Public Scholars program

Public Scholars program is sponsored by National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). This program offers grants to individual authors for research, writing, travel, and other activities leading to the creation and publication of well-researched nonfiction books in the humanities written for the broad public. The 2026 competition will only accept projects for research in American history and culture and Western civilization.

$60,000 ($5,000 per month) The deadline for this cycle has passed. Updated guidelines will be posted in advance of the next deadline. In the meantime, please use these guidelines to get a sense of what is involved in assembling an application.

The Public Scholars program offers grants to individual authors for research, writing, travel, and other activities leading to the creation and publication of well-researched nonfiction books in the humanities written for the broad public. Writers with or without an academic affiliation may apply, and no advanced degree is required.

The program encourages non-academic writers to deepen their engagement with the humanities by strengthening the research underlying their books, and it encourages academic writers in the humanities to communicate the significance of their research to the broadest possible range of readers. NEH especially encourages applications from independent writers, researchers, scholars, and journalists.

The 2026 Public Scholars competition will only accept 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. Note the changed dates for the application deadline and award periods.

Applicants must have written at least one nonfiction book published by a university or trade press and be credited as its sole author. Public Scholar awards are paid directly to the applicant, not to their institutions. You can apply to only one program at each deadline.

Learn about NEH's implementation of recent Executive Orders .

Examples of Projects Funded by this Grant Program Everybody Comes to Rick's: How "Casablanca" Taught Us to Love Movies Wild Boar: The Monk Martin Luther and the Start of the Reformation The Heavens Might Crack: The Death and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. The White Devil's Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown The Last Years of Alexander the Great (330-323 BCE) Love and Need: A Biographical Essay on the Life and Work of American Poet Robert Frost (1874-1963) Review your application package Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity and the Program Announcement for Public Scholars to ensure you understand all the expectations and restrictions for projects delivered under this program and are prepared to write an effective application.

Public Scholars Program Announcement 2026 (PDF) Individual Programs Notice of Funding Opportunity, 2026 (PDF) Grants. gov application package Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for NEH Grant Proposals Sample Application Narratives The sample applications below do not necessarily comply with the current page limits and formatting requirements. Please be sure to follow the rules in the current Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Application narratives, for instance, may only be three pages long.

The Best Years of Our Lives (Cinema History) Sister Novelists Before the Brontes (British Literature) How the West Was Won (American Civil War) The Sacred Band of Thebes (Ancient Greek History) The Doctors Blackwell (Dual Biography) Ashley's Sack (African American History) Origins of European Genocide A Biography of the American Architect Louis Kahn A History of America through 100 Maps 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 . Grants. gov Applicant Registration Guidance Complete your application package Follow the instructions outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity and Grants.

gov instructions. Submit your application package on Grants. gov You will receive a confirmation from Grants.

gov when you've successfully submitted your application. Verify you have received email messages from Grants. gov After you submit your application, Grants.

gov will send you up to five e-mail messages confirming receipt of your application. These messages represent different stages in the application acceptance process. You should verify that you have received all confirmation messages.

Please note that email filters may send these messages to your spam or junk folder. Monitor the status of the submission of your letters of recommendation The Public Scholars program staff will request letters of reference from your recommenders on or about September 18, 2024 ( three to four weeks after the deadline ). You will be notified by e-mail when each of your letters of reference has been received.

After you have received the fifth message from Grants. gov (confirming that NEH received your application), 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.