Funding Opportunity for

Individuals

Awards for Faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Maximum award amount

$5,000 per month

Expected Output

Article; Research leading to improvement of existing undergraduate course; Research related to goals and interests of the institution or community; Book; Digital Resource or Publication; Edition; Other Scholarly Resource; Translation

Period of performance

Two to twelve months, full-time equivalent

The Awards for Faculty at HBCUs program strengthens the humanities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by encouraging and expanding humanities research opportunities for individual faculty and staff members. Awards provide the individual recipient with time to write, conduct research, and pursue other project-related activities.

This program offers applicants flexibility in project outcomes and award periods. Awards support individuals pursuing scholarly research that is of value to humanities scholars, students, and/or general audiences.

The 2026 Awards for Faculty competition will only accept projects for research in American history and culture and Western civilization. Competitive applications will focus on topics in American history, culture, and government in any period from the Colonial Era to the present, or topics in Western civilization from antiquity to the present.

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
  • research related to institutional or community goals or interests, such as projects that draw on archival collections, collection and interpretation of oral histories, or the development of materials in support of culture or language preservation and revitalization
  • research leading to the improvement of a single existing undergraduate course, including the development of humanities resources (for example, oral histories, identification and preparation of archival sources, or newly compiled historical or literary collections) 

The Awards for Faculty at HBCUs program is open to individual faculty and staff members, including full-time, part-time, adjunct, and retired faculty and staff at HBCUs. If retired, applicants must not be affiliated with or employed by another institution at the time of application. Awards support individuals who work between half time and full time on their projects. Projects may be at any stage of development. You may propose to complete your project by the end of the period of performance or you may propose to do so by a later date.

What's new for 2026: 

Recorded Webinar

 

 

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Application Instructions

Review your application package

Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity to ensure you understand all the expectations and restrictions for projects delivered under this program and that you are prepared to write the most effective application. 

Application Materials

Notice of Funding Opportunity 2025 (PDF)

Grants.gov application package

Program Resources

Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for NEH Grant Proposals

Sample Application Narratives

The narrative samples below are not intended to serve as models, but to give you a sense of how a successful application might be crafted. Note that the format has changed since these applications were submitted. Follow the guidelines in the currently posted Notice of Funding Opportunity to insure that your application is complete and eligible.

Sample Application and Work Plan: Women at Odds: Indifference Antagonism and Progress in Late Victorian Literature

Sample Application: Civil Wars and Civil Beings: Societal Construction, Reconstruction, and Post-Reconstruction in Perry County, Alabama, 1860-1875

Sample Application, The Abolitionist Movement's Involvement in American Politics, 1750-1865

Register for an account on Grants.gov

When you are ready to apply, register for a Grants.gov account. If you already have registered, make sure the account is current. After registering, you must add an “individual applicant” profile. Click on the “My Account” link, then on “Manage Profiles” and “Add Profile.” Refer to Grants.gov’s instructions for adding a profile.

Complete your application package

As soon you are ready to apply, register for a Grants.gov account as this is vital to the application process. If you already registered, confirm that your registration is current.

Submit your application package on Grants.gov

Follow the instructions outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity and Grants.gov. 

Monitor the status of the submission of your letters of recommendation

NEH will request letters of reference from your recommenders approximately seven to ten days after the application deadline. You will be notified by email when each of your letters of reference has been received. Once you receive final confirmation of receipt from Grants.gov, you may check the status of your letters by logging in to the secure area of NEH’s website. Enter your NEH application number and your Grants.gov tracking number. You will be able to see the names and e-mail addresses of your letter writers and whether their letters have arrived. If necessary, you may send reminders to your letter writers (including the upload link) from this site. You are responsible for ensuring that your letter writers have received the solicitations from NEH and submitted their letters.