Young Faculty Award (YFA) 2027

DARPA - Defense Sciences Office

Program description

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award (YFA) program aims to identify and engage rising stars in junior research positions in academia and equivalent positions at non-profit research institutions, particularly those without prior DARPA funding, to expose them to Department of War (DoW) needs and DARPA’s mission to create and prevent technological surprise for national security. The YFA program provides high-impact funding to researchers early in their careers to develop innovative new research that enables transformative DoW capabilities. Ultimately, the YFA program developes the next generation of researchers focused on national security issues.

Eligibility

All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by DARPA. See the Eligibility Information section of the BAA for more information.

Past awards

Federal awards made under Assistance Listing 12.910 in FY2022–FY2026, from USAspending.gov.

Awards made
385
FY2022–FY2026
Total awarded
$790.9M
FY2022–FY2026
Typical award
$404.1K
Middle half $250K–$704.4K
States & territories
43
with at least one award

Typical award is the median of FY2026 awards; half of awards fell between the quartiles shown.

Awarded by fiscal year
YearTotal awardedAwards
FY2022
$132.9M
63
FY2023
$243.8M
86
FY2024
$288.8M
104
FY2025
$73M
60
FY2026
$52.4M
72

Where awards went

Top states by dollars, all years on record

  1. California$371M · 107 awards
  2. Massachusetts$223.6M · 53 awards
  3. New York$116M · 45 awards
  4. Pennsylvania$114.9M · 36 awards
  5. Michigan$99.9M · 18 awards

Who wins

Share of awards by recipient type

  • Unclassified by USAspending69% · 386 awards
  • Colleges & universities29% · 165 awards
  • Nonprofits1% · 7 awards
  • For-profit companies<1% · 2 awards
  • State & local governments<1% · 2 awards
  • Small businesses<1% · 1 award

Source: USAspending.gov award records for this assistance listing, which can fund more than one opportunity. This is history, not a guarantee: future award sizes, counts and eligible recipients may differ. Exact total for FY2022–FY2026: $790,877,902.

Contact

BAA Coordinator YFA2027@darpa.mil

YFA2027@darpa.mil