Targets through A Specialized Platform for Innovative Research Exploration (ASPIRE) Collaborative Research Program (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: June 8, 2021
External Deadline: July 8, 2021, 5pm local time
National Science Foundation (NSF):
NSF maintains a catalog of upcoming solicitations and grant programs that are institutionally limited competitions at its website.
NSF 20-554: ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE)
Internal Deadline: May 14, 2021, 5pm PT for all groups.
LOI: Adaptation and Partnership only: August 2, 2021
Preliminary Proposal: IT-Preliminary only: Four Thursday in April; IT-preliminary proposals are accepted before and after the target date.
External Deadline: Adaptation and Partnership: November 3, 2021; IT-Preliminary: October 7, 2021; Catalyst: August 6, 2021
NSF-21-569: Scholarships in STEM Network (S-STEM-Net)
Internal Deadline: Monday, March 29, 2021, 5pm PT
LOI: April 16, 2021 (for STEM-REC solicitations only)
External Deadline: June 16, 2021, 5pm PT
NSF-21-555: Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS)
Internal Deadline: March 26, 2021, 5pm PT
External Deadline: June 16, 2021, 5pm PT
NSF-21-556: Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support – Coordination Office (ACCESS-ACO)
Internal Deadline: March 26, 2021, 5pm PT
External Deadline: June 16, 2021, 5pm PT
NSF-21-553: Enabling Quantum Leap: Quantum Interconnect Challenges for Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems (QuIC-TAQS)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
External Deadline: June 14, 2021
NSF-21-550: NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM)
Internal Deadline: Schools can coordinate their own deadlines for this competition.
External Deadline: April 7, 2021
NSF-20-509: Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation – Multiple Initiatives
Internal Deadline: Friday, April 2, 2021, 5pm PT
Alliances Deadline: November 19, 2021
Conference Deadline: June 1, 2021 (or rolling)
NSF 20-554: ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE)
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: See call for more information.
External Deadline: See call for more information.
Foundations & Others:
DE-FOA-0002483: Critical Minerals & Materials: Chemical and Materials Science Research on Rare Earth and Platinum Group Elements
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: April 12, 2021, 5pm ET
External Deadline: June 9, 2021, 11:59pm ET
Brain Research Foundation 2022 Scientific Innovations Award
Internal Deadline: May 7, 2021, 5pm PT
LOI: June 24, 2021, 4pm CST
External Deadline: October 5, 2021, 4pm CST
Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research
Internal Deadline: Contact Norris Cancer Center if interested.
LOI: May 17, 2021, 5pm ET
External Deadline: September 9, 2021
DE-FOA-0002493 – Data-Intensive Scientific Machine Learning and Analysis
Internal Deadline: Slots have been granted for this call.
LOI: April 23, 2021, 5pm ET
External Deadline: May 27, 2021
DE-FOA-0002497 – EXPRESS: Randomized Algorithms for Extreme Scale Sciences
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested; first-come, first-served due to time constraint.
LOI: April 16, 2021, 5pm ET
External Deadline: May 19, 2021
DE-FOA-0002474 – Data Science to Advance Chemical and Materials Science
Internal Deadline: Slots have been granted for this call.
LOI: April 14, 2021, 5pm ET
External Deadline: May 5, 2021
Breast Cancer Alliance Young Investigator Grants
Internal Deadline: April 30, 2021, 5pm PT
External Deadline: July 23, 2021
DE-FOA-0002453 – Flow Battery Systems Manufacturing
Internal Deadline: Monday, April 12, 2021, 5pm PT
LOI: April 29, 2021, 5pm ET
External Deadline: June 30 2021, 5pm ET
DE-FOA-0002482 – Integrated Computational and Data Infrastructure (ICDI) for Scientific Discovery
Internal Deadline: 1 taken, 2 still available.
LOI: April 2, 2021
External Deadline: May 14, 2021
NRC University Nuclear Leadership Program
Internal Deadline: Monday, April 12, 2021, 5pm PT
External Deadline: May 14, 2021
DE-FOA-0002481 – DOE Materials and Chemical Sciences Research for Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: March 30, 2021, 5pm
External Deadline: May 18, 2021
Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation: Mallinckrodt Grants
Internal Deadline: April 30, 2021, 5pm PT
External Deadline: August 1, 2021
NEH 2021 Summer Stipends
Internal Deadline: Friday, June 18, 2021, 5pm PT
External Deadline: September 22, 2021
Takeda Innovators in Science Award in Gastroenterology
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
External Deadline: May 27, 2021
2022 Pew Biomedical Scholars
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: May 17, 2021
External Deadline: September 1, 2021
DE-FOA-0002462 – Chemical Upcycling of Polymers
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: March 10, 2021, 5pm ET
External Deadline: May 12, 2021, 11:59pm ET
The Andrew W. Mellon Sawyer Seminars
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
External Deadline: May 3, 2021
The Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: March 15th, 2021
External Deadline: April 20, 2021
DE-FOA-0002441 – Scientific Discovery Through Advanced Computing: Partnerships in Basic Energy Sciences
Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF if interested.
LOI: Jan 19, 2020
External Deadline: April 6, 2021