EconDefense
ACQ-23 / Workforce and expertise

Contract directly for university students’ temporary technical services

Obtain temporary/intermittent student technical support for defense R&D laboratories, directly or through nonprofit employers.

Action briefPDF dossier · original 168Download record
Authority / instrument · ACQ-23

Research workforce

Workforce and expertise

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Secretary of Defense

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Specified workers-compensation and tort-claims employee status only; not general federal employee status.

Recorded executor

Laboratory and student or nonprofit employing students

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedExpressly subject to appropriations for this purpose. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProcess sourcedDFARS documents a laboratory student-service contracting process expressly tied to section 4143; it is not the same as a scholarship or federal internship appointment. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Possible toolACQ-23 · Contracts & purchases
Legal basis10 U.S.C. §4143

Authority holder: Secretary of Defense

Contracts & purchases

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Express statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.

Program process and intake

Checked 2026-10-04 · process documented. Program evidence is separate from legal authority, available funds and transaction approval.

DFARS documents a laboratory student-service contracting process expressly tied to section 4143; it is not the same as a scholarship or federal internship appointment.

Student technical-support contracts at defense R&D laboratories

Who this route serves
Enrolled students at eligible U.S. institutions, often employed through a nonprofit
Administering office / routing lead
Laboratory requiring office and authorized contracting office
Direct implementation

DFARS 237.7300 and 237.7302 expressly cite section 4143; the rule distinguishes nonprofit-employer contracts from direct student contracts.

What this evidence label means
Published process; specific vacancy unverified

Public DFARS instructions were located; no current laboratory vacancy or award expressly attributed to section 4143 was independently established.

Status reference date: 2026-10-04 · research checked 2026-10-04

DFARS237.73 student laboratory services · 237.7300–7303official acquisition regulation · Evidence record

Program eligibility

Steps and preparation

  • Normally contract with a nonprofit employing the student; direct contracting is allowed when in the government interest. Include the specified payment/termination clauses.

    DFARS237.73 student laboratory services · 237.7300–7303official acquisition regulation · Evidence record
Funding, limits and authority relationship

Funding and financial terms

Exclusions and limits

Authority relationship source

DFARS237.73 student laboratory services · 237.7300–7303official acquisition regulation · Evidence record

Read student-service contract procedures →

published guidance: Laboratory contracting guidance, not a universal student application form.

Research scope and sources checked

Searched4143 and predecessor laboratory-student terminology; read the complete relevantDFARS subpart. Did not label SMART, Pathways or unrelated internships as uses of4143.

What remains unverified

  • Current DoD Part37 deviation applicability and a laboratory-specific intake require confirmation.

A dated source check is not continuing monitoring. Recheck the linked official notice before preparing a submission. Browse program research →

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Student and institution meet implementing definitions; services are technical support at defense R&D laboratory.

Limits & exclusions

  • Specified workers-compensation and tort-claims employee status only; not general federal employee status.
  • Not an unrestricted personal-services contract exception for all professionals.

Funding conditions

  • Expressly subject to appropriations for this purpose.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • Laboratory technical manager

Resources

  • Laboratory research budget owner

Approval

  • Authorized agency contracting official under Secretary of Defense regulations/delegation
    Office profile

Execution

  • Laboratory and student or nonprofit employing students

Partners & review

  • University; laboratory HR/counsel

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Lab identifies time-limited support → student/nonprofit eligibility → contracting office → lab supervision and liability review.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

What this research establishes

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedExpressly subject to appropriations for this purpose. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProcess sourcedDFARS documents a laboratory student-service contracting process expressly tied to section 4143; it is not the same as a scholarship or federal internship appointment. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.

Currentness: GovInfo 2024 Code (includes FY2025 NDAA, P.L. 118-159) read in full for cited provision; targeted FY2026 NDAA P.L. 119-60 amendment/repeal sweep. No claim of complete legislative currency through 2026-10-02; remaining 2026 delta needs counsel validation.

Review scope: Original research target October 2, 2026; no record-specific last-review date supplied. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

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