College-Level Awards and Funding Opportunities

Research Commercialization

RAIN Grants Program

RAIN is a source of competitive funds for researchers within the College of Agricultural Sciences who are prepared to take the next steps in transitioning technologies generated through their research to commercialization.

RAIN (Research Applications for INnovation) is a source of competitive funds for researchers within the College of Agricultural Sciences who are prepared to take the next steps in transitioning technologies generated through their research to commercialization. Read about RAIN Project Highlights and Impacts.

Harbaugh Undergraduate Research Assistantship

The Harbaugh Undergraduate Research Assistantship (HURA) with the support from Earl & Kay Harbaugh seeks to provide funding for exceptional undergraduate students engaging in research with a faculty primary investigator.

Collaborative Research Support

Strategic Networks and Initiatives Program (SNIP)

SNIP provides support for faculty-driven, interdisciplinary initiatives at the vanguard of agricultural and natural resources research.

The Strategic Networks and Initiatives Program (SNIP) provides three levels of support for faculty-driven, interdisciplinary initiatives at the vanguard of agricultural and natural resources research. See the impact of faculty collaborations supported by SNIP

Science-to-Practice (S2P) Grant Program

The Science-to-Practice (S2P) grant program provides funding to support the formation and development of teams proposing to explore innovative methods, structures, and projects that foster the translation of research into outputs for dissemination and implementation.

College Research Awards

Annual Research Awards

A suite of awards to recognize outstanding contributions to the College's research enterprise. Nominations are solicited each fall, and awardees will be recognized at an annual Research Awards Ceremony. Awards include: Alex and Jessie C. Black Award for Excellence in Research, Early Achievement in Research Award, High-Impact Research Publication Awards, Interdisciplinary Research Team Award, Integrated Team Award, and the Research Professional Staff Awards.

Research Innovator Award

The purpose of this award is to recognize faculty and staff in the College of Agricultural Sciences who have commercialized technologies generated through Penn State research.

Endowed Funding for Research

Mushroom Research Competitive Grants Program

Through the generosity of the Giorgi Mushroom Company, the College of Agricultural Sciences supports research focused on the cultivation and health of mushrooms.

Crouch Endowment for Viticulture, Enology, and Pomology Research

The purpose of these funds is to support research in viticulture, enology, or pomology and those students studying in these areas.

Joan Luerssen Faculty Enhancement Fund and the Horace T. Woodward Faculty Development Fund

The purpose of these two endowments is to provide supplementary funds to support professional development and programs.

Arthur W. Nesbitt Faculty Program Development Award

The purpose of this endowment is to support a College of Agricultural Sciences faculty member focusing on dairy in their teaching or extension programs, with the intent that the investment will help the awardee leverage future funding opportunities in any or all of these functional areas, for Animal Science or Food Science.

Jeanne and Charles Rider Endowment for Support of Research on the Biotechnology of Food Crops

The purpose of this endowment is to support College of Agricultural Sciences faculty in their biotechnology research and teaching programs that give promise of improving upon food crop production and quality while protecting the quality and safety of the environment.

Stoy G. and Della E. Sunday Program Support for Fruit Production Research

The purpose of this endowment is to enrich the College of Agricultural Sciences by providing monies for fruit production research.

Sarah Chinn Kalser Faculty Research Assistance

The purpose of this endowment is to assist faculty members in the College of Agricultural Sciences by providing discretionary monies for research and scholarly travel to faculty whose research has been interrupted due to either a temporary or permanent lapse in funding.

Capacity Grant Opportunities

Animal Health and Disease Research

This grant opportunity is being offered to support research that relates to animal health and disease research.

McIntire-Stennis Forestry Research

This grant opportunity is being offered to support forestry-related research.

Other Funding Opportunities

Small Equipment Grants

The College of Agricultural Sciences Office for Research and Graduate Education makes funds available in some fiscal years to sponsor co-funded equipment purchases to support research efforts.

Applied Evolution Seed Grants

The College of Agricultural Sciences Office for Research and Graduate Education, in partnership with the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, supports proposals investigating challenges that can be addressed through applied evolution.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Systems

Rapid response grants to the emerging and potential impacts of COVID-19 on agricultural, food, and environmental systems. (Competition held in Spring 2020)