Application Deadline: April 22, 2026
From the program description: “NEH Fellowships are grants to individual scholars pursuing projects that embody exceptional humanistic research, rigorous analysis, and clear writing. Applications must clearly articulate a project’s value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. These awards provide recipients with time to write, to travel, and to conduct research and other project-related activities... Projects are eligible at any stage.”
Please note: this year's fellowships have new topical restrictions:
“The 2026 Fellowships competition will accept only projects for research in American history and culture and Western civilization. Competitive applications must focus on topics in the history, culture, and government of the United States in any period from the Colonial Era to the present, or topics in Western civilization from antiquity to the present.”
“The 2026 Fellowships competition will accept only projects for research in American history and culture and Western civilization. Competitive applications must focus on topics in the history, culture, and government of the United States in any period from the Colonial Era to the present, or topics in Western civilization from antiquity to the present.”
Successful applicants will be awarded $5,000/month, and all awards are made directly to individual awardees. The proposed work must take place over a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 12 months (with final awards ranging from $30,000 to $60,000). Please consult with your department chair and the Dean's Office regarding eligibility for leave before you apply.
To support your application, the Franco Institute has prepared a Resource Kit, which includes the NEH's Program Announcement and Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), an application checklist, recommended timeline, and previously successful proposals from ND faculty. Also available in the resource kit are tips and strategies for framing your research for the NEH, guidance on navigating the submission portal on Grants.gov, and recordings of previous webinars.
For questions about the program and your / your project's eligibility, we encourage you to consult the program page and NOFO linked above. For support crafting and/or refining your proposal, including feedback on drafts of your narrative, work plan, or other application components, please reach out to Kevin Gallin at kgallin@nd.edu.