PAR-27-077: NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

PAR-27-077: NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

If you run a school, museum, nonprofit, health institution, or local education network and need a national-level, federally funded way to scale hands-on biomedical research education, the NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) under PAR-27-077 is one of the few opportunities designed specifically for pre-college STEM expansion. It is an R25 research education mechanism with a strict scope: no clinical trials, but broad educational scope across classroom teaching, mentoring, outreach, research experiences, curriculum innovation, and skills development.

This opportunity is currently a reissue of PAR-23-137, and unlike many single-deadline calls, it runs in multi-year cycles. The NOFO posted on May 5, 2026 includes recurring submission windows from September 2026 onward (for example, September 25, January 25, May 25, September 25 through 2029). That makes it relevant for teams preparing a first application in the 2026/2027 cycle.

Key details snapshot

The September 25, 2026 deadline has passed. The NOFO itself lists January 25, 2027 as its next due date, so applicants preparing now should use that window and confirm that no NIH policy notice has changed the instructions before submitting.

What this program is trying to fund

SEPA is built around the practical gap between school-level scientific curiosity and sustained participation in biomedical research pathways. The announcement states that the overarching goal is to support education activities that:

• increase understanding of biomedical research among pre-college students,
• improve STEM career awareness,
• and build momentum toward careers in biomedical fields.

This is not a scholarship program in the traditional sense (there is no automatic student stipend like a training fellowship). Instead, it is an institutional grant model where your organization designs a program, recruits participants, implements the educational intervention, and measures outcomes. Because applicants can be universities, nonprofits, government entities, and school systems, you can build models that blend informal learning, curriculum redesign, mentoring pipelines, teacher development, and outreach.

The SEPA framework is intentionally broad in delivery mode, with five activity families explicitly called out:

• Courses for skills development
• Research experiences
• Mentoring activities
• Curriculum or methods development
• Outreach

An application can include one or several of these. A strong proposal usually combines at least two in a coherent logic chain (for example, mentoring + research experiences + outreach), because reviewers repeatedly score whether the plan fits the proposed participants and can be executed by existing institutional infrastructure.

Because this NOFO is a research education grant, your program should be educational and community-facing, not basic biomedical experimentation. You are expected to show how participation changes understanding, aspiration, and behavior over time.

Who this could be a good fit for

SEPA is designed for institutions that can build and assess a sustained education program for pre-college students or teachers. It is a plausible fit for a school district partnering with biomedical researchers, a university working with local schools, a museum or science center creating informal learning experiences, or a community organization with a strong education partnership and the infrastructure to deliver the proposed program.

The strongest fit is a team that can describe a real gap in students’ or teachers’ access to biomedical research, define measurable learning and pathway outcomes, and explain how its activities address that gap. Existing partnerships help when they establish a credible way to recruit participants, provide mentors or educators, deliver safe hands-on experiences, and continue the work over the project period. Proposals may focus on one or several supported activity types: skills courses, research experiences, mentoring, curriculum or methods development, and outreach.

This is an institutional research education award, not an individual scholarship or a grant for an ordinary biomedical research study. SEPA does not allow clinical trials. A project can involve human subjects without being a clinical trial, but applicants must determine the correct NIH human-subjects classification, consult their institutional review board when appropriate, and complete the required application forms. The educational experiences also need to be distinct from training or education programs already receiving federal support.

Quantitative and computational skills development and applications from resource-limited institutions are particularly encouraged. A proposal should connect its science focus to the mission of the NIH Institute or Center expected to support it and should explain why its approach can work in the organization’s actual setting.

Eligibility and qualification summary

The NOFO permits applications from a broad range of U.S. organizations. Listed eligible applicants include public and private higher education institutions; nonprofits, with or without 501(c)(3) status; small businesses and other for-profit organizations; state, county, city, special-district, and tribal governments; federal entities and U.S. territories or possessions; independent school districts; public, private, and charter schools; faith-based and community-based organizations; regional organizations; public housing authorities; and focused research organizations. The sponsoring institution must commit adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources to deliver the proposed program.

Foreign organizations and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. Foreign components are not allowed, and an application with a foreign subaward or subcontract is noncompliant. The NOFO does not rule out every international interaction: it distinguishes prohibited foreign components and paid foreign subawards from unfunded international collaboration, foreign consultants, or purchases from foreign vendors. Applicants should follow the NOFO’s definitions and restrictions rather than assuming that a general partnership is automatically permissible.

Participants are pre-college students and teachers. Unless an applicant gives a strong justification based on exceptional relevance to NIH, the program should primarily educate U.S. citizens and permanent residents. An institution with a current SEPA award may submit another application only if the new project is scientifically distinct, in a different biomedical research area, and led by PD/PIs distinct from those on its other active SEPAs. Organizations with a SEPA service or consortium relationship also face distinct-project and different-PD/PI conditions. An individual may be PD/PI on no more than one active SEPA; an active PD/PI may submit a distinct new project if the overlap with the current award is no more than six months. Renewals are not accepted, and NIGMS says A1 resubmissions are not allowed. A prior applicant who applies again should submit a new application and incorporate improvements into the new proposal rather than attach a response to earlier reviewer critiques.

