Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) (93.264)

Also known as NFLP

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$104 million
• Grant awards134
• Typical award$354,705
• Awarded in FY 2025-$89,218
• Size rank802 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceFormula grants

Key findings

• It is the 802nd largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 56% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 41 states and territories.

What the program funds

The Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) seeks to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty nationwide by providing low interest loans for individuals studying to be nurse faculty and loan cancelation for those who then go on to work as faculty. A robust, geographically dispersed nurse faculty workforce is essential to producing the nursing workforce needed to meet US health care needs. Successful applicants establish and operate a student loan program including maintaining a fund, providing loans to students enrolled in advanced education nursing degree programs, and monitoring compliance with program requirements. In exchange for completion of up to four years of post-graduation full-time nurse faculty employment in an accredited school of nursing, graduates receive cancellation of up to 85 percent of the original student loan amount (plus interest thereon) as authorized by the program. NFLP also encourages Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to serve as full-time preceptors within an academic-practice partnership framework in an effort to expand clinical training opportunities for nursing students.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Eligible applicants are domestic accredited schools of nursing with advanced education nursing programs. Any school(s) of nursing affiliated with this application must be accredited at the time of application – and for the duration of the award – by a recognized body or bodies, or a state agency, approved by the Secretary of Education for nurse education accreditation. Tribes and tribal organizations may be eligible if they own and operate accredited schools of nursing with advanced nursing programs. "Domestic” means the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Individuals are not eligible applicants under this NOFO.

What the money can and cannot pay for

NFLP grantees must establish a distinct NFLP interest-bearing loan fund for the purpose of making NFLP loans to eligible students enrolled in advanced degree nursing programs who are committed to become qualified nurse faculty and for the costs associated with collection of these loans. Institutions may award a maximum loan amount of $40,000 per student for an academic year to support the cost of tuition, fees, books, and other reasonable education expenses (including student nurse educator development activities). NFLP funds may only be used for loan support, with the exception of covering the costs of collection of loaned principal and accrued interest and/or penalty, and the cost of student nurse educator development activities as reasonable expenses. Upon completion of the program and following graduation, an amount up to 85 percent of the loan (principal of and interest on) may be cancelled by the institution as follows: 20 percent upon completion of the first, second, and third years of full-time faculty employment in an accredited school of nursing; and 25 percent upon completion of the fourth year of full-time employment as faculty in an accredited school of nursing.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Cost sharing is required for this program. Recipient institutions are required to deposit an institutional capital contribution (ICC) that is equal to not less than one-ninth of the FY 2026 Federal award amount, hereafter referred to as the Federal Capital Contribution (FCC). The ICC must be deposited at the time the FCC is received into the NFLP loan fund account. The funds appropriated for the NFLP are distributed among participating institutions as formula-based awards. Program data reported on the NFLP Program Specific Data Form and other program sources such as the annual performance reports are used to determine funding and administer the program.This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details. This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines

Award range and average, in the agency's words

FY 23: Range is $27,485 to $3,405,375; average is $301,136 FY 24:Range is $16,666 to $2,215,016; average is $274,264 FY25: Range est $27,485 to $2,000,000; average is $301,136

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

By state

25 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.