NSF CAREER Winners and Award History 2026
Quick Answer: NSF made 793 CAREER awards with 2025 award dates, down 29% from a peak of 1,118 in 2021, according to a Grantsights pull of NSF Awards API records on October 18, 2026, filtered to titles beginning with CAREER:.
Full answer and how we checked it
2026 is running slightly ahead of 2025, with 788 awards through October 18, but Engineering is well below its 2024 level and SBE awards are down sharply. The 2025 median obligated amount was $498,014. Use this as award-history context, then confirm the current CAREER solicitation and directorate guidance.
This guide is for: Assistant professors, research administrators, department chairs, and proposal teams searching for NSF CAREER award winners, recent award amounts, state patterns, directorate mix, and fit signals before choosing CAREER or a standard NSF research route.
Data note: Counts, amounts, states, directorates, organizations and sample rows on this page come from one Grantsights pull of the NSF Awards API on October 18, 2026 for keyword
CAREER, award dates from January 1, 2019 through October 18, 2026, filtered locally to award titles beginning withCAREER:(7,421 records). The API returns results in an unstable order, so paging through big result sets can drop or repeat records. The pull instead used date windows small enough that one request returned every match, paged only the 90 single days with more than 25 matches until every record came back, and checked each window's record count against the API's total. A second full run returned the same 7,421 records. The title filter leaves out 78 awards that carry NSF's CAREER program reference code (1045) but use another title form, such as "Career:" or "RI: CAREER:", and keeps 7 CAREER-titled awards that lack the code. They're public award records, not proposal submissions, success rates, or NSF's official estimated annual award count. An earlier version of this page used an October 8 pull that paged through large result sets, plus a June 18 pull for the sample rows and organization ranking; the figures below replace both.
Research resource
Take the award data into your research
Download the accompanying CSV to inspect the records. These are historical awards, not open funding opportunities or a prediction of eligibility.
- 1. Inspect the dataUse the CSV alongside the guide's source notes. Check the date range and counting method before comparing totals.
- 2. Check the original recordFollow the official award source before relying on an amount, institution or project description.
- 3. Cite the right evidenceCite the original award for individual facts. Cite this guide for its analysis, with your access date.
In this guide (10 sections)
- 8 December 2025 CAREER Winner Records From NSF Award Search
- 1,756 CAREER-Title Records Across 2024 And 2025
- CAREER Awards By Year, 2019 To 2026
- 5 Top States, Directorates, And Organizations In The 2025 Pull
- 3 CAREER Winner Lessons From The Pull
- 5-Route Checklist: CAREER Versus Other NSF Routes
- 5 Things NSF Award Search Does Not Tell You
- 6 Apply, Wait, Or Skip Checks
- Sources
- Related Guides
Quick Facts
Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)
- Agency
- NSF
- Deadline
- Jul 28, 2027
- Status
- Open
| 2025 NSF CAREER signal | Grantsights NSF Awards API pull, October 18, 2026 | Applicant meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Title-prefixed CAREER records | 793 | Public records provide a large sample, but not a success-rate count |
| Total obligated amount | $389.3M | Award history is deep enough for pattern review |
| Median obligated amount | $498,014 | Many records cluster near the core CAREER floor |
| Average obligated amount | $490,925 | Average remains close to the standard CAREER scale |
| Top directorate by count | ENG, 232 (CISE close behind at 214) | Directorate fit changes the comparison set |
According to the NSF CAREER program page (opens in a new tab), CAREER supports early-career faculty who can serve as academic role models in research and education. NSF's July 22, 2026 full-proposal deadline has passed. As of October 18, 2026, the page still lists solicitation NSF 22-586, an estimated 500 awards per year, subject to funds, and a next full-proposal deadline of July 28, 2027 (the fourth Wednesday in July). According to NSF Award Search (opens in a new tab), users can search and sort public award records by fields such as award number, title, start date, location, and PI name.
According to NSF, the next CAREER full-proposal deadline is July 28, 2027, and NSF estimates 500 awards per year. According to the NSF Awards API, the Grantsights October 18, 2026 pull found 793 title-prefixed CAREER records with 2025 award dates and 963 with 2024 award dates.
Grantsights analysis of the October 18 pull found the public pattern CAREER searchers need before drafting: the award-history list is broad, but the right benchmark is directorate and division. A computing CAREER record should not be judged against a biology or geoscience sample just because all titles begin with CAREER.
