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Office of Research

NEH Funding Opportunities

Collaborative Research

Debate, exchange of ideas, and working together—all are basic activities that advance humanities knowledge and foster rich scholarship that would not be possible by researchers working on their own. The Collaborative Research program aims to advance humanistic knowledge through sustained collaboration between two or more scholars. Collaborators may be drawn from a single institution or several institutions across the United States; up to half of the collaborators may be based outside of the U.S. The program encourages projects that propose diverse approaches to topics, incorporate multiple points of view, and explore new avenues of inquiry in the humanities.

The program allows projects that propose research in a single field of study, as well as interdisciplinary work. Projects that include partnerships with researchers from the natural and social sciences are encouraged but must employ a humanistic research agenda. Partnerships among different types of institutions are welcome as well as new collaborations with international partners.

  • Proposed projects must aim to result in tangible and sustainable outcomes, for example, co-authored or multi-authored books; born-digital publications; themed issues of peer-reviewed journals; a series of peer-reviewed articles; and open-access scholarly digital resources. All project outcomes must incorporate interpretive work and collaboration to address significant humanities research questions.

What’s new for 2022:

  • The Convening category replaces last year’s Conference category and supports a single scholarly conference, symposium, or seminar, or up to two working group meetings. The maximum period of performance is one year, and the maximum award is $50,000.
  • The page limit for the narrative section of the application has decreased from twelve to eleven pages.

You must submit a Research and Related Budget and budget justification for each subrecipient in Attachment 8: Subrecipient budget(s).

  • Maximum Award amount: Up to $250,000 (depending on funding category)
  • Application available: August 9, 2022
  • Optional draft due: September 15, 2022
  • Deadline: November 30, 2022
  • Expected notification date: August 31, 2023
  • Project start date: October 1, 2023, September 1, 2024

Humanities Connections

The Humanities Connections program seeks to expand the role of the humanities in undergraduate education at two- and four-year institutions. Awards support innovative curricular approaches that foster partnerships among humanities faculty and their counterparts in the social and natural sciences and in pre-service or professional programs (such as business, engineering, health sciences, law, computer science, and other technology-driven fields), in order to encourage and develop new integrative learning opportunities for students.

Humanities Connections projects must include:

  • substantive and purposeful integration of the subject matter, perspectives, and pedagogical approaches of two or more disciplines (with a minimum of one in and one outside of the humanities)
  • collaboration between faculty from two or more departments or schools at one or more institutions
  • experiential learning as an intrinsic part of the proposed curriculum
  • long-term institutional support for the proposed curriculum innovation(s)

Competitive applications will demonstrate:

  • that the proposed curricular project expands the role of the humanities in addressing significant and compelling topics or issues in undergraduate education at the applicant institution(s)
  • that these projects develop the intellectual skills and habits of mind cultivated by the study of the humanities
  • that faculty and students will benefit from meaningful collaborations in teaching and learning across disciplines as a result of the project

The Humanities Connections program includes two funding levels: Planning and Implementation

  • Maximum award amount: up to $35,000 for Planning; up to $150,000 for Implementation
  • Application available (anticipated): June 7, 2023
  • Next deadline (anticipated): September 7, 2023
  • Expected notification date: April 30, 2024
  • Project start date: June 1, 2024, September 1, 2024

A pre-application webinar was held on Wednesday, August 24, at 2:00 PM Eastern.

Summer Stipends

The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Stipends program aims to stimulate new research in the humanities and its publication. The program works to accomplish this goal by:

  • Providing small awards to individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both
  • Supporting projects at any stage of development, but especially early-stage research and late-stage writing in which small awards are most effective
  • Furthering the NEH’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the humanities by encouraging applications from independent scholars and faculty at Hispanic Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and community colleges

Summer Stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. NEH funds may support recipients’ compensation, travel, and other costs related to the proposed scholarly research.

What’s new for 2022 and 2023

A new one-page attachment indicating your plan of work is required

The program will offer exemption from nomination for faculty at Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions (ANNHIs), Native American-Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTIs), and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs).

  • Maximum award amount: $6,000
  • Application available: April 7, 2022
  • Deadline: September 20, 2023
  • Expected notification date: April 15, 2024
  • Project start date: May 1, 2024; September 1, 2025

A webinar focused on application writing strategies was presented on August 17, 2022.

Fellowships

NEH Fellowships are competitive awards granted to individual scholars pursuing projects that embody exceptional research, rigorous analysis, and clear writing. Applications must clearly articulate a project’s value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both.

Fellowships provide recipients time to conduct research or to produce books, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, e-books, digital materials, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, or critical editions resulting from previous research. Projects may be at any stage of development.

