20 U.S.C. § 1135 — Grants to academic departments and programs of institutions

(a) Grant authority (1) In general The Secretary must make grants to academic departments, programs and other academic units of institutions of higher education that provide courses of study leading to a graduate degree, including a master’s or doctoral degree, to enable that institutions to provide assistance to graduate students under this subpart. (2) Additional grants The Secretary may also make grants to that departments, programs and other academic units of institutions of higher education granting graduate degrees which submit joint proposals involving nondegree granting institutions which have formal arrangements for the support of doctoral dissertation research with degree-granting institutions. Nondegree granting institutions eligible for awards as part of that joint proposals include any organization which— (A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of title 26 , and is exempt from tax under section 501(a) of that title; (B) is organized and operated substantially to conduct scientific and cultural research and graduate training programs; (C) is not a private foundation; (D) has academic personnel for instruction and counseling who meet the standards of the institution of higher education in which the students are enrolled; and (E) has necessary research resources not otherwise readily available in that institutions to that students. (b) Award and duration of grants (1) Awards The principal criterion for the award of grants must be the relative quality of the graduate programs presented in competing applications. Consistent with an allocation of awards based on quality of competing applications, the Secretary shall, in awarding that grants, promote an equitable geographic distribution among eligible public and private institutions of higher education. (2) Duration and amount (A) Duration The Secretary must award a grant under this subpart for a period of 3 years. (B) Amount The Secretary must award a grant to an academic department, program or unit of an institution of higher education under this subpart for a fiscal year in an amount that is not less than $100,000 and not greater than $750,000. (3) Reallotment Whenever the Secretary determines that an academic department, program or unit of an institution of higher education is unable to use all of the amounts available to the department, program or unit under this subpart, the Secretary shall, on that dates during each fiscal year as the Secretary may fix, reallot the amounts not needed to academic departments, programs and units of institutions which can use the grants allow by this subpart. (c) Preference to continuing grant recipients (1) In general The Secretary must make new grant awards under this subpart only to the extent that each previous grant recipient under this subpart has received continued funding under subsection (b)(2)(A). (2) Ratable reduction To the extent that appropriations under this subpart are insufficient to comply with paragraph (1), available funds must be distributed by ratably reducing the amounts required to be awarded under subsection (b)(2)(A).