SARE may be a small program compared to other USDA agricultural funding efforts, but it consistently has an impact out of proportion to its budget. One aspect of the program contributing to this success is the high level of continued engagement researchers have with the SARE program; researchers and extension specialists routinely revisit SARE as a source of grant funding for sustainable agriculture projects.
This relationship is best illustrated through the Graduate Student Grant program. The grant was started in 2000 to give Master’s and PhD students the opportunity to conduct sustainable agriculture research projects. It has been a vehicle to apply for other SARE grants as students further their research careers.
The main objective of the Graduate Student Grants is to prepare the next generation of scientists in researching sustainable solutions to the challenges farmers and ranchers face each day, and to prepare young professionals to work together with other scientists, educators, and farmers to test sustainable ag theories in real-world, on-farm situations.
The Southern region includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Deadline: May 16, 2025 at 12 p.m. (NOON) EST
Master’s and PhD students enrolled full-time at accredited institutions in the Southern region at the time of proposal submission are eligible to apply for Graduate Student Grants. A graduate student may receive only one Graduate Student Grant during a Master’s program, and only one Graduate Student Grant during a PhD program. The grant can only be used by the student who submitted the proposal. If the student leaves the institution or graduates from the degree program prior to completing the grant project, another graduate student must be selected to the grant project with SSARE approval.
Graduate Student Grant project maximums are $22,000 for two-year projects. SSARE recommends two-year projects; it is difficult to extrapolate usable, replicable, practicable data from one-year research.