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Page lists no deadline; stored 2027-01-15 not confirmed. Status of $100M funding opportunity not stated; Planning Prize winners selected Oct 26, 2026.
PROSPECT Program: Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies is sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI). Establishes collaborative approaches that strengthen educational and technological pathways across the entire critical minerals and materials value chain—from mineral resource development and extraction through processing, manufacturing, and circular recycling supply chain activities.
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PROSPECT: Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies | Department of Energy PROSPECT: Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies Every energy-related supply chain begins with a prospector—someone who sees opportunity where others see ordinary ground.
America’s future depends on a new generation of prospectors, including geologists, miners, engineers, technicians, metallurgists, materials scientists, manufacturers, and innovators.
The Department of Energy's Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) program supports the development of U.S. talent that can discover, produce, process, and advance the critical minerals supply chains essential to America’s energy security, economic strength, and national defense.
JUMP TO: Overview | News and Updates | Resources The United States faces a major workforce deficit across the entire critical minerals and materials supply chain—from upstream mining to midstream processing and downstream recycling. Since 2015, enrollment in American mining programs has declined by approximately 45%.
DOE estimates that the United States will need approximately 6,000 new engineers in the mining sector alone over the next 10 years. Similar shortfalls in materials science and recycling have allowed foreign workforces to outpace the United States at every stage of the supply chain.
Overcoming this challenge will require greater coordination between government, universities, and industry; modernized curricula; and a concerted effort to raise awareness of career opportunities in mining. The Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) is launching the Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) program.
The near-term goal of PROSPECT is to double the number of graduates with degrees related to mining, minerals, and associated supply chain technologies within two years. In the long term, PROSPECT will support the implementation of new curricula, teaching tools, financial-aid programs, and other incentives that promote continued growth in these fields.
With up to $100 million, the nationwide initiative will fund efforts to attract university students to careers that directly support the domestic production, processing, recovery, and recycling of critical minerals, building the next-generation workforce that can revitalize American mining and secure domestic supply chains for the materials that underpin the modern economy.
The PROSPECT Planning Prize is funded by CMEI and managed by the National Laboratory of the Rockies under the American-Made prize program. The prize supports universities in developing the skilled workforce required to produce, process, recover, and recycle critical minerals on American soil. On Oct.
26, 2026, CMEI announced the selection of 16 universities to receive a total of $16 million.
Colorado School of Mines , Golden, Colorado Columbia University , New York, New York Michigan Technological University , Houghton, Michigan Missouri University of Science and Technology , Rolla, Missouri Montana Technological University , Butte, Montana New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology , Socorro, New Mexico South Dakota School of Mines and Technology , Rapid City, South Dakota The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania The University of Texas at El Paso , El Paso, Texas The University of Utah , Salt Lake City, Utah University of Alaska Fairbanks , Fairbanks, Alaska University of Arizona , Tucson, Arizona University of Kentucky , Lexington, Kentucky University of Nevada, Reno , Reno, Nevada Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Blacksburg, Virginia West Virginia University , Morgantown, West Virginia Energy Department Awards $16 Million for University Initiatives that Rebuild America’s Critical Minerals Workforce Energy Department Launches $16 Million Prize To Grow the Mining and Critical Minerals Workforce Critical Materials and Minerals Energy Department Launches $100 Million Initiative to Build America’s Critical Minerals Workforce, Strengthen Domestic Supply Chains Receive the latest funding updates from CMEI.
What Are Critical Minerals and Materials? Critical Minerals and Materials Program Office of Critical Minerals, Materials, and Manufacturing Office of Energy Technology
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Unrestricted (open to domestic entities, academic institutions, non-profits, and businesses subject to specific FOA guidelines). Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows up to $100 million. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Applications for PROSPECT Program: Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies are due January 15, 2027. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
PROSPECT Program: Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies is funded by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
On August 24, 2026, DOE and SBA signed a memorandum of agreement creating the Small Business Investment Company-Energy Initiative, pointing a $58 billion SBA-leveraged investment program at DOE's technology priorities. No application, no NOFO, no deadline. Here is how SBIC capital actually works, why a January 2026 rule change made this possible, and what a company sitting on a DOE Phase II award should do about it.
Read articleOn May 19, the Department of Energy's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation announced 19 selections under FOA 3105 — two pilot-scale facilities for magnesium and rare-earth separation, and 17 technology development projects spanning lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, silicon, and manganese. Here is what the selection list tells researchers and small businesses about where DOE wants the supply chain in 18 months — and where the next solicitations will go.
Read articlePROSPECT, DE-FOA-0003662, puts up to $100 million into critical minerals education with no cost share and no eligibility restrictions. The arithmetic behind the two-year doubling target explains where the money actually has to go — and it is not mining engineering departments.
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