| Acronym | Description |
| AAALAC | American Association of Animal Laboratory Accreditation Council |
| AAAS | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| AAMC | Association of American Medical Colleges |
| AANA | Advanced Account Number Authorization |
| AAU | Association of American Universities |
| ABRF | Association of Bimolecular Resource Facilities |
| ACF | Administration for Children & Families (DHHS) |
| ACO | Administrative Contracting Officer |
| AD | Active Directory |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 |
| AFAA | Air Force Audit Agency |
| AFARS | Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement |
| AFOSR | Air Force Office of Scientific Research (DOD) |
| AFRI | Agriculture & Food Research Initiative |
| AFRL | Air Force Research Laboratory (DOD) |
| AGNR | College of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| AHRQ | Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (DHHS) |
| AIA | America Invents Act |
| AID | US Agency for International Development |
| ANPRM | Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| AO | Administrative Official |
| AOR | Authorized Organizational Representative |
| APHIS | Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA) |
| APLU | Associate of Public & Land-grant Universities |
| ARDA | Advanced Research & Development Activity |
| AREC | Agricultural & Resource Economics |
| ARES | Administrative Resource Enterprise Services |
| ARHU | College of Arts & Humanities |
| ARL | Army Research Laboratory (DOD) |
| ARO | Army Research Office (DOD) |
| ARPA | Advanced Research Projects Agency |
| ARPA-E | Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy |
| ARRA | American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 |
| ARS | Agricultural Research Service (USDA) |
| ASAP | Automated Standard Application for Payments |
| ATP | Advance Technology Program |
| B2B | Business to Business |
| BA3 | Priority Software (BA=Budget Accountant) |
| accounting shadow system used at departmental level |
| BAA | Broad Agency Announcement |
| BARC | Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (USDA) |
| BARS | Billing and Receivables System |
| BLS | Bureau of Labor Statistics (DOL) |
| BO | Business Official |
| BPN | Business Partner Network |
| BSOS | College of Behavioral & Social Sciences |
| CA | Contract Administrator |
| CAGE Code | Commercial and Government Entity Code |
| CALCE | Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering |
| CAM | Capital Assets Management (UMD Fixed Assets Management) |
| CAP | Contractor Acquired Property |
| CAS | Cost Accounting Standards |
| CASB | Cost Accounting Standards Board |
| CASL | Center for Advanced Study of Language |
| CBD | Commerce Business Daily |
| CBO | College Business Officer |
| CCH | Commerce Clearing House |
| CCR | Central Contractor Registration |
| CDA | Confidential Disclosure Agreement |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (DHHS) |
| CFDA | Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance |
| CFRA | Certified Financial Research Administrator |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CFS | Committee on Fundamental Science |
| CFS3 | Center for Food Safety & Security Systems |
| CIA | Central Intelligence Agency |
| CIC | Committee on Institutional Cooperation (ob) / Big Ten Academic Alliance |
| CICA | Competition in Contracting Act |
| CLIN | Contract Line Item Number |
| CMIA | Cash Management Improvement Act |
| CMNS | College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences |
| CNCS | Corporation for National & Community Service |
| CNO | Chief of Naval Operations |
| CO | Contracting Officer |
| COFAR | Council on Financial Assistance Reform |
| COG | Councils of Governments |
| COGR | Council On Governmental Relations |
| COI | Conflict of Interest |
| COMPETES | Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology Education and Science (PL110-69) |
| COS | Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council |
| COSEPUP | Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy |
| COSO | Committee Of Sponsoring Organization (of the Treadway Commission) |
| COTR | Contract Officer Technical Representative |
| CPRA | Certified Pre-Award Research Administrator |
| CPSR | Contractor Purchasing System Review |
| CRA | Cooperative Research Agreement |
| CRA | Certified Research Administrator |
| CRADA | Cooperative Research and Development Agreement |
| CRS | Congressional Research Service |
| CSOSA | Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency |
| CSPAC | Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center |
| CSR | Center for Scientific Review |
| CTSA | Clinical & Translational Science Award |
| D&B | Dun and Bradstreet |
| DA | Department Administration Costs |
| DA | Department of the Army |
| DARPA | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency |
| DAS | Director of Administrative Services |
| DATA | Digital Accountability and Transparency Act |
| DC | Direct Costs |
| DCAA | Defense Contract Audit Agency |
| DCASR's | Defense Contract Administration Services Regions |
| DCE | Direct Cost Equivalent |
| DEAR | Department of Energy Acquisition Regulations |
| DEC | Determination of Exceptional Circumstances |
| DES | Department of Environmental Safety (ob) - see ESSR |
| DFAR | Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation |
| DFARS | Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement |
| DHEW | Department of Health, Education, and Welfare |
| DHHS | Department of Health and Human Services |
| DHS | Department of Homeland Security |
| DHUD | Department of Housing and Urban Development |
| DIA | Defense Intelligence Agency (DOD) |
| DIPEC | Defense Industrial Plant Equipment Council |
| DIS | Defense Investigative Service |
| DIT | Division of Information Technology |
| DNA | Defense Nuclear Agency |
| DOC | Department of Commerce |
| DOD | Department of Defense |
| DODGARS | DOD Grant and Agreement Regulations |
| DOE | Department of Energy |
| DOE | Department of Education |
| DOI | US Department of the Interior |
| DOJ | US Department of Justice |
| DOL | Department of Labor |
| DOT | Department of Transportation |
| DOTS | Department of Transportation Services |
| DRIF | Designated Research Initiative Fund |
| DS-2 | Disclosure Statement |
| DSMB | Data Safety Monitoring Board |
| DUNS | Data Universal Numbering System |
| DURC | Dual Use Research Concern |
| DURIP | Defense University Research Instrumentation Program |
| EAR | Export Administration Regulations |
| EARS | Electronic Approval and Routing Systems |
| ebXML | Electronic Business Extensible Markup Language |
| EC | Electronic Commerce |
| ECCN | Export Control Classification Number |
| EDA | Economic Development Administration |
| EDGAR | Education Department General Administration Regulations |
| EDI | Electronic Data Interchange |
| EEOC | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
| EFT | Electronic Funds Transfer |
| EIN | Entity Identification Number |
| EO | Executive Order |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
| ERA | Electronic Research Administration |
| ERC | Engineering Research Center |
| ESSIC | Earth Systems Science Interdisciplinary Center |
| ESSR | Department of Environmental Safety, Sustainability & Risk |
| ETA | Employment and Training Administration |
| EVS | Equipment Visibility System |
| F&A | Facilities and Administrative (Rate or Cost) |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration (DOT) |
| FAC | Federal Audit Clearing House |
| FAIN | Federal Award Identification Number |
| FAPIIS | Federal Awardee Performance & Integrity Information System |
| FAR | Faculty Activity Report |
| FAR | Federal Acquisition Regulations |
| FARS | Financial Accounting and Reporting System |
| FAS | Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA) |
| FASA | Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act |
| FASAB | Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board |
| FASEB | Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology |
| FBI | Federal Bureau of Investigation (DOJ) |
| FBO | Federal Business Opportunities |
| FCC | Federal Communications Commission |
| FCOI | Financial Conflict of Interest |
| FCST | Federal Council for Science and Technology |
| FDA | Food & Drug Administration (DHHS) |
| FDP | Federal Demonstration Partnership |
| FEA | Federal Enterprise Architectures |
| FECAI | Federal Electronic Commerce Acquisition Instructions |
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS) |
| FFATA | Federal Financial Accountability & Transparency Act |
| FFMIA | Federal Financial Management Improvement Act |
| FFRDC | Federally Funded Research & Development Center |
| FHA | Federal Highway Administration (DOT) |
| FHWA | Federal Highway Administration |
| FICC | Federal Interagency Coordinating Council |
| FIMA | Financial Management System |
| FIPSE | Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education |
| FISAP | Fiscal Operations Report & Application to Participate |
| FMC | Federal Management Circular |
| FMRI | Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
| FN | Foreign National |
| FNS | Food & Nutrition Service (USDA) |
| FOA | Funding Opportunity Announcement |
| FOB | Free-on-board |
| FOIA | Freedom of Information Act |
| FR | Federal Register |
| FRS | Financial Record System (ob) - see KFS |
| FS&T | Federal Science and Technology Budget |
| FTC | Federal Trade Commission |
| FTE | Full Time Equivalent |
| FTS | Federal Telecommunications System |
| FWA | Federal Wide Assurance |
| FWS | Fish & Wildlife Service (DOI) |
| FY | Fiscal Year |
| GA | General Administration (Costs) |
| GAAP | Generally Accepted Accounting Principles |
| GAFE | Google Apps for Education |
| GAGAS | Generally Accepted Government Accounting Standards |
| GAO | General Accounting Office |
| GASB | Governmental Accounting Standards Board |
| GATT | General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade |
| GFE | Government Furnished Equipment |
| GMO | Grants Management Office |
| GMRA | Government Management Reform Act |
| GOCO | Government Owned Contractor Operated |
| GPG | Grant Proposal Guide (NSF) |
| GPO | Government Printing Office |
| GPRA | Government Performance and Results Act |
| GSA | General Services Administration |
| GSFC | Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) |
| GUIRR | Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable |
| HBCU | Historically Black College and University |
| HCFA | Health Care Financing Administration |
| HEGIS | Higher Education General Information Survey |
| HIPAA | Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act |
| HRSA | Health Resources and Services Administration |
| HSARPA | Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency |
| IACUC | Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee |
| IAEGC | Inter-Agency Electronic Grants Committee |
| IARPA | Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency |
| IBC | Institutional Bio-safety Committee |
| IBS | Institutional Based Salary |
| ICC | Interstate Commerce Commission |
| ICONS | International Communication & Negotiation Simulations |
| IDC | Indirect Cost Rate |
| IDIQ | Indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (type of contract) |
| IES | Institute of Education Sciences (USDE) |
| IG | Inspector General |
| IHE | Institution of Higher Education |
| IMLS | Institute of Museum & Library Services |
| IO | Institutional Official |
| IP | Intellectual Property |
| IPA | Intergovernmental Personnel Act |
| IPASS | Interagency Panel on Advanced Science & Security |
| IPR | Intellectual Property Rights |
| IR&D | Independent Research and Development |
| IRB | Institutional Review Board |
| IREAP | Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics |
| IRPA | (Office of) Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment |
| IRROC | Integrated Research Resources on Campus |
| ISR | Institute for Systems Research |
| ITAR | International Traffic in Arms Regulations |
| ITMRA | Information Technology Management Reform Act |
| JAG | Judge Advocate General |
| JCS | Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| JIFSAN | Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition |
| KFS | Kuali Financial System |
| LDAP | Lightweight Directory Access Protocol |
| LoB | Line of Business |
| LOC | Library of Congress |
| LOC | Letter of Credit |
| LSA | Labor Surplus Area |
| M&O | Maintenance and Operations or Management and Operations Contractors |
| MAX | Mid-Atlantic Crossroads |
| MBDA | Minority Business Development Agency |
| MBE | Minority Business Enterprise |
| MDA | Missile Defense Agency (DOD) |
| MECA | Midwest Conference on College Cost Accounting |
| MIPS | Maryland Industrial Partnerships |
| MNC | Maryland Neuroimaging Center |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| MPO | Maryland Procurement office (DOD) |
| MRI | Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
| MTA | Material Transfer Agreement |
| MTC | Modified Total Cost |
| MTDC | Modified Total Direct Costs |
| MURI | Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative |
| NACCA | National Conference on College Cost Accounting |
| NACIE | National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (2010) |
| NAICS | North American Industry Classification System Code |