PD/PIs should show relevant research or teaching engagement and the ability to organize, administer, monitor, and evaluate the program. Each PD/PI must commit at least 2.0 person-months per year; a higher effort, up to 4.8 person-months, may be requested with justification. For a multiple-PD/PI application, each person must meet the minimum, and the combined effort may be up to 4.8 person-months per year. Institutions may submit more than one application if the proposed programs are scientifically distinct, but NIH will not accept duplicate or substantially overlapping applications under review at the same time.

What you can and cannot request

The award is capped at $250,000 in direct costs per year, excluding consortium Facilities and Administrative costs. The maximum project period is five years, with the requested length matched to the scope and delivery plan. NIH does not guarantee a fixed number of awards: the number depends on appropriations and the number of meritorious applications.

A budget may include salary and fringe benefits for people who design, direct, or implement the program, at levels consistent with institutional policy and the current statutory salary cap. If mentoring or participant interaction is part of an employee’s regular academic duties, those activities cannot be charged to the award. Participant compensation can be requested for activities required by the program when the costs are justified and itemized. Consultants, equipment, supplies, travel for key personnel, and other program expenses must be necessary for the proposed work and should not duplicate resources already available at the institution. The NOFO permits travel for key personnel to attend the annual SEPA Conference.

Indirect costs are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs rather than at the institution’s negotiated rate. The calculation excludes tuition and fees, equipment expenditures, and consortium costs above $25,000. Cost sharing is not required. Any pre-award spending is subject to NIH Grants Policy Statement rules and is undertaken at the applicant’s risk until an official Notice of Award is issued.

The budget narrative should make it possible to trace each major cost to a participant-facing activity, a deliverable, or the evaluation and dissemination plan. Explain staff time, participant support, materials, travel, and partner roles with enough detail to show that the requested scale can be delivered within the chosen project period.

Review logic: how NIH will evaluate your application

The review criteria are aligned with NIH scientific review logic but adapted to education grants:

• Significance: Does your program address a documented need at your participant level?
• Investigator(s): Can your leadership and faculty execute a sustained education program?
• Innovation: Are the methods novel enough to improve engagement or access, or are they merely well-meaning but routine replication?
• Approach: Is the education model coherent, evidence-based, and operationally feasible?
• Environment: Do facilities, institutional support, and partnerships support long-term delivery?

SEPA review also gives strong weight to dissemination and evaluation plans. If participants cannot see where they fit into a STEM pathway, or if the program design lacks outcome metrics, applications get weaker scores quickly.

For programs involving human participants (most pre-college education projects will involve them in some way), reviewers assess inclusion and participant safety planning as expected by NIH norms. If you are not doing clinical research, still document your ethics and participant protections appropriately.

Application mechanics

Applicants must use the NIH Research (R) application instructions and the program-specific directions in PAR-27-077. The application package is accessed through one of three routes: NIH ASSIST; an institutional system-to-system submission to Grants.gov with tracking in eRA Commons; or Grants.gov Workspace with eRA Commons tracking. The organization submits through Grants.gov and completes the process by checking the application in eRA Commons. Submit early enough to identify errors, because a changed or corrected application must reach Grants.gov by the due date and time.

The organization must complete and maintain active registrations in the System for Award Management (SAM), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov before submitting. NIH warns that registration can take six weeks or more; starting early is essential, and incomplete registration is not an accepted reason for late submission. Confirm that the PD/PI and institutional officials have the necessary eRA Commons roles and that the institution knows which submission route it will use.

The central narrative is the Research Education Program Plan, uploaded in the Research Strategy section of the PHS 398 Research Plan. The plan must cover the proposed program and its rationale, objectives and scientific focus; PD/PI leadership; program faculty; intended participants; the institutional environment and commitment; instruction in responsible conduct of research (RCR); evaluation; and dissemination. Include an institutional commitment letter in Letters of Support, addressing staff, facilities, and educational resources. Partner letters can document the roles and commitments that make recruitment and delivery credible.

Build the evaluation into program design. State what participants should know or be able to do, when outcomes will be measured, and how findings will shape delivery. The RCR plan should be appropriate to the participants but must follow the required NIH elements; NIGMS says online-only instruction is not acceptable. If the project develops resources for public use, include a dissemination plan and a plan for a free public website. The website must launch within six months of the award date and display NIH, NIGMS, and SEPA credit on its home page. Consult the full NOFO for page limits, detailed component instructions, human-subjects forms, and current NIH policy notices.

