Request for Non-Land-grant Colleges of Agriculture Designation

The Non-Land-grant Colleges of Agriculture Designation guidance can be used by eligible institutions to submit a request to be designated as an NLGCA institution. This NIFA-certified designation is an eligibility requirement for the Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land-grant Colleges of Agriculture program.

The Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land-grant Colleges of Agriculture program provides funding to NLGCA institutions in support of educational, research, and outreach activities that address priority concerns of national, regional, state, and local interest.  To determine if an institution is eligible to be designated as an NLGCA institution as defined in the 2018 Farm Bill, please visit NIFA-19-005 NLGCA Eligibility Flow Chart resource page.

If your institution is interested in requesting designation as a Non-Land-grant College of Agriculture (NLGCA), the NLGCA Certification memo below outlines the requirements and steps for making a request. The guidance has been revised in accordance with the provisions included in Section 7102 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub.L. 115-334).

Please note that all institutions certified prior to December 21, 2018 must reapply for certification and meet the new criteria for NLGCA certification. 

For more information on changes to the NLGCA designation process, please see the Federal Register Notice on this topic. 

Within 30 days of receiving the request, NIFA will provide the Administrative Point of Contact specified on the request with a certification or a response indicating why certification is being denied. Land-grant institutions are not eligible to receive this designation. *NLGCA certification can no longer be used to exempt an institution from a matching requirement for any of NIFA's grant programs.

For more information or further assistance, contact nlgca.status@usda.gov.