| NARA | National Archives & Records Administration |
| NAS | National Academy of Sciences |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| NASULGC | National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges |
| NCATS | National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (DHHS/NIH) |
| NCC | National Coordinating Committee |
| NCI | National Cancer Institute (DHHS/NIH) |
| NCRR | National Center for Research Resources |
| NCST | National Council of Science and Technology |
| NCURA | National Council of University Research Administrators |
| NDA | Nondisclosure Agreement |
| NEA | National Endowment for the Arts |
| NECA | Northeast Conference on College Cost Accounting |
| NEH | National Endowment for the Humanities |
| NEI | National Eye Institute (DHHS/NIH) |
| NFLC | National Foreign Language Center |
| NGA | Notice of Grant Award |
| NHGRI | National Human Genome Research Institute (DHHS/NIH) |
| NHLBI | National Heart Lung & Blood Institute (DHHS/NIH) |
| NHPRC | National Historical Publications & Records Commission |
| NIAAA | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIAID | National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIA | National Institute on Aging (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIBIB | National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering (DHHS/NIH) |
| NICHD | National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIDA | National Institute on Drug Abuse (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIDCD | National Institute of Deafness & Other Communication Disorders (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIDDKD | National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Disease (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIE | National Institute of Education |
| NIEHS | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIFA | National Institute of Food & Agriculture (USDA) |
| NIGMS | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIH | National Institutes of Health (DHHS) |
| NIJ | National Institute of Justice (DOJ) |
| NIMH | National Institute of Mental Health (DHHS/NIH) |
| NINDS | National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke (DHHS/NIH) |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology (DOC) |
| NLM | National Library of Medicine (DHHS/NIH) |
| NLRB | National Labor Relations Board |
| NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC) |
| NPR | National Performance Review |
| NPRM | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| NPS | National Park Service (DOI) |
| NRC | Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
| NRCS | Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA) |
| NRL | Naval Research Laboratory (DOD) |
| NSA | National Security Agency (DOD) |
| NSB | National Science Board |
| NSC | National Security Council |
| NSDD | National Security Decision Directive 189 (issued 1985) |
| NSF | National Science Foundation |
| NSF/STIS | An on-line search system of the National Science Foundation |
| NSP | Not Separately Priced |
| NSTC | National Science Technology Council |
| NTIS | National Technical Information Service |
| NTSB | National Transportation Safety Board |
| O&M | Operations and Maintenance Costs |
| OCR | Office of Civil Rights |
| OD | Office of the Director (DHHS/NIH) |
| OES | Office of Employment Security |
| OET | Office of Employment Training |
| OFAC | Office of Foreign Assets Control |
| OFCC | Office of Federal Contract Compliance |
| OFFM | Office of Federal Financial Management |
| OFM | Office of Financial Management |
| OFR | Office of the Federal Register |
| OHRP | Office of Human Research Protection |
| OIG | Office of Inspector General |
| OIRA | Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OMB) |
| OLAW | Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare |
| OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
| ONDCP | Office of National Drug Control Policy |
| ONR | Office of Naval Research (DOD) |
| OPERA | Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration |
| OPM | Office of Personnel Management |
| OPRR | Office for Protection from Research Risks |
| ORA | Office of Research Administration |
| ORI | Office of Research Integrity |
| ORU | Organized Research Unit |
| OSEP | Office of Special Education Programs |
| OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
| OSP | Office of Sponsored Projects |
| OSTP | Office of Science and Technology Policy |
| OT | Office of Transportation |
| OTC | Office of Technology Commercialization |
| OTT | Office of Technology Transfer (NIH) |
| PCAST | President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology |
| PCC | Policy Coordination Council |
| PCO | Procuring Contracting Officer |
| PDF | Portable Document Format |
| PETA | People for the Ethnical Treatment of Animals |
| PHI | Protected Health Information |
| PHS | Public Health Service |
| PIA | Proprietary Information Agreement |
| PIGABS | Principal Investigator Grant Administration Burden Survey (done by FDP) |
| PII | Personally Identifiable Information |
| PKI | Public Key Infrastructure |
| PMS | Payment Management System |
| PRD | Presidential Review Directive |
| PRHP | Post retirement Health Plans |
| PROG | Peer Review Oversight Group |
| PSLA | Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture |
| PTE | Pass-through Entity |
| PTO | Patent and Trademark Office |
| R&R | Research and Related |
| RAC | Recombinant DNA Committee |
| RBM | Research Business Models |
| RCR | Responsible Conduct in Research |
| RDMS | Relational Database Management System |
| RDNA | Recombinant DNA Research |
| RFA | Request for Applications |
| RFP | Request for Proposal |
| RFQ | Request for Quotation |
| ROI | Return on Investment |
| S&W | Salaries and Wages |
| S&W + B | Salaries and Wages plus Benefits |
| S2S | System-to-System |
| SAM | System for Award Management |
| SAMHSA | Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (DHHS) |
| SAO | Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory |
| SBA | Small Business Administration |
| SBDC | Small Business Development Center |
| SBIR | Small Business Innovation Research |
| SBU | Sensitive But Unclassified |
| SECA | Southeast Conference on College Cost Accounting |
| SEOG | Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants |
| SEVIS | Student and Exchange Visitor Information System |
| SF | Standard Form |
| SFA | Student Financial Aid |
| SI | US Smithsonian Institution |
| SMOCR | Subrecipient Monitoring Oversight Committee Review |
| SNAP | Streamline Non-competing Application Process |
| SO | Signing Official |
| SOW | Statement of Work |
| SP | Significant Project |
| SPA | Sponsored Project Administration |
| SPAC | Sponsored Projects Accounting & Compliance |
| SPOC | Single Point of Contact |
| SRA | Society of Research Administrators |
| SRO | Sponsored Research Office |
| START | National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism |
| STEM | Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics |
| STEP | Science, Technology and Economic Policy Board |
| STP | Science and Technology Policy |
| T&A | Time and attendance |
| TAR | Travel Approval Request |
| TBSR | Total Business Systems Review |
| TCP | Technology Control Plan |
| TDC | Total Direct Costs |
| TEDCO | Technology Development Corporation |
| U.S.C. | United States Code |
| UARC | University Affiliated Research Center |
| UAS | Unmanned Aircraft Systems |
| UBIT | Unrelated Business Income Tax |
| UCA | Utility Cost Adjustment |
| UG | Uniform Guidance |
| UHC | University Health Center |
| UMB | University of Maryland, Baltimore |
| UMBC | University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
| UM/ UMD/ UMCP | University of Maryland, College Park |
| UMCES | University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies |
| UMCPF | University of Maryland Colle Park Foundation |
| UMERC | University of Maryland Energy Research Center |
| UMES | University of Maryland Eastern Shore |
| UMIACS | University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies |
| USA | United States Army |
| USAF | United States Air Force |
| USAID | United States Agency for International Development |
| USCG | United States Coast Guard |
| USDA | United States Department of Agriculture |
| USGS | US Geological Survey (DOI) |
| USIA | United States Information Agency |
| USM | University System of Maryland |
| USMF | University System of Maryland Foundation |
| USN | United States Navy |
| VA | Department of Veterans Affairs |
| VAT | Value Added Tax |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network |
| VPR | Vice President for Research |
| WAWF | DoD Wide Area Workflow |
| WECA | Western Conference on College Cost Accounting |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
| WOW | Warehouse on the Web |
| XML | Extensible Markup Language |
| YCC | Youth Conservation Corps |