Pre-submission workflow recommendation

1. Confirm mission fit with the NIH Institute or Center and contact NIGMS SEPA staff about eligibility or program requirements.
2. Choose the January 25, 2027 submission window only if the organization can complete its registrations and prepare a compliant, evidence-based program plan in time; otherwise use a later date listed in the NOFO.
3. Work with school or informal-learning partners to define the audience, recruitment, delivery responsibilities, and participant protections.
4. Draft measurable objectives, the evaluation plan, RCR instruction, dissemination, and the institutional commitment letter alongside the narrative rather than as last-minute appendices.
5. Match the budget and personnel effort to the proposed work, check the direct-cost limit and fixed F&A calculation, and document participant support.
6. Follow the SF424(R&R) and PHS 398 instructions, submit early, and resolve all Grants.gov and eRA Commons errors before 5:00 p.m. local time of the applicant organization on the due date.

Applications due on a weekend or federal holiday are automatically extended to the next business day under the NOFO. The January 25, 2027 due date is listed in the current announcement; check the official notice and related NIH policy notices again as the submission date approaches.

Timeline strategy for the current cycle

PAR-27-077 opened for submissions on August 25, 2026. Its first application due date, September 25, 2026, has passed. The next listed due date is January 25, 2027, followed by May 25, 2027 and September 25, 2027. The notice also lists January 25, 2028, May 25, 2028, September 25, 2028, January 25, 2029, and May 25, 2029. All are due by 5:00 p.m. in the applicant organization’s local time. The NOFO expires May 26, 2029.

For a January application, work backward from the deadline: finish the SAM, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov registrations first; settle partner commitments and participant access early; and reserve time for internal review and electronic correction. NIH says registration may take six weeks or more, and late corrections are not accepted after the deadline. The notice encourages applicants to submit early. If a project needs pilot work or more partner planning, the later listed windows offer additional opportunities under this same NOFO, provided it has not been changed or withdrawn. Review and award timing is listed separately for each deadline in the official announcement.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Submitting without registrations confirmed: missing SAM/eRA Commons/Grants.gov is a hard preventable failure mode.
2. Confusing program eligibility: forgetting that foreign entities/subawards are not allowed.
3. Budget overreach: requesting broad line items without direct program linkage.
4. Weak evaluation design: reviewers repeatedly ask for measurable outcomes, not only activity plans.
5. Overlapping applications: submitting overlapping SEPA plans in parallel is rejected per NIH policy.
6. Ignoring responsible conduct and ethics components: even non-trial biomedical education projects can fail compliance checks if they do not cover required training and oversight language.
7. Assuming all applicants can be students: this is an institutional program grant; it is not an individual fellowship.

A simple litmus test: each paragraph of your narrative should answer “who will do this, who benefits, how do we measure change, and why this setting is better than current alternatives?”. If not, revise.

Practical preparation checklist

Before writing the final package, capture the following:

• Program narrative (3 pages): problem statement, target participants, design, sequence, milestones.
• Participant outcomes: baseline metrics and what “improvement” means by grade level.
• Evaluation plan: how progress will be measured continuously and what evidence will be collected.
• Dissemination plan: how outputs, lessons, and materials reach external educators.
• Institutional commitment letter: staffing, facilities, and data/reporting support.
• Budget justification aligned to activity: salaries, materials, participant supports, evaluation costs.
• Compliance packet: registrations, PD/PI credentials, signatures, and contact points.

If your application is team-led, make sure the leadership chart is not just advisory. NIH review tends to prefer practical governance with explicit ownership for delivery.

FAQ

Is this a fellowship for an individual researcher?

No. It is an institutional grant for education programming. It can support research education ecosystems serving pre-college participants.

Can schools apply directly?

Yes, public/private/charter school structures are explicitly listed among eligible organizations.

Can a project include virtual mentoring?

Virtual components are often accepted if integrated into a coherent approach, but The RCR plan must be appropriate to the program and include interactive instruction; NIGMS says online-only instruction is not acceptable.

Is this suitable for grade 11–12 only?

Yes, if your program is designed for that grade band, but the NOFO is explicitly pre-college across PK–12.

What if my organization already has NRSA training grants?

Possible, if your SEPA activities are distinct from existing federally funded training programs and not duplicative.

Do foreign partners disqualify us?

They can’t be eligible recipients under this NOFO, and foreign subawards/subcontracts are prohibited for NIH-funded activities in this program.

What if our institution is for-profit?

For-profit organizations are eligible, but your proposal must still fit NIH education goals, participant outcomes, and public benefit expectations.

Official support channels and next steps

The official NOFO package includes all legal, technical, and submission references. Use this as your source of truth:

• Full announcement: NIH SEPA PAR-27-077 on NIH Grants.gov/simpler channel.
• Questions on ASSIST/eRA Commons errors: eRA Service Desk.
• Grants.gov registration and workspace questions: Grants.gov Support Center.

Contact points for scientific and fiscal offices are listed in the NOFO. Use those only for direct opportunity-specific clarifications.

The September 25, 2026 application date has passed, but PAR-27-077 remains open for later listed rounds. The next listed deadline is January 25, 2027. Check the official NOFO and related NIH notices before submitting, and use the complete instructions to confirm eligibility, registrations, and required application components.