Fellowships 2026 program announcement 040126.pdf

Fellowships

Program Announcement Deadline: April 22, 2026

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. NEH encourages submissions from independent scholars and junior scholars.

Projects are eligible at any stage.

The 2026 Fellowships competition will accept only projects for research in American history and culture and Western civilization.

To apply, follow the instructions in the Notice of Funding Opportunity for Awards to Individuals (Individual Programs NOFO). This announcement includes additional guidance and requirements specific to the Fellowships program. You are responsible for reviewing and following all requirements in the NOFO and in these guidelines. You must apply via Grants.gov.

Funding Opportunity Title Fellowships Funding Opportunity Number 20260422-FEL Federal Assistance Listing Number 45.160 Application Deadline April 22, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Anticipated Award Announcement January 2027 Anticipated FY 2027 Funding Approximately $3,600,000 Estimated Number and Type of Awards Approximately 60 grants Award Amounts $30,000 to $60,000 ($5,000 per month) Cost Sharing/Match Required No Period of Performance The period of performance is 6-12 months.

Projects must start between April 1, 2027, and September 1, 2028.

Eligible Applicants Individuals: U.S. citizens residing domestically or abroad and foreign nationals who have lived in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least the three years prior to the application deadline https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/Individual%20NOFO%20combined_0.pdf

See eligibility information in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Program Resource Page https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowshi ps

Webinar Pre-recorded webinar posted to resource page Published Updated (amended reference letter deadline)

March 2, 2026 April 1, 2026

Purpose Eligible projects include research in primary and secondary materials leading to the development of books, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, e-books, digital projects and resources, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, critical editions, or other scholarly resources. NEH encourages submissions from independent scholars and junior scholars. Projects are eligible at any stage of development.

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.

Review Criteria Peer reviewers will use the following criteria to review applications for this program:

1. The intellectual significance of the proposed project, including its value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both, and its potential for promoting a deeper understanding of American history and culture and Western civilization.

2. The quality of the conception, definition, organization, and description of the project and the applicant’s clarity of expression.

3. The feasibility and appropriateness of the proposed work plan.

4. The quality or promise of quality of the applicant as an interpreter of the humanities.

5. The likelihood that the applicant will complete the project (not necessarily during the period of performance), including, when relevant, the soundness of the dissemination and access plans.

Funding Restrictions Specific to This Program See section A.2 in the Individual Programs NOFO for the full list of funding restrictions for awards to individuals.

You may not use awards made in this program for

• development of curricula or teaching methods and theories.

• projects that do not involve research in American history and culture or Western civilization.

https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowships https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowships

Period of Performance Fellowships awards can be from 6 to 12 months. You must work full-time on your project and forego teaching, administrative assignments, and other major activities during your fellowship period. You may request a start date between April 1, 2027, and September 1, 2028.

Eligibility See sections C.1 and C.2 in the Individual Programs NOFO for full eligibility information, including resubmission, collaborative projects, and projects supported by previous NEH grants.

You may not accept or hold any other NEH individual award, including a Chairman’s Award to Individuals, in the same federal fiscal year. Because these individual awards are full-time, you may not hold any other NEH award at the same time.

Application deadline Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by April 22, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Applications must be complete, follow length and formatting requirements, and be validated by Grants.gov under the correct funding opportunity prior to the deadline to be considered under this notice.

Application components See the Application Component Table below to learn what a complete application entails, and the sections following it for information about the content of those components.

See the Individual Programs NOFO for instructions for the Grants.gov forms in your application package (SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance-Individual, NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals Form, Project/Performance Site Location(s) Form, Attachments form).

Your attachments must be PDFs and conform to the following formatting requirements:

• pages no larger than standard letter size (8 ½" x 11”)

• margins of at least one inch on all sides

• single-spacing

• a readable font such as Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, or Times New Roman, no smaller than

11 points

• any standard citation style is acceptable; citations are included in page counts

Attachments in non-PDF format (Word, etc.) will result in an application being automatically rejected.

