Humanities and Social Sciences Funding

A general note: Deadlines are subject to change. Although we check these opportunities periodically for updates, faculty should check the funding organization’s website to verify the most current program information.

African American Studies and Research Program: Offers fellowships to assist scholars who study Africa and its Diaspora.

American Academy of Arts & Sciences Visiting Scholars Program: Offers fellowships to postdoctoral students and untenured junior faculty to support research in the fields of science and global security, social policy and American institutions, humanities and culture, as well as education.

The American Antiquarian Society: Awards long- and short-term fellowships to scholars for resident research in all fields of American history and culture.

American Association of University Women (AAUW): Provides fellowships for scholars in the arts and humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and business.

American Council of Learned Studies (ACLS): Offers several fellowships, which help scholars devote 6-12 continuous months to full-time research and writing. Available to assistant, associate, and full professors with the Ph.D. 

• ACLS Fellowships: Support research applications in all disciplines of the humanities and humanities-related social sciences.
• Digital Extension Grants: This program supports digitally-based research projects in all disciplines of the humanities and humanities-related social sciences. 

American Historical Association: Offers fellowship in American History to scholars in the early stages of their career who need to spend 2-3 months at the Library of Congress conducting historical research.

American Philosophical Society (APS): Awards research grants to scholars from a variety of academic disciplines.

• Franklin Research Grants: Provides grants to support research-related expenses to scholars in all academic disciplines. 
• Library Short-Term Resident Research Fellowships: Offers short-term residential fellowships for conduction research in it's collections.            

American Psychological Association (APA) Policy Fellowships: Provides psychologists with an opportunity to work with federal research administration and policy, as well as “to contribute to more effective use of psychological knowledge within federal research funding agencies.” 

The Bibliographical Society of America: Supports bibliographical inquiry, as well as research in the history of the book trades and publishing history.

The John Carter Brown Library: Provides research fellowships in history and the humanities at Brown University. Research must focus on the colonial history of the Americas, including all aspects of European, African, and Native American involvement.

Center for Hellenic Studies: Provides fellowships for junior faculty to conduct research on ancient Greek civilization.

Center for International Security and Cooperation: Offers fellowship opportunities to postdoctoral scholars and professionals to work on research within a broad range of topics related to peace and international security.

The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies: Provides various fellowships for scholarly work/research relating to the Italian Renaissance.

Center for Contemplative Mind in Society: Formerly administered by ACLS, the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society funds Contemplative Practice Fellowships.  Please follow the Center on Facebook or Twitter for important announcements. The Center also offers a Summer Session on Contemplative Learning in Higher Education that prepares participants to return to their institutions with a deeper understanding of the practice of contemplative pedagogy and methods adapted for classroom and co-curricular use. 

David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality: The Library of Congress provides fellowships for research on the relation of religiousness and spirituality to physical, mental, and social health. 

David Library of the American Revolution: Offers research fellowships for the study of America in the last half of the eighteenth century using the collections assembled at the David Library.

Dumbarton Oaks: Offers fellowships for research in three areas of study: Byzantine Studies (including related aspects of late Roman, early Christian, Western medieval, Slavic, and Near Eastern studies), Pre-Columbian Studies (of Mexico, Central America, and Andean South America), and Garden and Landscape Studies.

Echoing Green Fellowship to Social Entrepreneurs: Supports projects in all public service areas including, but not limited to the environment, health, youth service and development, civil and human rights, and community and economic development.

Ford Foundation Fellowships: Through its Fellowship Programs, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. 

The Gerald R. Ford Foundation: Supports research travel grants for visits to the Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Gerda Henkel Stiftung General Research Grants: Offers grants in archeology, history of art, history of Islamic studies, history, history of science, history for law, and prehistory and early history. It supports scholarships, student assistants, travel and research aids.

The Getty Foundation: Offers residential grants and fellowship support for projects in the arts, humanities,and social sciences. 

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: Offers fellowships to assist research and artistic creation for advanced professionals in all fields (natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, creative arts) except the performing arts.

Hagley Museum and Library Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society Grants and Fellowships: Offers short- to medium-term research fellowships to support visits to Hagley for scholarly research in the imprint, manuscript, pictorial, and artifact collections.

International Research and Exchange Board: Research Exchanges with USSR and eastern-block countries. Travel grants for senior scholars in the social sciences and humanities.

