Assistance program
Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields
$7.6 Million committed in FY2018–FY2026
- Agency
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture, Department of
- Assistance
- Project Grants
- CFDA number
- 10.318
- What it does
- The Women and Minorities (WAMS) in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Fields program was authorized to increase participation by women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, with priority given to eligible institutions that carry out continuing programs funded by the Secretary. The goal of the WAMS program is to develop and implement robust partnerships to increase the representation, participation, and entrepreneurism of women in STEM careers, thereby contributing to national economic prosperity. The purpose of the grant program is to support projects that: Provide STEM knowledge, skills and competency to Women and Minorities from Rural Areas with successful placement (a) in the workforce in STEM fields, or (b) as innovators and entrepreneurs adding value to the STEM fields in areas that have relevancy to the USDA Secretary’s priorities.
- Who benefits
- State agricultural experiment stations; colleges and universities; university research foundations; other research institutions and organizations; Federal agencies; national laboratories; private organizations or corporations; individuals; or any group consisting of 2 or more of these entities.
- Who applies
- State agricultural experiment stations; colleges and universities; university research foundations; other research institutions and organizations; Federal agencies; national laboratories; private organizations or corporations; individuals; or any group consisting of 2 or more of these entities.
- Authorized by
- 7 U.S.C. § 5925(d)(7)
Committed by fiscal year
* FY2026 is year-to-date — the fiscal year is still in progress, so its total is still filling in. The striped band and dashed line mark that provisional stretch.
Top recipients
By dollars committed.
How to read these numbers
- Committed through this program
Money committed under this assistance listing (its CFDA program), counted in the year each action happened.
- How it's paid
Most programs pay out one way — a grant, or a direct payment to individuals; the flow bar only appears when a program genuinely mixes types.
- Some recipients aren't itemized
For entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, the government reports one aggregate instead of naming tens of millions of people, so the recipient roster isn't part of the public record.
- Awards, counted once
An award count is the number of distinct awards with at least one action that year — each counted once, however many times it was amended.
- The colored bars
Every bar on this page splits by how the money moves:
Direct payments