Updated October 14, 2026
Humanities Research Grants and Fellowships
Open grants and fellowships for humanities scholars in history, literature, philosophy, religion, languages, and the arts. A live list, updated daily.
Humanities scholars have always worked with less funding than their colleagues in the sciences, and 2026 has made the gap wider. Federal support through the National Endowment for the Humanities and the state humanities councils it funds has been cut back and disrupted, and many universities have trimmed internal research and travel budgets at the same time. For historians, literary scholars, philosophers, and others, finding the right external fellowship now matters more than ever.
Featured grants
Updated automatically from Atom's grant database. Summaries are AI-generated.Grants for Humanities Scholar Research Fellowships
This grant funds Oklahoma-based humanities scholars at accredited institutions to support original research in fields like history, literature, philosophy, and related disciplines.
Humanities Program
Supports institutional projects advancing humanist scholarship and artistic achievement in fields like history, literature, philosophy, and the arts, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary and historically grounded approaches.
ACLS Fellowships
ACLS Fellowships support individual scholars’ full-time research and writing in the humanities and interpretive social sciences to develop major scholarly works with broad intellectual significance.
The good news is that humanities funding is spread across a deep bench of private sources. Research foundations, residential fellowship centers, learned societies, and state humanities councils all fund scholarly work, from short research trips and archival visits to full-year fellowships that buy time to finish a book. Many of these programs are small enough that a well-matched application has real odds, and several welcome independent scholars and those outside tenure-track positions.
This collection gathers open grants and fellowships for humanities research across foundations, societies, and public funders. It updates as new calls open and deadlines pass. Fellowship cycles in the humanities often close a full year before the award begins, so it pays to look early.
Humanities Innovation Grants: Workforce Equity
Humanities Innovation Grants: Workforce Equity support faculty and small teams in improving academic working conditions through mentoring, workforce research, and fairer workload and hiring practices.
Fellowships
North Carolina Humanities Fellowships support NC-based scholars with summer funding to pursue intensive humanities research and produce substantial scholarly work.
General Research Grants: Scholarships - Research Scholarships for Postdoctoral and Senior Scholars
General Research Grants: Scholarships - Research Scholarships for Postdoctoral and Senior Scholars support scholars’ full-time research and related travel to pursue historical humanities inquiry.
Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities
Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities supports recent humanities doctorate recipients through research, teaching, and mentorship at Stanford to develop their work as scholars and teachers.
Fellowships
The National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships support individual scholars conducting research and writing on American history, culture, or Western civilization.
Humanities Fellowships - Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
Humanities Fellowships - Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection support emerging humanities professionals through mentored projects at two institutions, helping them build skills and career networks.
General Research Grants: Scholarships — Research Scholarships
General Research Grants: Scholarships — Research Scholarships support postdoctoral and senior scholars’ independent historical humanities research, funding their working time to pursue academically significant projects.
Research Fellowships - Utah Humanities
Research Fellowships - Utah Humanities support humanities researchers pursuing national, international, or Utah-focused projects and sharing their findings through free public events that engage communities.
Fellowships 2027-2028
NFAH fellowships fund innovative art history research projects by mid-career and contingent faculty at U.S. institutions, supporting diverse scholarship through year-long and multi-year non-residential awards.
Fellowships for Stanford Faculty
Fellowships for Stanford Faculty support Stanford scholars’ residential research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences to advance scholarly projects and interdisciplinary exchange.
Fellowships for External Faculty
Fellowships for External Faculty support academic and independent scholars in a year of residential humanities and interpretive social science research, fostering intellectual exchange at Stanford.
Fellowships in Hellenic Studies 2027–28
Fellowships in Hellenic Studies 2027–28 support postdoctoral scholars’ independent and collaborative research on ancient Greek civilization to advance Classical studies and the humanities.
Awards for Faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
The National Endowment for the Humanities supports HBCU faculty and staff pursuing research or scholarly projects in the humanities, focusing on American history, culture, or Western civilization.
Residential Fellowships
Residential Fellowships support scholars undertaking advanced humanities research at the National Humanities Center, providing time and a residential scholarly community to move work toward publication.
ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowships
ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowships support faculty at historically Black colleges and universities with research time and resources to advance original humanities and interpretive social science scholarship.
Long-Term Awards - Huntington Library Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
Long-Term Awards - Huntington Library Art Collections and Botanical Gardens support scholars’ residential research using library and art collections to advance humanities scholarship.
Short-Term Awards
Short-Term Awards support scholars, artists, and writers in research using The Huntington’s library and art collections to advance humanities and arts scholarship and reach broader audiences.
Frequently asked questions
The National Endowment for the Humanities and state humanities councils are the main public funders. Private sources include research foundations such as the Gerda Henkel Foundation, residential fellowship centers such as the National Humanities Center, and learned societies across disciplines.
Many programs welcome independent scholars and researchers outside tenure-track positions, though some require a university affiliation. Each listing's eligibility section specifies who can apply.
Common awards cover research travel, archival and library visits, summer research, conference organizing, publication subventions, and full-year fellowships that buy time to write a book.
Early. Many fellowship deadlines fall nine to twelve months before the award period begins, especially for full-year and residential fellowships.