DoD Government Only 

This page is a resource for AFRL government-only personnel. 

AFRL employees must sign in using their afresearchlab.com account to access the information on this page. 

As an AFRL researcher you may:

If you have questions about ML-RCP processes, please refer to AFRL ML-RCP POA to Award Process

Are you on NIPR? Below is the direct link to Project Opportunity Announcements and White Paper Submissions.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K4VTF0Ssb4woWOdIO0uLJCmrWs1Td1l8MTxnEL1Fs7s/edit#gid=0

For additional assistance, please contact the Google Help Desk at afrl.gsuitesupport@afresearchlab.com

DoD Government Only

Program Statistics Dashboard
View a report of program statistics including member institutions, project calls, white paper submissions, projects, and more here

AFRL Minority Leaders – Research Collaboration Program (ML-RCP)
Historically Black Colleges and Universities & Minority Serving Institutions (HBCU/MSI) Support

The ML-RCP was initiated in May 2005 and is one of the single largest endeavors with HBCUs/MSIs ever funded by the Air Force. Adopting the collaborative format, the program involves student and faculty from numerous HBCUs/MSIs and mentoring universities throughout the United States. Collaborative research projects support the AFRL enterprise to include their nine technical directorates

Program Objective
The objective of the ML-RCP is to enable, enhance, and expand the research capabilities of HBCUs and MSIs through collaborative research efforts with AFRL as well as to encourage underrepresented students to pursue careers in science and engineering.


Government Point of Contact:
Dr. Sirina Safriet
sirina.safriet.1@us.af.mil

Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

HBCUs include 91 four-year and 17 two-year institutions of higher education established prior to 1964, for the primary purpose of educating African-Americans. The majority of the 102 HBCUs are located in the Southeastern states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. HBCUs comprise 3% of America's institutions of higher education, yet enroll 16% of all African-American students in higher education and award 24% of all baccalaureate degrees earned by African-Americans nationwide.

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)

HSIs are accredited, post-secondary, higher educational institutions with at least 25% total full-time enrollment of Hispanic undergraduate students. HSIs included four-year and two-year, public and private educational institutions. HSIs enroll 40% of all Hispanic-American students of higher education. There are 274 institutions of higher education defined as HSIs using the criteria defined by the White House Initiative and the Department of Education. Visit the Department of Education's White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics page to learn more.

Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)

The first TCU was created on a remote reservation community on the Navajo Nation. They now exist throughout Native Country. The 35 public and private higher educational institutions provide a response to the higher education needs of American Indians, and generally serve geographically-isolated populations that have no other means of accessing education beyond the high school level. TCUs have become increasingly important to educational opportunity for Native American students, an importance they have achieved in a relatively brief period of time.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AAPISIs)

The AAPI community is one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. Projections indicate that by 2050 this population will double in size. As a result, the education of AAPIs will be critical in achieving the educational goals of the US.

Additional Definitions
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education maintains lists of postsecondary institutions of higher education enrolling populations with significant percentages of undergraduate minority students, or that serve certain populations of minority students under various programs created by Congress.