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Cultural Anthropology Program Senior Research Awards (CA-SR) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). This program supports fundamental, systematic anthropological research and training to increase understanding of the causes, consequences, and complexities of human social and cultural variability. It welcomes proposals from researchers in all sub-fields of cultural anthropology and research at any temporal or spatial scale.
Research that seeks to advance scientific cultural anthropological theories in a way that advances use-inspired objectives may be supported, but the theory-advancing objectives must be clearly at the center of the proposal.
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Cultural Anthropology Program Senior Research Awards (CA-SR) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Cultural Anthropology Program Senior Research Awards (CA-SR) Status: Waiting for new publication NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website .
These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.
Important information for proposers All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements.
Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.
Updates to NSF Research Security Policies On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.
Supports research aimed at understanding patterns, causes and consequences of human social and cultural variation, including research that has implications for confronting anthropogenic problems. Supports research aimed at understanding patterns, causes and consequences of human social and cultural variation, including research that has implications for confronting anthropogenic problems.
The primary objective of the Cultural Anthropology Program is to support fundamental, systematic anthropological research and training to increase understanding of the causes, consequences and complexities of human social and cultural variability. The Cultural Anthropology Program welcomes proposals from researchers in all sub-fields of cultural anthropology and research at any temporal or spatial scale.
Methodologies and approaches employed may include ethnographic field research, surveys, remote sensing, the collection of bio-markers, experimental research inside or outside of laboratory settings, archival research, the analysis of materials collections and extant data bases, mathematical and computational modeling and other research tools as appropriate for the proposed research.
The overarching research goals should be to produce empirically grounded findings that will be generalizable beyond particular case studies and contribute to building a more robust anthropological science of human society and culture. The U.S. National Science Foundation's mandate is to support basic scientific research.
Basic research in cultural anthropology means theory-generating and theory-testing research that creates new knowledge about human culture and society. Therefore, the Cultural Anthropology Program cannot support research that takes as its primary objective improved clinical practice, applied policy or other immediate application.
Research that seeks to advance scientific cultural anthropological theories in a way that advances use-inspired objectives may be supported, but the theory-advancing objectives must be clearly at the center of the proposal.
A proposal to use anthropological methods and approaches only to find solutions to social, medical or other problems without specifically proposing to make a theory-testing or theory-expanding contribution to anthropological science will be returned without review.
Updates and announcements Video and slides from Cultural Anthropology funding opportunity webinars, May and July, 2022 Business Operations Specialist Additional program resources Dear Colleague Letter: High School Student Research Assistantships in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE-High) Sample successful Cultural Anthropology Program - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant proposal Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Cultural Anthropology Program - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (CA-DDRIG) Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (SBE/BCS)
Key questions and narrative sections extracted from the solicitation.
Intellectual Merit Section (clearly labeled): Describe the potential contribution to anthropological theory beyond the specific research site, review existing knowledge, and provide a clear statement of the contribution and scientific significance
Broader Impacts Section (labeled separately): Describe effects beyond basic science and pathways for realizing broader impacts (e.g., policy communication, student engagement, public outreach, database development, underrepresented group participation)
Ethical Considerations Section (titled separately): Describe the ethical principles guiding research design and the ethical implications of implementation
Research problem statement with specific aims, questions, or hypotheses (recommended early in description)
Preliminary studies and their results
Research design: sites, data sources, collection methods, sample justification, and analysis approach
Project feasibility assessment and research timeline/schedule
Results from Prior NSF Support (required if PI had NSF funding ending within past 5 years): focus on intellectual merit and broader impacts outcomes
Scoring criteria used to review proposals for this grant.
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Universities & research institutions; researchers in all sub-fields of cultural anthropology. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The published deadline was October 7, 2024, which has passed. Check the official notice for any future application windows before investing time in a proposal.
Cultural Anthropology Program Senior Research Awards (CA-SR) is funded by National Science Foundation (NSF). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
The solicitation lists 10 required documents: Project Summary, Project Description, Budget and Budget Justification (up to 5 pages), Biographical Sketches for all senior/key personnel, Facilities, Equipment & Other Resources, and Data Management and Sharing Plan (2 pages max, addressing FAIR and CARE principles), among others (the full list is in the Required Documents section on this page). Check the official notice for formatting and page-limit rules.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
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