Fiscal Year 2027 National Sea Grant College Program Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship

Source-based overview

The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1966 (amended in 2020, Public Law 116-221) to support leveraged federal and state partnerships that harness the intellectual capacity of the nation’s universities and research institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities. This notice announces that applications may be submitted for the 2027 National Sea Grant College Program Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship (Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship Program). Pending the availability of federal funding, the National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant) anticipates funding not less than 35 applications. Application packages will each propose a total of $97,200 in funding. A detailed breakdown of this funding is described in Sections II.A and III.F of this announcement. Student applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Sea Grant program in their state/territory at least one to two months before the state application deadline to receive application support and provide notification of intent to apply. Following student application submission, the student should allow sufficient time to schedule an interview with the eligible Sea Grant program at the program’s request. Applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations include SAM.gov , Grants.gov, and eRA Commons . All registrations must be completed before submitting the application. The complete registration process for all three systems can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions. NOAA has created a guide to aid applicants in formatting application packages to eRA, linked here . Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. Applications and Submission Information, Section C). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by the time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account to submit an application. This document sets out requirements for submitting to NOAA-OAR-SG-2027-32433 Eligibility: A student is eligible to submit application materials listed in Section IV.B.3.b.1-4 of this NOFO to an eligible Sea Grant program if: Page 3 of 21 NOAA NOFO (1) The student is a U.S. Citizen (born or naturalized), a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card holder), or a dual national with at least one citizenship as the U.S.; (2) The student is enrolled towards a degree in a graduate program at any point between the onset of the 2025 Fall Term (quarter, trimester, semester, etc.) and June 3, 2026; (3) The graduate degree will be awarded through an accredited institution of higher education in the United States or U.S. Territories, and; (4) The student has an interest in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. Student application submission is through an application to the Sea Grant program in the state in which the student is earning their degree. If there is no Sea Grant program in a student's state, a Sea Grant program will be assigned (see Section IV.D.). A written statement from the National Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship Program Manager referring the student to the most appropriate eligible Sea Grant program will be provided to the student and must be submitted to the State Sea Grant program through which they are applying. Students are not eligible to submit full application materials to Grants.gov. The following entities are eligible to submit full proposals to this NOFO opportunity via Grants.gov: Sea Grant College Programs, Sea Grant Institutional Programs, and Sea Grant Coherent Area Programs. To be eligible to apply or receive an award, applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations: SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. For each, the complete registration process can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants must begin this activity as soon as possible and well before the proposal due date. For more information on how to meet these registration and application submission requirements without errors, we advise all to carefully review relevant Applicant and Grantee Training modules: https://www.commerce.gov/ocio/programs/gems/applicant-and-grantee-training. Additionally, we advise that all carefully read 'Additional Application Package Forms' within the 'Full Proposal Required Elements' section below. Opportunity number: NOAA-OAR-SG-2027-32433. Closing date: 2026-08-26. Funding: up to USD 97,200.

Eligibility

A student is eligible to submit application materials listed in Section IV.B.3.b.1-4 of this NOFO to an eligible Sea Grant program if: Page 3 of 21 NOAA NOFO (1) The student is a U.S. Citizen (born or naturalized), a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card holder), or a dual national with at least one citizenship as the U.S.; (2) The student is enrolled towards a degree in a graduate program at any point between the onset of the 2025 Fall Term (quarter, trimester, semester, etc.) and June 3, 2026; (3) The graduate degree will be awarded through an accredited institution of higher education in the United States or U.S. Territories, and; (4) The student has an interest in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. Student application submission is through an application to the Sea Grant program in the state in which the student is earning their degree. If there is no Sea Grant program in a student's state, a Sea Grant program will be assigned (see Section IV.D.). A written statement from the National Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship Program Manager referring the student to the most appropriate eligible Sea Grant program will be provided to the student and must be submitted to the State Sea Grant program through which they are applying. Students are not eligible to submit full application materials to Grants.gov. The following entities are eligible to submit full proposals to this NOFO opportunity via Grants.gov: Sea Grant College Programs, Sea Grant Institutional Programs, and Sea Grant Coherent Area Programs. To be eligible to apply or receive an award, applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations: SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. For each, the complete registration process can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants must begin this activity as soon as possible and well before the proposal due date. For more information on how to meet these registration and application submission requirements without errors, we advise all to carefully review relevant Applicant and Grantee Training modules: https://www.commerce.gov/ocio/programs/gems/applicant-and-grantee-training. Additionally, we advise that all carefully read 'Additional Application Package Forms' within the 'Full Proposal Required Elements' section below.

Funding and benefits

up to USD 97,200

Themes and supported activities

Education and Higher Education

United States

Opportunity number: NOAA-OAR-SG-2027-32433.

Deadline and timeline

Closes 2026-08-26: Closes 2026-08-26: Aug 26, 2026.

Applicants should confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, required documents, portal steps and any institutional approvals on the official call page before submitting.

How to apply

Use the official Grants.gov listing for the application package, attachments, forms and agency-specific instructions. Submit by 2026-08-26 unless the agency updates the official listing.

Before applying, check eligibility rules, budgets, attachments, page limits, partner requirements, cost-share conditions and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration or nomination stage.