Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War (DoW) Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)

The Fiscal Year 2027 Department of War Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) is a joint funding opportunity sponsored by the Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research. This program focuses on high-risk, high-payoff basic research and hypothesis-driven, interdisciplinary projects designed to achieve scientific breakthroughs with significant military and economic implications. The initiative supports 16 specific research topics, including AI-generated content distinction and high-entropy electrochemical materials, with an estimated total funding pool of 170 million dollars. Individual awards typically provide an average of 1.5 million dollars per year over a five-year period, supporting up to six funded faculty researchers. The application process is conducted in two stages, beginning with optional white papers due November 20, 2026, followed by full proposals due April 9, 2027, all submitted via Grants.gov. Proposals are evaluated primarily on technical merit, importance to agency programs, and fund availability, with a strong emphasis on Gold Standard Science requirements, which mandate that research be reproducible, transparent, and structured for the falsifiability of hypotheses. Applicants must maintain active SAM registration, a valid Unique Entity Identifier, and a CAGE code. The program emphasizes fundamental research and generally places no restrictions on the reporting of unclassified contracted fundamental research, provided it does not disclose critical military system performance characteristics.