Where official sources stop: NSF pages explain eligibility, timing, solicitation rules, and award search. They do not decide whether a PI's research and education plan is mature enough for CAREER this year. Grantsights adds the decision layer: award amount, state pattern, directorate mix, route alternatives, and skip signals.
Based on our review of NSF route screens, the common mistake is treating CAREER as a bigger early-faculty grant. CAREER is a specific research-and-education commitment. A proposal with strong research and a thin education plan may be better delayed or sent through another NSF route.
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Order a grant review8 December 2025 CAREER Winner Records From NSF Award Search
This table shows selected 2025 CAREER-title records from the Grantsights October 18, 2026 NSF Awards API pull, with obligated amounts as of that date. It is a public sample, not the full export.
| Award date | NSF award | Recipient organization | State | PI | Directorate | Obligated amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2025 | 2540003 | University of Washington | WA | Mutian Hua | MPS | $348,961 |
| 12/22/2025 | 2540313 | Purdue University | IN | Jukka Vayrynen | MPS | $360,000 |
| 12/31/2025 | 2542086 | Carnegie Mellon University | PA | Vladyslav Kozii | MPS | $390,000 |
| 12/22/2025 | 2543710 | Florida State University | FL | Cyprian K Lewandowski | MPS | $360,000 |
| 12/30/2025 | 2543398 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | VA | Rohit Kannan | ENG | $639,433 |
| 12/22/2025 | 2541083 | University of Utah | UT | Connor Bischak | MPS | $379,380 |
| 12/22/2025 | 2539132 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | IL | Alexa Kuenstler | MPS | $390,000 |
| 12/31/2025 | 2542485 | University of California-San Diego | CA | Daniel Parker | MPS | $360,000 |
In the October 18 pull, the 2025 CAREER-title set had a median obligated amount of $498,014 and an average of $490,925 across 793 records. The 2024 set had a median of $484,688 and averaged $500,754 across 963 records.
Those records should be read with the solicitation, not apart from it. NSF CAREER award size depends on directorate, solicitation terms, cost share rules if any, start year, supplements, and budget structure. Award Search is evidence, not permission to copy a budget.
Next route: Use the NSF CAREER hub, NSF CAREER program record, NSF CAREER award guide, NSF grants guide, and NSF broader impacts guide before writing.
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1,756 CAREER-Title Records Across 2024 And 2025
| Metric (October 18, 2026 pull) | 2024 CAREER-title records | 2025 CAREER-title records | Applicant read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public award records | 963 | 793 | 2025 had 170 fewer title-prefixed records |
| Total obligated amount | $482.2M | $389.3M | Public obligated amount fell 19% |
| Average obligated amount | $500,754 | $490,925 | Average fell modestly |
| Top state | CA, 93 records | CA, 83 records | California led in both years |
Do not read the 793 records as a success-rate denominator. According to NSF, CAREER has an estimated number of awards per year, but award-record pulls, award-date windows, continuing increments, title filters, and API timing do not equal proposal volume or funding odds.
Our analysis is that the best use of CAREER winner history is directorate benchmarking. A PI should ask: do recent winners in my directorate show similar project scale, education integration, student plan, and institutional setting? If not, the route may still work, but the proposal needs a stronger bridge.
CAREER Awards By Year, 2019 To 2026
NSF made 793 CAREER awards with 2025 award dates, down 29% from a peak of 1,118 in 2021, according to a Grantsights pull of the NSF Awards API (opens in a new tab) on October 18, 2026 (titles beginning with CAREER:). 2026 is running slightly ahead of 2025: 788 awards through October 18, against 754 by the same date in 2025.
| Award-date year | CAREER awards | Obligated so far | Median obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 894 | $491.1M | $512,714 |
| 2020 | 820 | $462.3M | $533,937 |
| 2021 | 1,118 | $651.0M | $549,834 |
| 2022 | 1,001 | $564.8M | $546,668 |
| 2023 | 1,044 | $550.3M | $517,688 |
| 2024 | 963 | $482.2M | $484,688 |
| 2025 | 793 | $389.3M | $498,014 |
| 2026 (through Oct 18) | 788 | $404.5M | $500,000 |
Obligated amounts grow as NSF adds continuing increments, and NSF can revise records between pulls, so read the trend, and don't lean on the last digit.
