Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention—Transition to Practice Program FAQs

Notice of Funding Opportunity: HRSA-26-078

Application submission

When does the Public Health Training Centers (PHTC) Program HRSA-26-078 funding opportunity close?

This funding opportunity closes on Friday, July 17, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.

Do all attachments count towards the page limit?

No. Per the NOFO on pages 13-14, standard OMB-approved forms that are included in the workspace application package do NOT count in the page limitation. Applicants are strongly encouraged to take appropriate measures to ensure their application does not exceed the specified 50- page limit. If an application goes over the page limit, it will be considered non-responsive and it will not go forward for panel review.

If an attachment is not applicable, should we skip that number in the attachment section or renumber the attachments?

Please do not renumber the attachments. Attachments should be submitted with the same numbers as specified in the NOFO.

Can an application have more than one Program Director/Program Investigator?

No. HRSA only recognizes one Program Director/Program Investigator (PI), who will be accountable to HRSA. They should be a senior level health or public health professional with strong expertise in adult education and training; experience and demonstrated leadership skills to direct and guide the conceptual framework and direction of the PHTC Program; and provide visibility for the program among health and public health colleagues and organizations. The PI must have no less than 5 percent level of effort dedicated to the PHTC Program.

Are Letters of Support required for this grant application?

No. Letters of support are not required for this grant application. However, if applicable to the proposed project, they should be submitted as Attachment 8. Applicants should provide a description of support and commitment for each organization or department involved in your proposed project. See page 21 of the NOFO for more details.

Are multiple applications allowed?

No. Multiple applications from an organization are not allowed.

Applicant eligibility

Are federally recognized tribes eligible applicants?

Yes. Federally recognized tribes are eligible.

Other eligible applicants include:

  • Accredited school of public health, or another public or nonprofit private entity accredited for the provision of graduate or specialized training in public health.
  • Domestic faith-based and community-based organizations, and tribal organizations are also eligible to apply, if otherwise eligible.
  • In addition to the 50 states, eligible entities include the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

Can individual students apply for this grant?

No. This program is for eligible entities, including accredited schools of public health, or other public or nonprofit private entities accredited for the provision of graduate or specialized training in public health.

We are not a school of public health. Can we collaborate with an eligible school of public health or other entity to be eligible?

Yes. However, the eligible entity must be the primary organization listed in the application. Eligible applicants include an accredited school of public health, or another public or nonprofit private entity accredited for the provision of graduate or specialized training in public health. Faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations may apply for these funds, if otherwise eligible.

Accreditation

What are the accreditation requirements for applicants of this NOFO?

You must attach, via Attachment 1, a copy of your organization's accreditation demonstrating that it is an accredited school of public health or another public or nonprofit private institution accredited to provide graduate or specialized training in public health that plans, develops, operates, and evaluates projects to improve preventive medicine, health promotion and disease prevention, or access to and quality of health care services in rural or medically vulnerable communities.

Use of funds

Is the $910,000 ceiling per year or total for all four years?

$910,000 is the maximum amount available per year, per awardee. The total performance period for this funding opportunity is four years.

Is the purchase of hardware and software for students, faculty, and participants an allowable cost?

Yes, this can be part of the administrative costs.

We are a state university. Would we use our negotiated cost agreement rate or the 8%?

Indirect costs for all applicants other than state, local, or Indian tribal governments are capped at the fixed rate of eight (8%) percent. For this policy, State universities or hospitals are not considered governmental agencies.

Student eligibility and stipends

What students does the PHTC program support?

The PHTC Program supports undergraduate juniors and seniors, as well as master's and doctoral students, who are enrolled in an accredited health professions degree program within the applicant's designated geographic area.

Only U.S. citizens, non-citizen U.S. nationals, or foreign nationals lawfully admitted for permanent residence and other “qualified alien” under section 431(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L 104-193, as amended are eligible.

Is there a funding limit on student stipends?

Yes. At least 20% of the award recipient’s overall requested budget (direct and indirect costs) must be used for stipend support, according to the following guidelines:

  • $3,500 per student for undergraduate junior and senior students and post-baccalaureate certificate program
  • $5,000 per year for graduate students
  • The minimum number of students involved in field placements must be no less than 15 students per budget year (stipend support funds used to support students beyond the minimum number of 15 for field placements, may be used to support a combination of traineeship, field placement and faculty-collaborative project students)
  • The stipend amounts that can be charged to the award are fixed. Award recipients may not provide stipends lower than the amount specified; however, recipients may choose to provide higher stipend amounts by including funds from non-federal sources

No full-time student is allowed to receive a stipend for participation in a student field placement or faculty-student collaborative project for more than one year, or 12 consecutive months. Part-time students are allowed to participate in student field placements or faculty-student collaborative projects and receive a stipend prorated at one-half of the fixed amount for no more than two years or 24 consecutive months.

Can students receive financial support for more than one project if they participate in traineeship, field placement and/or collaborative project?

A student may receive financial support more than once, if it is within the 12-month period.

Define the expectations for traineeship and how this differs from a field placement or collaborative project.

Traineeships must provide financial support to students, including partial tuition, fees, and applicable stipends or allowances.

