Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (DDIG)

NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR

NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website. These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Updates to NSF Research Security Policies

On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.

Synopsis

The National Science Foundation awards Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in selected areas of the biological sciences. Proposals must fall within the scope of any of the clusters in the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) or the Behavioral Systems Cluster in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS). These grants provide partial support of doctoral dissertation research for improvement beyond the already existing project. Allowed are costs for doctoral candidates to participate in scientific meetings, to conduct research in specialized facilities or field settings, and to expand an existing body of dissertation research.

DDIG Update:

June 6, 2017

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Program contacts

Students doing international research, having a formal affiliation with a foreign research institution, may contact the appropriate program in NSF’s Office of International and Integrative Activities.

Name	Email	Phone
DEB Program Officer	ddig-deb@nsf.gov	(703) 292-8480
IOS Program Officer	ddig-ios@nsf.gov	(703) 292-8423

Awards made through this program

Browse projects funded by this program

This program provides educational opportunities for Graduate students.

Program status: Archived

Program 13-568 was archived.

Program guidelines

Previous guidelines NSF 13-568

Published:

June 13, 2013

Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (DDIG)

Status: Archived

Archived funding opportunity

NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR

Important information for proposers

Updates to NSF Research Security Policies

Synopsis

Updates and announcements

DDIG Update:

Program contacts

Awards made through this program

Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (DDIG)

Status: Archived

Archived funding opportunity

NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR

Important information for proposers

Updates to NSF Research Security Policies

Synopsis

Updates and announcements

DDIG Update:

Program contacts

Awards made through this program

Organization(s)