Limited Submission Funding Opportunities
Special Announcement: Research Excellence Fund
The Texas A&M University System (A&M System) proposes the establishment of a Research Excellence Fund (REF) to significantly elevate research capacity, competitiveness, and impact across the A&M System. The REF will accelerate research growth at all member institutions with dedication to strategic programs that advance discovery, innovation, workforce development, and national competitiveness.
The fund will operate as a competitive, merit-based program, with priority placed on collaboration among A&M System members, alignment with state and national priorities, and high-return investments that create long-term research advantages. For more information, read below and check the A&M System website.
| Initiative | Overview | Award Amount | Number of Submissions |
| 1. Collaborative Discovery Grants | Supports transformative, multi-institutional research collaborations with strong potential to achieve major research breakthroughs and secure large-scale funding from external sponsors. Proposals must include at least two (2) TAMUS member institutions. | $250,000 | 3 lead proposals |
| 2. Research Equipment Grants | Provides funding to acquire cutting-edge research instrumentation or technology that will be shared across the TAMUS. Proposals must include at least two (2) TAMUS member institutions. | $25,000-$100,000 | 5 lead proposals |
| 3. Early-State Research Development Grants | Supports idea development, team formation, pilot work, and proposal preparation for major future research opportunities. Proposals must include at least two (2) TAMUS member institutions. | Up to $100,000 | 5 lead proposals |
| 4. Strategic Research Initiatives | Supports System-wide participation in high impact research themes that align with state and national priorities that significantly impact societal, economic, and scientific impact. Proposals must include at least two (2) TAMUS member institutions. | $5,000-$100,000 | 5 lead proposals |
| 5. Faculty Fellowship Program | Supports short-term research fellowships for faculty to engage in collaborative research at another TAMUS campus. The program aims to expand collaboration and knowledge exchange across the system that can lead to major external funding and high-impact outcomes | $25,000-$100,000 per fellowship | 3 proposals |
Deadlines
| Initiative | Deadline to College Dean | Deadline to ORI | Deadline to notify selected project | Full Proposal Deadline |
|
1. Collaborative Discovery Grant 5. Faculty Fellowship Program |
February 2, 2026 | February 9, 2026 | February 16, 2026 | March 25, 2026 |
|
2. Research Equipment Grants 3. Early-State Research Development Grants 4. Strategic Research Initiatives |
March 2, 2026 | March 9, 2026 | March 16, 2026 | May 25, 2026 |
Internal Limited Submission Process:
Each strategic funding opportunity is limited in the number of proposals that may be submitted by Texas A&M University-Kingsville as the lead institution. Therefore, an internal review process is required.
Faculty interested in applying to any of the following opportunities must submit an internal application for review to your respective college dean. Final selected proposals will be submitted to the Office of Research and Innovation for final selection and approval. The internal application must be no more than three (3) pages in length and include the following sections:
- Cover Page
- Project title
- Lead and partner institutions
- Lead PI and other PIs and Co-PIs
- Lead PI contact information
- Total amount requested
- Project Summary
- Project Description
- Background and rationale
- Project goals
- Potential for external funding
- Expected impacts
- Cross-institutional collaboration plan
Please submit the internal application as a single PDF according to the specified internal deadline to your college dean with the subject line "REF [initiative title]".
Limited Submission Process
Limited submission programs restrict the number of applications or proposals an institution may submit to the sponsor. TAMUK ORI will facilitate the release of as many limited submission opportunities as possible prior to the sponsor deadline on a monthly basis. Colleges will facilitate their own internal competition and forward one to three recommendations to ORI within the prescribed timeline.
Faculty or staff who wish to apply for external funding are responsible for reviewing the program guidelines to determine institutional limitations. When a limited submission solicitation is identified that has not been announced or listed on our website, potential applicants should contact osr@tamuk.edu as soon as possible so that the guidelines may be reviewed and a reasonable timeline maybe established for an internal competition. Verbal communications with ORI will NOT be accepted, interested applicants must submit an official email notification.
Final proposal selections will be made by the Vice President of Research based on scientific merit, capacity to develop a sustainable research program, alignment with the TAMUK strategic plan, and broader impact to the university community. Additional considerations may include the research team’s funding history, reviews from previous submissions to the same grant program, extent of cross-college collaboration, degree to which collaborations have been fostered with outside agencies and/or industry and existence of current relationships with the funding sponsor. For solicitations that require match or cost share, please note that selection to move forward with a limited submission does not include approval for any cost share or match requirements. In other words, limited submission approval does not preclude the applicant from following established institutional procedures in securing match or cost share approvals from the appropriate department, center, institute, college, division.
If ORI has not received a notice of intent from any party within a month of a deadline, all proposals received will be considered on a "first-come, first-served" basis provided that the project sufficiently addresses all requirements within the opportunity. If any proposals come in following the selection of the maximum number of submissions, those proposals will not be considered in the current call, yet proposers may resubmit for consideration in future calls.