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U.S. National Science Foundation

Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MSPRF)

Open

Key facts

Deadline
Due Oct 21, 2026 · 14 days left
Award size
From $190K
Total available
$8.5M · about 45 awards
Match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
Where
Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. The deadline is in 14 days. If your registration isn't already active, it may not be ready in time, so check it today. Get-ready checklist

How this fits you

  • Available in Tennessee (nationwide program)
  • No match required
  • Past Tennessee awards on file: 41

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

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About this grant

The purpose of the Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MSPRF) is to support future leaders in mathematics and statistics by facilitating their participation in postdoctoral research environments that will have maximal impact on their future scientific development. There are two options for awardees: Research Fellowship and Research Instructorship. Awards will support research in areas of mathematics and statistics, including applications to other disciplines.

Who can apply, from the official notice

*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: -The Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are awards to individuals, and proposals are submitted directly by the fellowship proposer to NSF. Fellows must affiliate with institutions or organizations (e.g., Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), government and national laboratories and facilities, privately sponsored nonprofit institutes and museums, and for-profit organizations under certain conditions). *Who May Serve as PI: An individual is eligible to submit a proposal to this program if all the following criteria are met: Must, at the time of submission, be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or a legally admitted permanent resident alien of the United States; May not have held the doctoral degree more than 2 years as of January 1 of the year of the award; Must propose research in an area of mathematics or statistics; May not have previously been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator of an NSF award (other than a graduate research fellowship or an award in support of a conference or workshop); May not submit a research plan duplicated in another NSF proposal; Must not have previously been offered an award by the MSPRF program; and Must have a doctoral degree conferred before the postdoctoral appointment start date. Proposals that fail to meet the above eligibility requirements will be returned without review. By signing and submitting the proposal, the fellowship candidate is certifying that they meet the eligibility criteria specified in this program solicitation. Willful provision of false information in this request and its supporting documents or in reports required under an ensuing award is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001).

Ask a partner for a letter

Your schedule, working back from the deadline

  1. Oct7
    Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
    Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
  2. Sep30
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment (already past: do it now)
    Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
  3. Oct14
    Finish a complete draft for a final review
    Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
  4. Oct19
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. Oct21
    Deadline
    From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.

Who in Tennessee has won this program

21 awards to Tennessee groups in 4 counties since 2017. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winnerWhereAmountFiscal year
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$11.7M2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$2.4M2021
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.7M2022
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.7M2023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.6M2021
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.2M2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.1M2019
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$911K2019
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson County$800K2021
University of TennesseeChattanooga, Hamilton County$793K2025
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$780K2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$749K2025

Source: USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.

Tennessee groups that got this money through a state agency or another organization

This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. 20 pass-through grants on file. Largest shown:

Tennessee pass-through grant winners
Past winnerWhereThroughAmountFiscal year
Fisk UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyVanderbilt University$956K2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyTexas a & M University$388K2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyBoard of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Ed$370K2026
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$265K2025
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyWest Virginia University Research Corporation$244K2026
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyCornell University$235K2025
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyOregon State University$228K2024
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyUniversity of Vermont & State Agricultural College$204K2025
University of MemphisMemphis, Shelby CountyUniversity of Arizona$168K2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyUniversity of Notre Dame Du Lac$165K2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyThe Pennsylvania State University$158K2023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyCornell University$157K2026

Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).

About the federal program

Mathematical and Physical Sciences, also called “(MPS)”
Program number 47.049 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · National Science Foundation · Project grant

Match

None required (federal program listing).

This program on SAM.gov

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Source: Federal grants from Grants.gov · the official federal record. Last checked by GrantMe Oct 7, 2026.

Reference numbers: official notice number 23-603 · program number 47.049