NURP is part of NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) line office. Over the years, the program name has changed, but undersea research has been an important part of NOAA since the agency was born in 1970. NURP headquarters' current responsibilities include:

1. Serve as program advocate within NOAA, the Department of Commerce, and other government agencies;
2. Participate in NOAA strategic planning;
3. Process grants and reports for the regional centers and other relevant activities (e.g., Jason Project);
4. coordinate communication among the network of regional Centers;
5. Facilitate NOAA and science community access to National Science Foundation (NSF) and Navy undersea assets (e.g., DSV Alvin, ROV Jason-Medea, nuclear submarine NR-1);
6. Coordinate diving safety and physiology research programs (e.g., support for DAN, development of the new NOAA Dive Manual);
7. Promote access for the U.S. research community to international deep sea assets (e.g., Japanese and Russian assets);
8. Serve as a clearinghouse for undersea information for other federal agencies and decision makers.