Young Investigator Program (YIP)

This page is provided for informational purposes only. Please refer to the annual solicitation for details on the application process: FY25 YIP Funding Opportunity Announcement No. N0001424SF004.

Program Description

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who are in their first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent academic appointment, who have received their doctorate or equivalent degree in the past seven years, and who show exceptional promise for doing creative research. The objectives of this program are to attract outstanding faculty members of Institutions of Higher Education (hereafter also called "universities") to the Department of the Navy's Science and Technology (S&T) research program, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers. Individuals who are holding non-profit equivalent positions are encouraged to apply.

Proposals addressing research areas described in the ONR science and technology (S&T) department section of ONR's website, which are of interest to ONR program officers and division directors will be considered. Contact information for each division (a subgroup of an S&T department) is also listed within that section. Potential applicants may contact the appropriate division director or the program officer who is the point-of-contact for a specific technical area, to discuss their research ideas. Brief informal pre-proposals may be submitted to facilitate these discussions. Such discussions can clarify the content and breadth of the priority research areas and enhance the match between a subsequent proposal and DoN research needs.

An individual wishing to apply for a Young Investigator award must submit a research proposal and at least one letter of support through the appropriate university officials. Applications received without a letter of support will be considered incomplete and will not be considered for award. ONR makes awards to institutions, not individuals. The research proposal should follow the format described in the ONR YIP funding opportunity announcement, listed among ONR's broad agency announcements, in Section II.D titled, "Application and Submission Information."

Typical awards are $750,000 over a 36-month period of performance. Applicants may request up to $250,000 for each 12-month interval. These funds may be budgeted against any reasonable costs related to conducting the proposed research, for example, salary for the investigator, graduate student support, supplies, travel and applicable indirect cost.

Eligibility Requirements

Awards under this announcement will be made only to U.S. institutions of higher education which award degrees in science, engineering or mathematics. U.S. non-profit organizations operating primarily for scientific and educational services may also submit proposals. The principal investigator of a proposal must be a U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident (on the date proposals are due), holding a first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent faculty position at that university, and has received his/her doctorate or equivalent degree within the past seven years. See solicitation for eligibility dates. The term "national" of the United States includes a native resident of a possession of the United States, such as American Samoa.

The term “tenure-track-equivalent” is explained on the ONR website: https://www.onr.navy.mil/Education-Outreach/Sponsored-Research/YIP/tenure-track-equivalent.