Field placements must provide structured opportunities for students to apply acquired knowledge and skills in a public health practice setting.

Collaborative projects must involve a partnership between a student and a faculty advisor to address a specific public health issue affecting a defined target population. These projects may include research initiatives, community-based interventions, or other activities designed to improve public health outcomes.

Community-Based Training (CBT) partnerships

Are CBT partner organizations required to be contracts or sub-awards?

Yes. Under this NOFO, a CBT partner organization providing services would constitute as a sub-award and must follow all grant requirements, as outlined in 45 CFR Part 75.

Can a CBT partner organization also be a technical assistance entity?

Yes. You must indicate in your application package the differences in the two sources of funding for this organization and why.

Is there a funding ceiling for a CBT Partner?

No. There are no funding limits for CBT partner organizations.

Funding preference

Is there a funding preference for this NOFO?

Yes. As authorized by Section 766(b)(2) of the Public Health Service Act, the PHTC Program provides funding preference for applicants who are an accredited school of public health. A letter documenting accreditation as a School of Public Health will be used to document eligibility for this preference. Include a statement that you are eligible for the funding preference based on being an accredited School of Public Health and state that the required documentation is in Attachment 1.

Technical assistance (TA)

Do the technical assistance funds have to be used for one single organization?

No. Recipients must establish and implement a formal arrangement with an organization or multiple organizations able to train and provide TA (marketing, communication assistance, technical writing, instructional design consultation, web design, learning management system design and management).

The applicants should include details of the TA support in the proposed budget line-item and budget justification document.

What is the funding range for technical assistance?

There is no minimum or maximum funding amount designated for technical assistance.

We have all the components for technical assistance in-house. Given this, do we need to find and fund outside TA providers?

No. If your TA is in-house, note that in your application where appropriate.

Standardized work plan

Should we just have one program goal listed, with the three objectives as defined in the NOFO? Or should the three objectives be listed as three separate “goals” in the standardized workplan form?

There is one program goal and three objectives. The standardized workplan should be organized by budget period rather than by objectives. For this 4-year project, applicants will need to complete all components for Budget Period One, then add additional budget periods and carry forward goals and objectives as appropriate. Milestone activities are the key actions that drive each objective and should reflect meaningful, performance-related work.

Other questions

The new NOFO does not appear to designate specific HHS regions for individual awards, as prior cycles did. Are applicants expected to align with a specific HHS region, or may we define our own service area?

Per HRSA-26-078, you are expected to designate a geographic area or medically vulnerable population the training center will serve located outside of the organization that is participating in the program with the training center. This service area is not required to align with an HHS region.

If we are a current awardee, the period of performance for this NOFO begins September 1, 2026. This is during the current extension period. What happens to September 1-30, 2026, of the No Cost Extension period?

If selected for the next funding cycle, you will be finishing the current program and beginning the next cycle concurrently.

The NOFO requires that training curricula use multiple modalities, do they all have to be distance-based?

No. Training curricula will provide skill-based, interactive instruction and quality education using multiple modalities (e.g., synchronous, asynchronous, distance-based, bi-directional video, in-person, micro learning etc.).

Is it correct that the only required key personnel are Principal Investigator (minimum 5% level of effort) and Project Coordinator (100% level of effort)?

Yes. This is the only stated required key personnel with a specified effort level. You will certainly need additional personnel such as an evaluator and instructional designer, which are also mentioned. You must indicate in your application package the key and other personnel that you anticipate needing to complete the work, and their levels of effort. The Principal Investigator cannot be the same person as the authorizing official.

Each staffing plan must include a Principal Investigator (the level of effort should be no less than five%) and a Project Coordinator (the level of effort should be no less than 100%). The plan should list other key personnel as appropriate (e.g., Evaluator, Instructional Designer, etc.). The application should include the percent effort on the PHTC Program grant and all other sources of salary support for key staff Principal Investigator, Project Coordinator, Evaluator, Instructional Designer (i.e., Jane Doe, Project Coordinator: 50% PHTC Program grant, 20% Title 2 grant, 15% University of X, 15% NIH grant support).

Should consultants have a bio-sketch included in the application?

Per the NOFO, you must include a bio-sketch for all key personnel hired directly to work on the project. If they are a consultant, a letter of commitment (Attachment 3) is sufficient, but it may be helpful that in the letter of commitment you describe the background of the consultant briefly to provide context as to why they are qualified for the position.

Should Bio Sketches for key personnel follow the HRSA Bio Sketch template or a paragraph format?

Yes, use the HRSA form as per the NOFO page 18. Also see page 23 for details on biographical sketches.

Is it acceptable that we submit a signed and dated letter of agreement/intent from each partnering entity, and, subsequent to our receipt of a NOA, enter into a service agreement with these entities?

Yes, this is acceptable. A Notice of Agreement (NOA) must still be obtained prior to the start of work.

For the requirement to track program completers one year after participation, is that just for student field placements? Or for traineeships as well? Is there an expectation that leadership institute participants would be tracked one year afterwards as well?

You are expected to track grant supported students for up to one year after their training is completed. This includes students who participated in field placements, collaborative projects, leadership institutes participants and those who were supported through traineeships.

Date Last Reviewed: