The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is offering up to $85 million in grants to further undergraduate science education at the United States' top research universities.

The HHMI, which is the largest private funder of biomedical research in the United States, last year dedicated $60 million for science teaching at liberal arts colleges. Now, the institute is awarding individual grants of up to $2.2 million over 4 years for proposals from 197 of the nation's most research-intensive institutions.

Schools must register their interest by 14 May, but have until 1 October to apply for the grants, which should focus on student research, faculty development, curriculum development or community outreach.

As a supplement to these institutional grants, applicants may also compete for awards of up to $600,000 to test experimental approaches to tackling specific science education challenges. "We want to encourage faculty to try new things," says David Asai, director of the HHMI's undergraduate grants programme. "It's hard to anticipate the kinds of ideas that may come forward."