The program will provide funds for a limited number of grants to support graduate student stipends and cost-of-education institutional allowances. These grants will be awarded competitively to eligible institutions. In order to encourage the development of special activities that are expected to contribute to Fellows' advanced degree objectives, the program will also provide competitive, special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances for a limited number of USDA Graduate Fellows. To encourage academic institutions to provide additional training/mentoring to outstanding USDA Graduate Fellows who have completed their doctoral degrees, the program will also provide postdoctoral Fellowship grants to a limited number of USDA Graduate Fellows.

Based on the amount of funds appropriated in any fiscal year, HEP will determine:

Whether new competitions for graduate Fellowships, postdoctoral Fellowships, and/or special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances will be held during that fiscal year;

The degree level(s) to be supported—master's, doctoral and/or postdoctoral;

The proportion of appropriations to be targeted for Fellowship stipends for each respective degree level supported;

The proportion of appropriations to be targeted for the cost-of-education institutional allowances for each respective degree level supported;

The proportion of appropriations to be targeted for the special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances for each respective degree level supported;

The allowable stipend amount for each respective degree level supported, the cost-of-education institutional allowance for each respective degree level supported, and the maximum funds available for each special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance for each respective degree level supported;

The activities for which the cost-of-education allowance may be used for awards made in that year; and

The maximum total funds that may be awarded to an institution under the program in a given fiscal year.

HEP will also determine:

The maximum number of national needs areas for which funding may be requested in a single application;

The degree levels for which funding may be requested in a single application;

The minimum and maximum number of fellowships for which an institution may apply in a single application; and

The limits on the total number of applications that can be submitted by an institution, college, school, or other administrative unit.

These determinations will be published as a part of the solicitation, which will be available at http://www.grants.gov.