Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program
Supporting basic scientific research on human-environment interactions and geographical processes, HEGS Program seeks methodologically rigorous proposals contributing to fundamental geographical theory with broader societal impacts.
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Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: January 15, 2027 (Full proposals) | August 6, 2027 (Full proposals) | Anytime (Conferences)
Funding Amounts: $7 million total; senior research typically $100,000–$500,000 for up to 48 months
Summary: Supports fundamental geographical and geospatial research on human behavior and its interactions with environmental and social processes.
Key Information: Proposals must test or expand geographical theory and engage human dimensions, not simply apply geospatial methods.
Description
The Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program (HEGS) supports basic scientific research on the spatial dimensions of human behaviors, activities, and dynamics, including their interactions with environmental and social processes across scales. It is administered by NSF’s Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences within the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.
HEGS welcomes empirically grounded, theoretically engaged, methodologically rigorous, and generalizable research using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. Projects should advance fundamental geographical theory and geospatial methods while producing broader impacts that benefit society. Research primarily seeking humanistic interpretations or findings that are not generalizable or reproducible cannot be funded. Proposals that merely apply geographical methods without a theory-testing or theory-expanding contribution, or fail to engage relevant human dimensions, will be returned without review.
