Young Faculty Award (YFA) 2026

Opportunity snapshot. This Grants.gov announcement - Young Faculty Award (YFA) 2026 - is cataloged under number DARPARA2502 and tied to CFDA assistance listing 12.910, posted by DARPA - Defense Sciences Office. Grants.gov currently shows the opportunity as closed, first posted on September 30, 2025 and last updated on December 31, 2025. The funding category is Discretionary, delivered as a cooperative agreement.

Award economics. The award range on file is Varies by applicant. Cost sharing is not required, so applicants do not need to commit matching funds to be competitive on this opportunity. Federal award ranges are often upper bounds; actual allocations reflect program appropriations, the strength of the applicant pool, and the evaluation committee's scoring.

Deadline and action path. This opportunity closed on January 20, 2026. Future funding cycles may be published under the same CFDA number, so monitoring the parent program page is the most reliable way to catch re-announcements. Every Grants.gov submission requires an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID. Review the Eligibility section below carefully, federal eligibility categories (nonprofit, state or local government, tribal, individual, educational institution, small business) have distinct registration and reporting requirements. Pre-application outreach to the listed agency contact is permitted and often welcomed, it helps clarify scope and scoring priorities. Before acting on the deadline or award figures above, verify them directly on the official Grants.gov listing, amendments can change dates and amounts after this page was last refreshed.