Fellowships at the Lewis Center Princeton: The Hodder Fellowship was created for artists in the early stages of their careers. In keeping with the bequest of Mary MacKall Gwinn Hodder, it is awarded to individuals during that crucial period when they have demonstrated exceptional promise but have not yet received widespread recognition. Hodder Fellows spend an academic year at Princeton pursuing independent projects.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens: Offers a variety of fellowships for scholars to be in residence at the Huntington, which is an independent research center with holdings in British and American history, literature, art history, the history of science, and medicine.

The George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation: Offers fellowships in liberal and fine arts. Topics change yearly.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation: Offers residential fellowships and travel grants at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies.

The Louisville Institute: Offers several grant programs that support the study of American religion. 

Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC): Provides grants supporting higher education programs in Maryland. 

Maryland Humanities Council: Provides grants to nonprofit organizations that use the humanities (literature, philosophy, history, etc) to engage Marylanders. Grants are awarded with the understanding that participants will be given the opportunity to discuss critical issues affecting their communities.

Maryland State Arts Council: Offers several opportunities for artists to sustain careers and nurture their creative process through grant funding, technical assistance and opportunities to engage with their communities.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Fellowships: Welcomes senior scholars to undertake independent study and research related to the museums collections.

National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship: This program supports early career scholars working in critical areas of education research. This nonresidential postdoctoral fellowship funds proposals that make significant scholarly contributions to the field of education.

National Endowment for the Arts: Offers Creative Writing and Translation Literature Fellowships as well as NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, and NEA National Heritage Fellowships in the Folk & Traditional Arts.

National Endowment for the Humanities: Offers various fellowships and grants providing support to scholars and organizations for research and programs related to the humanities. Note: Applications for NEH Fellowship and Faculty research awards are accepted between March 1 and May 1 each year. 

National Gallery of Art: The Center for Advanced Visual Arts offers several fellowship opportunities. Scholars are expected to reside in Washington and to participate in the activities of the Center throughout the fellowship period

National Humanities Center: Provides residential fellowships to scholars from all fields of the humanities, as well as individuals from the natural and social sciences, the arts, the professions, and public life who are engaged in humanistic projects. The Center is located near Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Newberry: Offers short-term and long-term fellowships to researchers who wish to use the library's collections.

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study: Provides fellowships to support scholars, scientists, artists, and writers who wish to pursue work in academic and professional fields and in the creative arts.

Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Fellowships – Princeton University: Provides residential fellowships for scholars who are interested in devoting a year to writing about ethics and human values.

Social Science Research Council: Postdoctoral grants for international research: Africa, Contemporary and Republican China, Japan, Korea, Latin America and the Caribbean, Near and Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia.

Smithsonian Institution Fellowships: Provides scholars with opportunities to pursue independent research projects in collaboration with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff.  

Soros Justice Media Fellowship: Supports mid-career and veteran print and radio journalists, filmmakers and individuals for an advanced and in-depth media project about issues at the core of the U.S. Justice Fund’s criminal justice priorities. Fellowships, which are one year in duration, support print and radio journalism, film and video post-production and dissemination, and book projects.

Spencer Foundation: Provides grants for research related to education in the United States or abroad.

Stanford Humanities Center Fellowship Program: Provides residential fellowships for scholars in the humanities. 

Tanner Resident Fellowships – University of Utah: Offers fellowships to encourage, support, and disseminate important humanistic research. Fellows spend one year or one semester during the academic year conducting research at the Tanner Humanities Center.

The John Templeton Foundation: Funds research in the natural sciences, human sciences, philosophy, theology, free enterprise, gifted education, and world religions.

The UCLA Center for 17th and 18th-Century Studies Fellowships: Supports postdoctoral, predoctoral, and undergraduate research in areas of interest to the Center and the Clark Library.

The United States Institute of Peace Jennings Randolph Senior Fellowship: Supports outstanding scholars, policymakers, journalists, and other professionals from around the world in conducting research at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Resident Fellows Program: Provides time, space, and resources to scholars applying the tools of history, philosophy, ethics, cultural studies, and literary criticism to matters of public concern.

The Lewis Walpole Library of the Yale University Library: Supports visiting fellowships for advanced research in most aspects of British 18th century studies.

The White House Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians: Provides support for research projects focusing on the roles of the White House as home, workplace, museum, structure, and symbol.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars: Supports fellowships for research in the social sciences and humanities related to international issues and public policy. 

National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (NCEEER): Funds projects that promote understanding of current developments and future prospects in the post-communist countries of Europe and Eurasia.