National Institutes of Health · General
NIH Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Specialized Centers (U54)
Funds infrastructure and capacity building for biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research at minority-serving institutions that grant doctoral degrees in health-related sciences. Supports research cores, investigator development, and community engagement.
Program facts
- Typical award
- $2M – $6.5M
- Non-federal match
- Varies by NOFO
- Audience
- Local governments and eligible subrecipients
- Application window
- Periodic reissuance (typically every 4-5 years).
- Typical prep time
- 16–28 weeks
- Statutory authority
- Public Health Service Act §464z-4 (42 U.S.C. §285t-2)
Catalog entry last verified 2026-05-27 · Verify on the agency page →
Eligibility at a glance
- Institutions of higher education are eligible applicants.
- Restricted to Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU, HSI, AANAPISI, TCU, ANNH, NASNTI, PBI, or MSI-general).
Must be a degree-granting institution awarding doctoral degrees in health professions or health-related sciences AND meet one of the MSI designations under Title III/V. Amounts and timing approximate; verify directly with administering agency.
How Strategic Pursuit scores this program
When you run a city dossier, Strategic Pursuit cross-checks the city's demographics, federal award history, disaster history, and CEJST burden categories against this program's eligibility and strategic-fit signals. You see an explicit eligibility / strategic / competitive grade — backed by source citations — instead of a generic "match" badge.
Planning purposes only. Award ranges, match percentages, and application windows on this page summarize the latest publicly available agency guidance and are approximate. Always verify the binding NOFO on the administering agency's page before applying.