FAQs: ACS Extramural Discovery Science and Grant Application Submissions
In 2025, our deadlines changed. Our new deadlines are June 1 and December 1. We will continue to have 2 deadlines per year for our standard grant mechanisms. (RFAs may differ in timeline and availability.)
If the grant application deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, applications will be accepted the following business day.
Applicants who would have been eligible for the April 1 and October 15 deadlines will remain eligible for the new deadlines in 2025.
We recently added Career Growth and Research Excellence as a fourth program office. Our program offices include:
- All postdoctoral fellowship (PF) applications.
- PF applications will be reviewed by 1 of 4 PF-specific peer review committees.
- Institutional Research Grants (IRG)
- ACS Professor Awards
While your selection helps guide the sorting of applications, we determine the final placement within peer review committees (PRCs) to ensure that it's been assigned to the most appropriate one. After the application deadline, you'll receive an acknowledgment letter indicating which PRC will review your application.
Please use the committee code from your previous submission, even if that committee no longer exists. We'll assign the application to the PRC with the appropriate expertise. Note that you'll also need to select the EDS program office that's associated with your selected PRC.
Send a request for an evaluation of eligibility and any questions to grant.eligibility@cancer.org by:
- October 15 for Winter applications
- April 15 for Summer applications
Attach each of these to the email:
- Letter with the rationale for requesting an extension or exception to the ACS eligibility rules
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- NIH biosketch
If your request is approved, you'll receive a formal letter or email confirming your eligibility to apply.
When you send in your application: In the appendix, add your approval letter or a copy of the approval email chain.