NEH invites research applications from scholars in all disciplines, and it encourages submissions from independent scholars and junior scholars.

Applicants interested in research projects that are either born digital or require mainly digital expression and digital publication are encouraged to apply instead for NEH-Mellon Fellowships for Digital Publication.

What’s new for 2022 and 2023

Changes have been made to the application format, including the following:

  • A new one-page attachment indicating your plan of work is required
  • A writing sample is no longer required and should not be included

2022 NEH Fellowships Webinar

A free online information session was held on February 16, 2022.The webinar introduces the program, describes the application process and eligibility criteria, and offers application writing suggestions.

  • Maximum award amount: $60,000 ($5,000 per month)
  • Application available: December 20, 2021
  • Application due: April 12, 2023
  • Expected notification date: December 15, 2023
  • Project start date: January 1, 2024–September 1, 2025

NEH Mellon Fellowships for Digital Publication

Through NEH-Mellon Fellowships for Digital Publication, the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation jointly support individual scholars pursuing interpretive research projects that require digital expression and digital publication. To be considered under this opportunity, an applicant’s plans for digital publication must be integral to the project’s research goals. That is, the project must be conceived as digital because the research topics being addressed and methods applied demand presentation beyond traditional print publication. Competitive submissions embody exceptional research, rigorous analysis, and clearly articulate a project’s value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both.

All projects must be interpretive. That is, projects must advance a scholarly argument through digital means and tools. Stand-alone databases, documentary films, podcasts, and other projects that lack an explicit interpretive argument are not eligible. Applicants interested in conducting research and writing leading to traditional print or e-book publications should apply to the NEH Fellowships program.

NEH - Mellon Fellowships provide recipients time to conduct research and prepare digital publications. Successful projects will likely incorporate images, video, audio, and/or other multimedia materials or flexible reading pathways that could not be included in traditionally published books, as well as an active distribution plan.

Anticipated products must be published in digital form and include, but are not limited to, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, websites, virtual exhibitions, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, or critical editions. Projects may be at any stage of development.

A live online information session was held on January 31, 2022. The session explained the goals of the NEH-Mellon Fellowships program, the eligibility requirements, how to apply, how applications are reviewed, and how to write an effective application.

  • Maximum award amount: $5,000 per month
  • Application available (anticipated): January 19, 2023
  • Next deadline (anticipated): April 19, 2023
  • Expected notification date: December 31, 2023
  • Project start date: January 1, 2024; September 1, 2024

Humanities Initiatives at Colleges and Universities

Humanities Initiatives at Colleges and Universities strengthen the teaching and study of the humanities at institutions of higher education by developing new humanities programs, resources (including those in digital format), or courses, or by enhancing existing ones.

Projects must be organized around a core topic or set of themes drawn from such areas of study in the humanities as history, philosophy, religion, literature, and composition and writing skills.

NEH welcomes applications for projects that are modest in scope, duration, and budget, as well as applications for expansive, long-term projects.

  • Maximum award amount: $150,000
  • Application available (anticipated): February 9, 2023
  • Next deadline (anticipated): May 9, 2023
  • Expected notification date: December 31, 2023
  • Project start date: February 1, 2024, September 1, 2024

Digital Projects for the Public

The Digital Projects for the Public program supports projects that interpret and analyze humanities content in primarily digital platforms and formats, such as websites, mobile applications and tours, interactive touch screens and kiosks, games, and virtual environments.

All Digital Projects for the Public projects should

  • present analysis that deepens public understanding of significant humanities ideas;
  • incorporate sound humanities scholarship;
  • involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and production;
  • include appropriate digital media professionals;
  • reach a broad public through a realistic plan for development, marketing, and distribution;
  • create appealing digital formats for the general public; and
  • demonstrate the capacity to sustain themselves.

All projects should demonstrate the potential to attract a broad, general, non-specialist audience, either online or in person at venues such as museums, libraries, or other cultural institutions. Applicants may also choose to identify particular communities and groups, including students, to whom a project may have particular appeal. Applying for Digital Projects for the Public webinar is available below.

The recorded webinar below provides examples and explanation in support of the Notice of Funding Opportunity guidelines for the 2022 funding cycle.

  • Maximum Award Amount: $30,000 (Discovery grants); $100,000 (Prototyping grants); $400,000 (Production grants)
  • Application available (anticipated): March 14, 2023
  • Next deadline (anticipated): June 14, 2023
  • Expected notification date: December 31, 2023
  • Project start date: March 1, 2024; September 1, 2024