Application Component File Name Designation Page limits Attachments 1: Narrative narrative.pdf Required 3

(mandatory) 2: Work plan workplan.pdf Required 1

(mandatory) 3: Bibliography bibliography.pdf Required 1

(mandatory) 4: Résumé resume.pdf Required 2

(mandatory) 5: Editions and translation sample translation.pdf Conditionally required 2 (mandatory)

6: Visual materials visual.pdf Recommended 1 (mandatory)

7: Data sample datasample.pdf Conditionally required 1 (mandatory)

8: Data management plan datamanagement.pdf Conditionally required 2 (mandatory)

9: Degree conferral degreeconferral.pdf Conditionally required 10: Explanation of delinquent federal debt delinquentdebt.pdf Conditionally required

Grants.gov forms SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Individual

Required

NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals Form

Required

Project/Performance Site(s) Location Form

Required

Attachments Form Required

Attachment 1: Narrative (required) Organize your narrative using the following headings. Each section aligns with one or more review criteria NEH will use to evaluate your proposal. Your narrative should be succinct, well organized, and free of technical terms and jargon so that peer reviewers can understand the proposed project. Per the Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for NEH Grant Proposals, you must acknowledge (by use of footnotes or other marginal notations) when you have inserted AI-generated text into your proposal.

a. Significance and contribution (aligns primarily with review criterion 1) Describe the intellectual significance of the proposed project, including its value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. Provide an overview of the project, explaining the basic ideas, problems, or questions examined by the study. Describe your research and state the https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/NEH.AI_.Policy-10.23.24.pdf https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/NEH.AI_.Policy-10.23.24.pdf project’s thesis or claim(s). Explain how the project will complement, challenge, or expand relevant studies in the field. Discuss how your scholarship will be presented to benefit the intended audiences. Explain how your project meets the call of this announcement and promotes a deeper understanding of American history and culture or Western civilization.

If you are applying to translate a work into English, and other English translations already exist, provide a rationale for a new translation. If your project results in a work that will be written in a language other than English, provide a rationale for publishing in that language.

b. Organization, concepts, and methods (aligns primarily with review criteria 2 and 3) Explain how your proposed research will help you resolve the problems or questions you are examining. Describe the theoretical framework of your argument and explain how your proposed research will advance it. As necessary, explain unfamiliar concepts or terminology for the non-specialist reader.

Outputs of a fellowship typically include books, articles, digital materials, or translations. For book proposals, explain how you will organize the final product. If possible, provide a chapter outline. Explanations of each chapter’s contents are particularly important when a chapter title does not clearly indicate its contents.

If your project is an expansion or revision of a completed dissertation, state this. Explain the expansion or revision you are proposing, and how the resulting product will be strengthened by the work for which you seek support.

For digital projects, describe the technologies you will use or develop, and explain how you will present the scholarship to benefit audiences in the humanities.

For editions and translations, describe your plans for any included scholarly apparatus such as an introduction and/or annotations.

c. Competencies, skills, and access (aligns primarily with review criterion 4) Explain your competence or background in the area of your project. If the area of inquiry is new to you, explain your reasons for working in it and your qualifications to do so. Specify the level of competence in any languages, technologies, or methods needed for the study. Describe where you will conduct the study and what research materials you will use. If relevant, specify the arrangements for access to archives, collections, or institutions that contain the necessary resources.

d. Final product and dissemination (aligns primarily with review criterion 5) Describe the intended results of the project. Identify your intended audience. Explain how you will disseminate the results and why these means are appropriate to the subject matter and audience. For book projects, indicate possible publishers. For article projects, indicate potential journals for publication. If the project has a website, provide the URL. If the final product will appear in a language other than English, explain how access and dissemination will be affected.

If the project involves materials under copyright, indicate your plans for securing the necessary permission to publish.

Your narrative must not exceed three single-spaced pages. Do not include an executive summary, cover page, headers, or a table of contents. You may include images, charts, and diagrams if they fit within the page limit. Name the file narrative.pdf.

Attachment 2: Work plan (required) Present a schedule for the period of performance (in increments of three months or fewer). This schedule can be in narrative form or by using a table. Indicate the current state of the project and identify what, if any, parts of the project you have already completed. Explain the tasks you expect to accomplish during the period of performance. If you will not complete the project during the period of performance, state when you expect to complete it. You should not include a chapter outline. Chapter outlines and descriptions, if applicable, should be part of your narrative.

Your work plan should not depend heavily on factors beyond your control, such as the receipt of outside reviewers’ reports from a publisher. If you plan to submit a manuscript for publication before the end of the period of performance, explain what additional work will be required and why it merits support.

Your timeline should include where you will work and, if you will be in more than one location, how long you will spend in each.

If you received NEH support for an earlier stage of the same project, indicate the program, what was accomplished during that award period and how the proposed work plan builds on your previous support.

