Funder: Harvard University
Due Dates (Anticipated): October 2027 (Fall application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $125,000 per project, typically for one year
Summary: Supports Harvard faculty’s original scholarship, research awaiting renewed external support, and critical research infrastructure across FAS disciplines.
Key Information: Only FAS/SEAS ladder faculty, Professors in Residence, and Professors of the Practice may apply.
Description
Harvard’s Dean’s Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship supports bold, imaginative work across all Faculty of Arts and Sciences disciplines. Its three categories address new research directions, continuity for previously funded work without current external support, and infrastructure that enables scholarship. Seed funding also supports pivots toward new funding sources, including private foundations and corporate partnerships. Faculty affected by changes to federal funding are encouraged to propose new or different research directions.
The program prioritizes projects with a critical need for support and the potential for substantial marginal benefit. Applicants must explain why this fund is needed rather than traditional funding sources, using language accessible to reviewers across disciplines. Awards are intended to advance work toward future internal or external competitive funding.