By directorate:
| Directorate | 2021 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 to Oct 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) | 304 | 228 | 199 | 164 | 177 |
| Engineering (ENG) | 276 | 291 | 311 | 232 | 224 |
| Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) | 263 | 300 | 257 | 214 | 241 |
| Biological Sciences (BIO) | 138 | 99 | 76 | 84 | 80 |
| Geosciences (GEO) | 76 | 56 | 58 | 42 | 38 |
| Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) | 43 | 37 | 36 | 33 | 11 |
| STEM Education (EDU) | 17 | 25 | 24 | 15 | 14 |
Grantsights analysis of the same pull shows the drop isn't spread evenly, with Engineering down from 311 CAREER awards in 2024 to 224 in 2026 to date and SBE down from 36 to 11, while Computer and Information Science and Engineering rose above 2025's level. A red flag for social and behavioral scientists: 11 SBE CAREER awards in 2026 so far is a third of the lowest full year in this pull (33 in 2025). Confirm with your SBE program officer before treating CAREER as your main 2027 route.
5 Top States, Directorates, And Organizations In The 2025 Pull
State, directorate and organization counts below come from the October 18, 2026 pull and match the by-year and by-directorate tables above.
| Rank | State | 2025 CAREER-title records | Applicant implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA | 83 | Deep public research-university record base |
| 2 (tie) | MA | 65 | Dense university and institute base |
| 2 (tie) | TX | 65 | Large public and private research system |
| 4 | NY | 45 | Broad public and private research base |
| 5 | PA | 42 | Strong private and public research presence |
| Rank | Directorate | 2025 CAREER-title records | Route read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ENG | 232 | Engineering was the largest slice in the title-filtered pull |
| 2 | CISE | 214 | Computing and information science was close behind |
| 3 | MPS | 164 | Math and physical sciences had broad visibility |
| 4 | BIO | 84 | Biology records were meaningful but smaller |
| 5 | GEO | 42 | Geosciences had a smaller comparison set |
Organizations are counted by the recipient name on the NSF record, so a university that files under two names isn't combined.
| Rank | Recipient organization | 2025 CAREER-title records | Route read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (tie) | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 16 | Strong 2025 award-search presence |
| 1 (tie) | University of Florida | 16 | Broad public research-campus volume |
| 3 (tie) | Northeastern University | 15 | Visible 2025 CAREER presence |
| 3 (tie) | Carnegie Mellon University | 15 | High public CAREER record concentration |
| 5 | University of California-Berkeley | 13 | Concentrated research-campus activity |
These tables are not quotas. They show where public records are concentrated. A PI outside those states or institutions can still compete, but the application must make research quality, education plan, department support, and directorate fit easy to evaluate.
3 CAREER Winner Lessons From The Pull
The first lesson is that CAREER is not only a research award. Winning titles span research areas, but the solicitation still expects an education and career-development plan integrated with the research direction. A strong research idea cannot carry a weak education plan by itself.
The second lesson is that directorate fit matters more than national averages. ENG, CISE, and MPS made up 610 of the 793 2025 title-filtered records in the October 18 pull, about 77%. A social science or education applicant should build a closer comparison set instead of relying on the whole list.
The third lesson is that award amount is a planning clue, not a target. The 2025 median of $498,014 in the October 18 pull (2024: $484,688) tells teams that many public records cluster around standard CAREER scale. It does not override directorate minimums, solicitation requirements, or program-officer advice.
For example, one assistant professor with a clear five-year research plan, a credible education plan tied to department capacity, and a department letter may be CAREER-ready. One PI with a strong research project but no education plan beyond "train students" should wait or use a core program route. Draft the education integration paragraph before the budget. If it reads generic, the route is not ready.
5-Route Checklist: CAREER Versus Other NSF Routes
| Route | Use when | Skip or rethink when |
|---|---|---|
| CAREER | Eligible early-career faculty can join research and education in one coherent plan | The PI is not eligible or the education plan is thin |
| Core NSF research program | The project fits a program area but does not need CAREER framing | The PI needs CAREER recognition and education integration |
| NSF MRI | The central need is shared research instrumentation | The proposal is mainly one PI's research program |
| NSF GRFP | The applicant is an individual student, not a faculty PI | The need is faculty research support |
| NSF broader impacts support | The research route is set, but the public-benefit plan is weak | The project itself does not fit NSF |
Winner history can help set the comparison group, but it cannot replace the solicitation. CAREER has applicant-stage, proposal-limit, and department-letter rules that standard research programs do not share.