If you and another researcher are seeking funds for the same project, identify them and state if they have received or submitted a proposal for NEH support. Clearly explain how the work will be divided and the extent to which each collaborator’s contribution depends on that of the other.

Your work plan must not exceed one page. Name the file workplan.pdf.

Attachment 3: Bibliography (required) Your bibliography should consist of primary and secondary sources that relate directly to the project. Include works that pertain to both the project’s substance and its theoretical or methodological approaches to give a well-rounded representation of your project. Peer reviewers will use the bibliography to assess your knowledge of the subject area.

Your bibliography must not exceed one page. Any standard bibliographic format is acceptable.

Items referenced in the narrative need not appear in the bibliography if the citation in the narrative enables readers to identify the work.

Name the file bibliography.pdf.

Attachment 4: Résumé (required) Include a résumé with the following information:

• current and past positions

• education: list degrees, dates awarded, and titles of theses or dissertations

• awards and honors: include dates. If you have received prior support from NEH, indicate the dates of these awards and the products that resulted from them.

• publications: include full citations for publications and presentations

• other relevant professional activities and accomplishments

• level of competence in digital tools or methodologies, and if applicable, in any relevant foreign languages

Your résumé must not exceed two pages. Name the file resume.pdf.

Attachment 5: Editions and translations sample (conditionally required) If you are creating an edition or translation, you must provide a sample of the original text (one page) and the edited or translated version (one page). If you plan to include annotations, your sample of the edited or translated version should include examples.

Do not exceed two pages total (original and translation). Name the attachment translation.pdf.

Attachment 6: Visual materials (recommended) If your project involves visual materials, NEH recommends that you provide a sample. Your sample must be saved as a PDF (do not use .jpg or other common graphic formats).

Do not exceed one page of visual materials. Name the attachment visual.pdf.

Attachment 7: Data sample (conditionally required) If you are developing a dataset, NEH recommends that you provide a representative sample of your data.

Do not exceed one page. Name the attachment datasample.pdf.

Attachment 8: Data management plan (conditionally required) NEH expects that any materials produced in digital form as a result of its awards (applied or scientific research datasets, born-digital scholarship, or integral digital components of hybrid projects) will be maintained and preserved to ensure their long-term availability. To that end:

• Describe your plan for hosting, maintaining, and preserving your digital products. While you do not need to have a publication contract or formal hosting plan in place at the time of application, mention if you plan to seek institutional hosting (including with a press).

• Explain who will be responsible for maintaining the project during the period of active maintenance.

Include any standards for data and metadata format and content your project will use.

Do not exceed two pages. Name the attachment datamanagement.pdf.

Attachment 9: Degree conferral (conditionally required) If you have satisfied all the requirements for a degree and are awaiting its conferral, you must include a letter from the dean of the conferring school or the department chair attesting that you have satisfied all the requirements for the degree by the application deadline.

Name the file degreeconferral.pdf.

Attachment 10: Explanation of delinquent federal debt (conditionally required) If you receive an offer of an award and are delinquent in the repayment of any federal debt, you will be asked to provide explanatory information including evidence that you have entered into a repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, and that you are current on all payments due. Examples of relevant debt include delinquent student loans, taxes, child support payments, and payroll taxes for household or other employees. See OMB Circular A-

129. NEH encourages you to submit this information with your application, but you will be required to submit it if you receive an award.

Name the file delinquentdebt.pdf.

Letters of reference To ensure full consideration, letters of reference must be submitted online no later than June 4, 2026. For additional information on letters of reference, see Section 4: Letters of Reference in the Individual Programs NOFO.

Award announcements NEH will notify you of funding decisions by email in January 2027.

Federal Award Documents If NEH selects your application for an award, the NEH Office of Grant Management will send your award documents through eGMS Reach starting in March 2027.

Agency Contacts If you have questions about the program, contact:

Division of Research National Endowment for the Humanities 400 Seventh Street, SW Washington, DC 20506 202-606-8200 fellowships@neh.gov

If you have questions about administrative requirements or allowable costs, contact:

Office of Grant Management National Endowment for the Humanities 400 Seventh Street, SW Washington, DC 20506 202-606-8494 grantmanagement@neh.gov

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can contact NEH using telecommunications relay at 7-1-1.

https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/legacy_drupal_files/omb/circulars/A129/a-129.pdf https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/legacy_drupal_files/omb/circulars/A129/a-129.pdf mailto:fellowships@neh.gov mailto:grantmanagement@neh.gov

Letters of reference