Proposal Submission Deadlines

How early should I submit my proposal and does OSP need to know?

Yale University requires that all sponsored project proposals be reviewed and approved by the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP). Proposals are required to have OSP approval in the form of a signature (written or electronic) prior to submission to any sponsor. The signature of the authorized University official (OSP Proposal Manager) indicates the University’s endorsement of and commitment to the project.


A minimum of five working days is necessary to allow for full administrative review prior to submission.


Plan ahead, with your PreAward Administrator, to ensure your proposal is submitted to OSP at least five business days prior to the deadline date to provide adequate time for review, electronic submissions, and sponsor acceptance. OSP Proposal Managers are available to submit proposals during standard business hours – Monday through Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm.

*If a sponsor specifies a deadline after 5PM, all OSP reviews/signatures/approvals must be in place prior to 5PM.

There are a large number of applications flowing through our office daily. The five day requirement allows us to review your application properly for compliance and other administrative issues and allows for time needed to resolve any potential problems.

Electronic Submission

  • All electronic submissions are not treated the same.
  • Does the PI and/or Yale need to be registered users?
  • All electronic application submissions must be approved by OSP prior to submitting to sponsor.
  • Allow time for potential technical issues.
  • A proposal will not usually be considered by the sponsor if it misses the deadline. Be sure to read the instructions.

Note – your Department/School may impose additional requirements regarding review and approval of sponsored project proposals. Be sure to consult with your PreAward staff early for assistance in preparing your application for submission to OSP.

Recommended Timeline

Time Action
4-6 Weeks in advance of the SPONSOR deadline date
*Excluding holidays/recess days
*For subcontracts, due date is the date proposal is due to prime institution (i.e. pass through institution).
Discussion with Pre-Award Administrator
Note that the full 6 weeks is needed for any of the following:
  • Foreign subawards or other foreign components are involved
  • Sponsor is CDC, HRSA, PCORI or SAMHSA
  • Program projects/multi-components/multiple subawards
2 Weeks
(10 Business Days)
Finalize budget, justification, and scope of work (including subawards)
7 Business Days PI sends all final proposal documents for submission to Pre-Award Administrator
To ensure a full review all final documents should be sent as early as possible; 7 business days is the latest that materials should be received. Proposals received less than 7 business days prior to deadline may receive an abbreviated review to assure they are submitted to OSP/sponsor on time.
The Pre-Award Administrator reviews documents for compliance and sponsor guidelines, advises PI of any outstanding items, resolves any issues, finalizes proposal record, and initiates internal routing process for submission to OSP.
5 Business Days OSP conducts University compliance checks, final proposal review, identifies additional edits as needed, provides AOR signature if required, and either submits or gives approval to submit. Proposals received late may receive an abbreviated review to assure they are submitted to the sponsor on time.

The timing of proposal submission is critical to the success of Yale University’s research enterprise. Thorough review is essential to support our departments and Investigators.

To allow for a thorough review of each proposal, a completed, routed record should be submitted through IRES Proposal Development (PD) and received at OSP at least 5 business days prior to the sponsor’s deadline.

Though these guidelines are strongly encouraged, it is the intent of the OSP proposal team that all completed grants received prior to the sponsor’s deadline (and/or 5pm) will be submitted. Please note that grant applications may be withdrawn by the University after submission to a sponsor, and prior to acceptance of a sponsored award, if compliance, financial, or other issues are discovered.