5 Things NSF Award Search Does Not Tell You
| Source | What it proves | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| NSF CAREER program page (opens in a new tab) | Current program posture, deadline, contacts, and broad rules | Whether the PI's education plan is good enough |
| NSF Award Search (opens in a new tab) | Public award records and sort fields | Whether a proposal should use CAREER or a core program |
| NSF Awards API (opens in a new tab) | Machine-readable award records | Whether a title-filtered pull equals a success rate |
| NSF PAPPG (opens in a new tab) | Proposal preparation rules | Whether the department letter and education plan persuade reviewers |
| NSF broader impacts resources (opens in a new tab) | Broader impacts framing | Whether the plan is credible for this PI and institution |
Grantsights data adds the missing public screen: award-record method, title filter, fiscal-year comparison, directorate mix, state pattern, amount range, and route boundaries.
According to NSF, CAREER proposals must follow the program solicitation and the PAPPG. That matters because Award Search cannot tell whether the department letter, PI appointment status, education plan, or directorate conversation is ready.
6 Apply, Wait, Or Skip Checks
| Decision | Use this path |
|---|---|
| Apply as CAREER | PI eligibility, department letter, research plan, education plan, directorate fit, and timing all line up |
| Wait one cycle | The research is strong but education integration, preliminary work, or institutional support needs clearer proof |
| Shift to core NSF program | The project is ready but CAREER framing is not |
| Shift to MRI or infrastructure | The central need is equipment or shared capacity |
| Shift away from NSF | The project does not fit NSF merit-review and directorate scope |
For broader NSF route choice, compare this page with the NSF CAREER award guide, NSF broader impacts guide, NSF grants complete guide, and NSF GRFP guide.
Use this checklist before a PI spends a summer on CAREER:
| Check | Pass signal | Stop signal |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eligibility | Appointment and PI rules match the solicitation | The PI is not eligible or has exhausted attempt limits |
| 2. Deadline | The next deadline, July 28, 2027 per NSF's CAREER page (opens in a new tab), works with department review | Internal review cannot finish before submission |
| 3. Directorate fit | Program officer and division fit are clear | The project sits between programs with no owner |
| 4. Research plan | Five-year plan is credible and scoped | Proposal is a standard project with CAREER label added |
| 5. Education plan | Education activity is tied to research and institution | Plan is a generic outreach paragraph |
| 6. Budget | Amount follows directorate and solicitation norms | Budget copies a public winner row without context |
Sources
- NSF CAREER program page - nsf.gov (opens in a new tab)
- NSF Award Search - nsf.gov (opens in a new tab)
- NSF Awards API - api.nsf.gov (opens in a new tab)
- NSF PAPPG - nsf.gov (opens in a new tab)
- NSF broader impacts - nsf.gov (opens in a new tab)
- NSF CAREER hub - Grantsights
Related Guides
Download this page's tables (CSV). When you use the numbers, credit Grantsights and the source named on the page; see how to cite.
More award history and success-rate data
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USDA NIFA
- NIFA recent awards by program and institutionUSAspending API, NIFA awards
- NIFA AFRI winners and award historyUSDA NIFA Recent Awards portal
SBIR
- NSF SBIR Phase I winnersNSF Awards API
- SBIR Phase I winners: where to find themSBIR.gov and NSF award records
- SBIR Phase II winners: where to find themSBIR.gov and NSF award records
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find NSF CAREER winners?
Use NSF Award Search for official public award records. This page summarizes a Grantsights pull from the NSF Awards API on October 18, 2026, covering award dates from January 1, 2019 through October 18, 2026, filtered to titles that begin with CAREER.
How many NSF CAREER records were in the 2025 pull?
The October 18, 2026 Grantsights NSF Awards API pull returned 793 title-prefixed CAREER records with 2025 award dates and 963 with 2024 award dates. This is an award-record pull, not NSF's official estimated annual award count.
What was the median NSF CAREER award amount in 2025?
In the October 18, 2026 pull, the 793 CAREER-title records with 2025 award dates had a median obligated amount of $498,014 and an average of $490,925.
Which states had the most 2025 NSF CAREER records in the pull?
In the October 18, 2026 pull, California led 2025 CAREER-title records with 83, followed by Massachusetts and Texas with 65 each, New York with 45, and Pennsylvania with 42.
Should I apply for NSF CAREER instead of a core NSF research grant?
Apply for CAREER only when the PI eligibility, department letter, research and education integration, directorate fit, and deadline timing all work. A standard NSF research route can be better when the applicant is not CAREER-eligible or the education plan is thin.
Last updated October 18, 2026. Corrected October 18, 2026: what changed. Published by Grantsights from public sources. See our editorial policy, how we build and check guides, corrections and how we make money.
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