OpenResearch announcementOpportunity NOFOAFRLAFOSR20260002

Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War (DoW) Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)

Air Force Office of Scientific Research · Department of Defense

At a glance

Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War (DoW) Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) is an open federal grant opportunity from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Department of Defense). Applications are due April 9, 2027. Individual awards are listed as up to $15M, with $170M in total estimated funding. Applicant types listed as eligible include others (see notice). Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 12.800 (Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Sep 21, 2026Posted
Apr 9, 2027Application deadlinenext date
May 9, 2027Archived

Posted: Sep 21, 2026
Close date: Apr 9, 2027
Archive date: May 9, 2027
Award floor: Not specified
Award ceiling: $15,000,000
Est. total funding: $170,000,000
Expected awards: Not specified
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Grant
Opportunity category: Discretionary

Who can apply

Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

This MURI competition is open only to, and proposals are to be submitted only by, U.S. institutions of higher education (universities) with degree-granting programs in science and/or engineering, including DoD institutions of higher education. To the extent that it is part of a U.S. institution of higher education and is not designated as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) is eligible to submit a proposal to this MURI competition and/or receive MURI funds. Ineligible organizations (e.g., industry, DoD laboratories, FFRDCs, and foreign entities) may collaborate on the research but may not receive MURI funds directly or via subaward.

Also named in the notice's eligibility text

Public colleges & universities
Private colleges & universities

Matched from the wording above by GrantsJunction — confirm in the full announcement.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

Agency Name:

Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Description:

See full announcement in Related Documents folder for detailed descriptions of the SPECIFIC MURI TOPICS.

Full announcement & documents

The full announcement has the complete rules — page limits, required attachments, evaluation criteria and any letter-of-intent dates. Files download directly from Grants.gov.

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Open the application packageUse opportunity number NOFOAFRLAFOSR20260002 on Grants.gov (Grants.gov Workspace). Open ↗
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyHOLLY E THOMAS Grantor · afosr.rtb.muri@us.af.mil Open ↗
Submit before April 9, 2027Applications must be received no later than 09 April 2027 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

12.800Air Force Defense Research Sciences ProgramProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 12.800

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$874M

FY25

$652M

FY26

$700M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 12.800. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Who was funded under ALN 12.800

Historical data · not a prediction

Since October 1, 2023, 2,840 grant awards had funding actions under Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program, with 1,363 sub-awards passed on to other organizations. These are program-wide awards, not awards from this specific notice.

NATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE MANUFACTURING AND MACHINING$514M
FLEXTECH ALLIANCE, INC.$151M
BIOINDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING AND DESIGN ECOSYSTEM$128M
THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK$69.9M
RED ROCK BIOFUELS LLC$67.5M

Recipients, states, recent awards and sub-awards →Source: USAspending.gov.

Agency contact (as published)

HOLLY E THOMAS Grantor
afosr.rtb.muri@us.af.mil
7036967347

Quick answers

When is the deadline for this opportunity?

According to the official notice, applications are due April 9, 2027. The notice adds: “Applications must be received no later than 09 April 2027 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time” Confirm the deadline and submission time on Grants.gov before applying.

Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: Others (see notice). Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through this opportunity?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as up to $15m and total estimated program funding is $170,000,000.

How do I apply for this opportunity?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity NOFOAFRLAFOSR20260002), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

OpenResearchALN 12.800