Developmental Sciences — U.S. National Science Foundation funding opportunity
U.S. National Science Foundation · Federal agency

Developmental Sciences

DS supports basic research that increases our understanding of and biological processes related to human development across the lifespan. Research supported by this program will add to our knowledge of the underlying dev...

97
match
Deadline Fixed Location Alabama Type grant Level Federal Open posted Jun 6, 2025
✦ AI Summary
  • Who can apply: Federal-level applicants (see eligibility for details).
  • Funding amount: total funding pool ~$6,000,000.
  • Issued by: U.S. National Science Foundation.
How was this generated?

The “key facts” mode pulls structured fields directly from the official source posting (amount, deadline, eligibility tags). The AI mode adds a short plain-English narrative on top, generated from the same source. Always verify with the agency before applying.

AI-generated. Always verify with the official source.

Deadline
Fixed
Total pool
$6M

About this opportunity

DS supports basic research that increases our understanding of and biological processes related to human development across the lifespan. Research supported by this program will add to our knowledge of the underlying developmental processes that support social, cognitive and behavioral functioning, thereby illuminating ways for individuals to live productive lives as members of society. DS supports research that addresses developmental processes within the domains of and motor development across the lifespan by working with any appropriate populations for the topics of interest including and non-human animals. The program also supports research investigating factors that affect developmental change, including and epigenetic influences. Additional priorities include research that incorporates and longitudinal approaches; develops new methods, models and theories for studying development; includes participants from a range of ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures; and integrates different processes ( , cognition), levels of analysis ( behavioral, social, neural) and time scales. The budgets and durations of supported projects vary widely and are greatly influenced by the nature of the project. Investigators should focus on innovative, potentially transformative research plans and then develop a budget to support those activities, rather than starting with a budget number and working up to that value. While there are no specific rules about budget limitations, a typical project funded through the DS program is approximately three years in duration with a total cost budget, including both direct and indirect costs, between $100,000 and $200,000 per year. Interested applicants are urged to explore the NSF awards database for the DS program to review examples of awards that have been made. The DS program also accepts proposals for workshops and small conferences. These typically have total cost budgets, including direct and indirect costs, of approximately $35,000.Prospective PIs are encouraged to send a 1-page summary of the proposed activities to the DS program directors in advance of submitting a conference/workshop proposal to ascertain its fit to the program. In addition to consulting the NSF awards database, it is often useful for interested applicants to submit (via email) a summary of no more than one page so that a program director can advise the investigator on the fit of the project for DS prior to preparation of a full proposal. New investigators are encouraged to solicit assistance in the preparation of their project proposals via consultation with senior researchers in their area, pre-submission review by colleagues and attendance at symposia and events at professional conferences geared towards educating investigators seeking federal funding. The Developmental Sciences Program is always interested in identifying new reviewers. Potential reviewers should have a in psychology or a related field and have a demonstrated area of expertise relevant to developmental science. Individuals interested in reviewing for the program should send a short description of their areas of expertise (two sentences) and their CV to a Developmental Sciences program director.

Funding agency

Tags

Want help applying?

Our specialists will check your eligibility, prepare the application, and walk you through every step — for free. Create a free account →

Who can apply

Eligibility details aren't on file yet — check the agency source link in the Documents tab for the latest rules.

Geographic eligibility

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • District of Columbia

How to apply

We don't have application instructions on file yet — head straight to the official source.

Apply on agency site
Tip from our team:

Read the agency's eligibility checklist before you start — it's almost always shorter than the full NOFO and will tell you in 90 seconds whether to keep going.

Need help getting in touch with the right agency contact?

Create a free account and our specialists will guide you through the application end-to-end.

Source documents

View on agency site
Canonical NOFO, application packet, and forms
No supplemental documents yet.

Direct downloads (NOFO PDFs, application forms, FAQs) will appear here once our team attaches them. For now, the agency site has the canonical packet.

Citation details

Source systemgrants.gov
Source ID359452
PostedJun 6, 2025

Frequently asked questions

No FAQs yet.

Have a question about this fund? Sign in to open a ticket about this fund.