The Distance Education Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (DEG program) supports the strengthening of capacity at institutions of higher education located in insular areas to carry out resident instruction, curriculum, and teaching programs in the food and agricultural sciences through distance education technology. Administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture under assistance listing number 10.322, the program funds projects that create, adapt, and adopt learning materials and teaching strategies that operationalize best practices for student learning. Funded projects must focus on imparting both technical knowledge and employability skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem solving.

Funding and Benefits

• Total Program Funding: $1,000,000
• Expected Number of Awards: 5
• Award Minimum: $10,000
• Award Maximum: $200,000
• Funding Instrument Type: Grant
• Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No
• Opportunity Category: Discretionary
• Category of Funding Activity: Agriculture
• Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-RIGP-011716

Eligibility

An eligible institution is an institution of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1995 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), that is located in an insular area and has a demonstrable capacity to carry out teaching and Extension programs in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. All public or nonprofit two-year and four-year accredited institutions of higher education that offer certificate or degree programs in food and agricultural sciences are eligible.

Individual Land-grant Colleges and Universities, and other institutions that have secured Land-grant status through Federal legislation and are located in insular areas, are automatically eligible for awards as direct individual applicants.

Branch institutions of a State system that are separately accredited as degree-granting institutions are treated as separate, individual institutions eligible to apply, provided they otherwise satisfy the definition of eligible institution. Independent branch campuses of individual institutions may also apply if they satisfy the definition of eligible institution.

The eight eligible insular areas are:

• American Samoa
• The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
• The Federated States of Micronesia
• Guam
• The Republic of the Marshall Islands
• The Republic of Palau
• The United States Virgin Islands

Deadline and Timeline

• Closing Date: June 15, 2026
• Posted Date: April 29, 2026
• Archive Date: July 15, 2026
• Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Application Process

Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. Applicants may track application status and subscribe to updates via the Grants.gov portal. The program does not require cost sharing or matching.

Contact Information

For questions about preparing application content, contact the NIFA Support team at grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, except federal holidays.

Additional information about the program is available on the NIFA website at Distance Education Grants for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas.