NIH R15 AREA and REAP Award History 2026

This guide is for: Faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions and health professional schools, research development officers, and department chairs who want the real NIH R15 award history, how many AREA and REAP awards NIH makes, what they're worth, and which institutes and schools win them before the October 25, 2026 due date.

Last updated: October 12, 2026

Full answer: NIH made 165 new R15 awards in FY2026, according to a Grantsights pull of NIH RePORTER on October 12, 2026: 136 AREA and 27 REAP, plus 2 under an NCCIH notice. The median new award was $552,763 in total costs, up from $431,659 in FY2024, because the direct-cost cap rose from $300,000 to $375,000. New awards peaked at 227 in FY2020 in this window. The current notices are PAR-25-134 (AREA) and PAR-25-298 (REAP).

Next route: Read the NIH R15 AREA grant guide, compare the NIH R21 award history and NIH R01 award history, and search other biomedical funding with the free grants search.

NIH R15 AREA and REAP Awards: Award History, Amounts, and Top Schools

Data note: Grantsights pulled the NIH RePORTER API on October 12, 2026 for activity code R15, fiscal years 2019 through 2026, about one request per second. That returned 2,350 records, including supplements and renewals. Counts on this page use new awards only: project numbers starting with "1", which covers first-time and resubmitted new applications. Amounts use RePORTER's award_amount, the total cost (direct plus facilities and administrative costs) NIH awarded in that fiscal year. Grantsights checked each opportunity number against its NIH notice title to separate AREA from REAP. FY2026 records run through award notices dated September 23, 2026, and RePORTER may still add some. The unedited RePORTER response is stored as JSON.

According to PAR-25-134, the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for undergraduate-focused institutions allows up to $375,000 in direct costs for a project period of up to 3 years, requires a signed provost letter, and expects a research team made up mainly of the institution's undergraduates. According to PAR-25-298, the Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for health professional schools and graduate schools uses the same $375,000 cap and the same 3-year limit.

Grantsights analysis of 1,338 new R15 awards from FY2020 through FY2026 shows a program that held near 200 new awards a year through FY2024, dipped to 151 in FY2025, and recovered to 165 in FY2026. The bigger change is money per award: the median new award rose 28% between FY2024 and FY2026 as the higher cap took effect.

That combination matters for planning. The R15 now pays more per project, but FY2026 had about 39 fewer new awards than the FY2020 to FY2024 average of 204.

New R15 Awards By Fiscal Year, FY2020 To FY2026

NIH RePORTER shows 165 new R15 awards in FY2026, 27% fewer than the 227 in FY2020, according to the October 12, 2026 Grantsights pull.

FY2020 also had 5 new awards under an older parent notice, and FY2025 and FY2026 had 1 and 2 under NCCIH notices, so AREA and REAP don't always add up to the total.

The direct-cost column tells the story of the cap. Earlier AREA notices, such as PAR-21-155, allowed up to $300,000 in direct costs for the full project period, and the FY2021 to FY2024 medians sit exactly there. PAR-24-152, posted May 8, 2024, raised the cap to $375,000. FY2025 mixes awards under both caps, and by FY2026, 61 of 165 new awards show exactly $375,000 in direct costs and the median sits at the cap.

Specifically, the FY2026 middle half ran from $518,728 to $566,708 in total costs, and the full range was $267,525 to $624,409. The spread above $375,000 is mostly facilities and administrative costs, which vary by each school's negotiated rate.

Renewals are a separate stream. RePORTER lists 47 competing renewals (project numbers starting with "2") in each of FY2025 and FY2026, so the total count of competing R15 awards in FY2026 was 212.

AREA Versus REAP: 2 Programs Under One Activity Code

AREA accounted for 136 of 165 new FY2026 R15 awards, 82%, and REAP for 27, 16%, according to NIH RePORTER data pulled October 12, 2026.

According to NIH, both programs share the same due dates, February 25, June 25, and October 25 each year through October 25, 2027, and both notices expire January 8, 2028. PAR-25-134 was posted November 26, 2024 and PAR-25-298 on December 6, 2024.

The REAP awards cluster in medical, osteopathic, allied health, and pharmacy schools. In FY2026, schools of medicine held 7 of the 27 REAP awards, and schools of allied health and osteopathic medicine held 4 each. Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona, Baylor University, and East Tennessee State University each received 3 REAP awards that year.

A common mistake is applying to the wrong notice. The deciding factor is the PI's primary appointment: a PI in a school of medicine at an otherwise eligible university belongs in REAP, while a PI in the biology department of the same university may belong in AREA. Both notices require a provost-signed letter, and PAR-25-134 says an application without it will be withdrawn.

Which NIH Institutes Fund R15 Awards

NIGMS funded 30 new R15 awards in FY2026, down from 79 in FY2020, while NIAID rose to 28, according to NIH RePORTER data pulled October 12, 2026.

NIGMS's share of new R15 awards fell from 35% in FY2020 to 18% in FY2026. NCI dropped from 20 awards in FY2025 to 7 in FY2026. NIAID more than doubled, from 12 to 28.

The practical read, and an unusually large swing for one year: the institute that seems like the obvious home for a basic science R15 isn't always where the money is. A proposal that fits both NIGMS and a disease-focused institute should state the institute preference in the PHS Assignment Request Form and talk to program staff at both. The NIH R15 AREA grant guide covers how to approach that conversation.

Top States And Schools, FY2022 To FY2026

Ohio led new R15 awards from FY2022 through FY2026 with 74, just ahead of Texas with 71, according to the Grantsights pull of 911 new awards from NIH RePORTER.

R15 winners look different from R01 winners. The leaders are mid-sized research universities and teaching-focused schools, not the large medical centers that dominate the NIH R01 award history. That's by design: the $6 million institutional limit keeps the largest NIH recipients out.

The breadth is narrowing, though. New FY2026 awards went to 100 organizations in 32 states, compared with 134 organizations in 43 states in FY2020. Fewer awards means fewer schools on the list each year.

In FY2026, Rowan University and Brigham Young University each received 5 new R15 awards, the most of any school, followed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the University of Toledo, Baylor University, and Texas Tech University with 4 each.

What NIH RePORTER Doesn't Tell You About R15

NIH RePORTER lists 165 new FY2026 R15 awards, but at least 4 things applicants need are missing from those records.

The success rate is the clearest gap. RePORTER lists awards, not applications, so these counts can't be turned into an R15 payline or success rate. NIH also stopped using paylines from the January 2026 council round, so older payline posts won't apply.

The institutional limit is the second gap. RePORTER does show each school's NIH funding, but the R15 test excludes certain activity codes and, for AREA, health professional components. An eligibility check should come from the research office, not a quick RePORTER total. Schools that underestimate how close they are to $6 million risk an application that's ineligible on arrival.

The third gap is the undergraduate role. AREA expects a team made up primarily of the applicant institution's undergraduates, and NIH won't pay undergraduate stipends from an R15. Award abstracts rarely say how many students worked on a funded project.

Apply, Wait, Or Pick Another Route: 5 Checks

The next standard R15 due date is October 25, 2026, 13 days after this pull, so the first question is whether to file now or aim for February 25, 2027.

The red flag is check 3. The current notices bar a PI who leads an active NIH research grant at the time of award, so a PI with a pending R21 should plan which award to accept if both come through.

For projects at ineligible schools, the NIH R21 grant guide and the NIH R03 small grant guide cover two smaller NIH routes. For pain research at eligible schools, the HEAL PREP R15 guide covers a related R15 notice.

3 Takeaways From 2,350 R15 Records

According to NIH RePORTER data pulled October 12, 2026, there were 2,350 R15 records from FY2019 through FY2026, and new awards fell from 227 in FY2020 to 165 in FY2026.

First, each R15 is worth more than it used to be. The $375,000 direct-cost cap pushed the median new award to $552,763 in FY2026.

Second, AREA is still the bigger program, at about 82% of new awards, but REAP has held between 20 and 38 new awards a year since FY2020.

Third, institute mix shifts year to year. NIGMS still leads, but NIAID, NHLBI, and NINDS each funded 17 or more new R15 awards in FY2026, so the right institute is a fit question, not a habit.

Sources

• PAR-25-134, AREA (clinical trial not allowed) - grants.nih.gov
• PAR-25-148, AREA (clinical trial required) - grants.nih.gov
• PAR-25-298, REAP (clinical trial not allowed) - grants.nih.gov
• NIH R15 activity code page - grants.nih.gov
• NOT-OD-25-132, applications per PI - grants.nih.gov
• NIH RePORTER, pulled October 12, 2026 - reporter.nih.gov

Related Guides

• NIH R15 AREA grant guide
• HEAL PREP R15 guide
• NIH R21 award history
• NIH R01 award history
• NIH R21 grant guide
• NIH R03 small grant guide