Distinguished Scholar Award

Distinguished Scholar Award is sponsored by The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation funds research projects focused on the causes and/or control of violence, in any form and anywhere in the world. This award is for those beyond the Ph.

D. or equivalent degree.

HFG Distinguished Scholars - HFG The HFG Distinguished Scholar Awards are now open for applicants. Letters of Interest are due July 31. Learn more here.

Learn about and apply for HFG grants and fellowships. Explore topics through research, analysis and dialogue. Violence, Politics & Democracy Violence, Politics & Democracy Speaker Series Knowledge Against Violence Speaker Series Crime in America Symposium Read the latest research reports from HFG and its grantees.

HFG Research and Policy in Brief In Practice: Lessons from Research Forecasting Crime in America Violence, Politics & Democracy Initiative BERLIN – MAY 06: A visitor looks at an exhibit of index cards from the post-World War II investigation of members of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), one of the main security orgainzations of the Nazis and led by Heinrich Himmler, at the Topography of Terror documentation center and museum on May 6, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.

The center, which stands on the site of the former Gestapo and SS headquarters building, documents the role of the Gestapo, the SS and other instruments of terror of the Nazis with exhibition spaces, a library, events and a special scholars’ archive. The Topography of Terror center is scheduled to officially open with an official ceremony later today.

(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) The Harry Frank Guggenheim Distinguished Scholar Awards (formerly the Harry Frank Guggenheim Research Grants) recognize leading researchers proposing to make a significant contribution to illuminating an issue of violence. The 2027 cycle of the Distinguished Scholar Award is now open. Some application deadlines have changed; please see “Timing,” below, for details.

For more information on how to apply, consult the updated Application Guidelines below. The Foundation welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and allied disciplines that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence and aggression.

Highest priority is given to research that addresses urgent, present-day problems of violence—what produces it, how it operates, and what prevents or reduces it.

The Foundation is interested in violence related to many subjects, including, but not limited to, the following: Family and intimate-partner relationships Climate instability and natural resource competition Racial, ethnic, and religious conflict Political extremism and nationalism The Foundation supports research that investigates the basic mechanisms in the production of violence, but primacy is given to proposals that make a compelling case for the relevance of potential findings for policies intended to reduce these ills.

Likewise, historical research is considered to the extent that it is relevant to a current situation of violence. Examinations of the effects of violence are welcome insofar as a strong case is made that these outcomes may serve, in turn, as causes of future violence. The Distinguished Scholar Awards Most awards fall within the range of $15,000 and $75,000 per year for periods of one or two years.

Applications for larger amounts and longer durations will be considered but must be strongly justified. The awards are made to individuals (or sometimes two, or, rarely, three principal investigators) for specific projects, not general research support. They are not awarded to institutions for institutional programs.

Individuals who receive research grants may be subject to taxation on the funds awarded. The application process will open on July 1, 2026. The first component of the process is a Letter of Interest (LOI) questionnaire, which must be completed online and submitted by July 31, 2026 at 11:59:00 p.

m. ET. Approved applicants will be invited to submit a full application, which is due by September 11, 2026 at 11:59:00 p.

m. ET. Letters of Reference will also be due by September 11, 2026 at 11:59:00 p.

m. ET. Late submissions will not be reviewed.

Final decisions are made by the HFG Board of Directors during its December meeting. Awardees will be notified by email of the Board’s decision shortly afterwards. Awards typically commence on January 1.

Later starting dates may be considered if the nature of the research warrants it. Applicants for an award may be citizens of any country. While almost all recipients of these awards possess a PhD, MD, JD, or equivalent degree, there are no formal degree requirements for the award.

The award, however, may not be used to support research undertaken as part of the requirements for a graduate degree. Applicants need not be affiliated with an institution of higher learning, although most are college or university professors. Applicants must create an online account to begin the application process.

They will next complete a Letter of Interest (LOI), a brief online questionnaire about their proposed project, research design, and budget. This must be submitted by 11:59:00 p. m.

ET on July 31, 2026 . The LOI will be assessed by the Foundation for the project’s suitability for funding consideration. If the LOI is approved, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal application, which will be due by 11:59:00 p.

m. ET on September 11, 2026. Guidelines for the second stage of the process (the proposal application) and advice for applicants can be found in the links below.

Online Application (Login required) Application Guidelines (PDF) Advice for Applicants (PDF) Stephanie Bonnes (Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of New Haven), Beyond Policy: Understanding Institutional Prevention and Response to Sexual Assault in the US Military Sam Erkiletian (Political Science, Independent scholar), Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response at the Tactical Level: Evidence from Ukraine (2022–2024) Jeffrey Fagan (Law, Columbia University), Reducing Civilian Injuries in Police Encounters: A Quasi-Experimental Approach James Alan Fox (Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northeastern University) and Jacob Stowell (Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northeastern University), Exploring the Demographic, Socio-Economic, and Legislative Impacts on Mass Killings Godfrey Hove (Historical Studies, National University of Lesotho), Land Disputes, Violence, and Famo Gang Wars in Mafeteng District, Lesotho: The Imperatives of Land Management and Peacebuilding Amira Jadoon (Political Science, Clemson University), Mapping Visions of Peace: Perspectives on Violence, Grievances, and Reconciliation in Pakistan’s Conflict Zones Sandra Ley (Social Sciences and Government, Tecnológico de Monterrey) and Radha Sarkar (Social Sciences and Government, Tecnológico de Monterrey), Organized Crime and Religious Leaders: Understanding Victimization and Resilience Marc Lynch (Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University), Battle Scars: Violence and the Middle Eastern Warscape Gail Super (Sociology, University of Toronto), Community-Based Violence in Spaces of Rural Precarity: A Case Study of the Xhora Mouth Area in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa Megan Turnbull (International Affairs, University of Georgia) and Kathleen Klaus (Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University), Democracy Dismissed: When Citizens Choose Political Violence Welcome to the website of The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation