(a) The regulations of this part apply to competitive grants awarded under the provisions of section 1417(b)(6) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6). The Act designates the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the lead Federal agency for agricultural research, extension, and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences. Section 1417(b)(6) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, who has delegated the authority to theNational Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to make competitive grants to land-grant colleges and universities, colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and to other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, to administer and conduct graduate and postdoctoral fellowship programs to help meet the Nation's needs for development of scientific and professional expertise in the food and agricultural sciences. The Graduate Fellowships are intended to encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete graduate degrees in the areas of food and agricultural sciences designated by NIFA through the Office of Higher Education Programs (HEP) as national needs. The postdoctoral Fellowships are intended to provide additional mentoring and training to outstanding USDA Graduate Fellows who completed their doctoral degrees no more than five (5) years before they begin the postdoctoral Fellowships.

(b) The regulations of this part do not apply to grants awarded by the Department of Agriculture under any other authority.

As used in this part:

Citizen or national of the United States means—

(1) A citizen or native resident of a State; or,

(2) A person defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22), who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.

College and university means an educational institution in any State which—

(1) Admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate,

(2) Is legally authorized within such State to provide a program of education beyond secondary education,

(3) Provides an educational program for which a bachelor's degree or any other higher degree is awarded,

(4) Is a public or other nonprofit institution, and

(5) Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association.

Food and agricultural sciences means basic, applied, and developmental research, extension, and teaching activities in the food, agricultural, renewable natural resources, forestry, and physical and social sciences in the broadest sense of these terms including but not limited to research, extension and teaching activities concerned with the production, processing, marketing, distribution, conservation, consumption, research, and development of food and agriculturally related products and services, inclusive of programs in agriculture, natural resources, aquaculture, forestry, veterinary medicine, home economics, rural development, and closely allied fields.

Graduate degree means a master's or doctoral degree.

State means any one of the fifty States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the District of Columbia.

Teaching activities means formal classroom instruction, laboratory instruction, and practicum experience specific to the food and agricultural sciences and matters relating thereto conducted by colleges and universities offering baccalaureate or higher degrees.

Applications may be submitted by land-grant colleges and universities, by colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and by other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences. All applicants must be institutions that confer a graduate degree in at least one area of the food and agricultural sciences targeted for National Needs Fellowships, that have a significant on-going commitment to the food and agricultural sciences generally, and that have a significant ongoing commitment to the specific subject area for which a grant application is made. It is the objective to award grants to colleges and universities which have notable teaching and research competencies in the food and agricultural sciences. The Graduate Fellowships are specifically intended to support programs that encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete a graduate degree at such institutions in an area of the food and agricultural sciences for which there is a national need for the development of scientific and professional expertise. The postdoctoral Fellowships are designed to support academic programs that provide additional training and mentoring to USDA Graduate Fellows and have notable teaching and research competencies in the NIFA designated national need areas. Institutions which currently have excellent programs of graduate study and training in the food and agricultural sciences dealing with targeted national needs are particularly encouraged to apply for all National Needs Fellowships.