Research Grants

Research Grants is sponsored by American Philosophical Society. Offers various grants and fellowships to support research in a wide range of fields.

Since 1933 the American Philosophical Society has awarded research grants to more than 15,000 scholars and encourages all eligible candidates to apply for our grants and fellowships. Applicant and Submission Information In 2024–2025 the Society awarded nearly $2 million to over 300 scholars, and we expect to continue this level of support in 2025–2026. We maintain fifteen grant or fellowship programs in a wide range of fields.

Our Blumberg Grants in Astrobiology, Franklin Research Grant, Lewis and Clark Fund, Lewis and Clark Fund in Astrobiology, Library David Center Fellowship, Library Digital Humanities Fellowship, Library Digital Knowledge Sharing Fellowship, Library Short-Term Fellowship, Library NASI Undergraduate Internship, and Phillips Fund for Native American Research programs award small amounts ($1,000 to $6,500) for modest research purposes.

Our Daland Fellowship in Clinical Investigation, John Hope Franklin Dissertation Fellowship, Library Long-Term Post-Doctoral Fellowships, and Library Long-Term Pre-Doctoral Fellowships programs award much larger amounts ($28,000 to $75,000) in highly selective competitions. Awards are made for noncommercial research only.

The APS makes no grants for academic study or classroom presentation, travel to conferences, non-scholarly projects, assistance with translation, or the preparation of materials for use by students. The APS does not pay overhead or indirect costs to any institution or publication costs, and grant funds are not to be used to pay income tax on the award.

Please visit the Fellowships portion of our website for information on resident Library and Museum Fellowships. Library and Museum Fellowships Daland Fellowships in Clinical Investigation The American Philosophical Society awards a limited number of Daland Fellowships in Clinical Investigation for research in the several branches of clinical medicine, including internal medicine, neurology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery.

The committee emphasizes patient-oriented research. October 1, 2025, and December 1, 2025 Since 1933 the APS has awarded small grants to scholars in order to support the cost of research leading to publication in all areas of knowledge. In 2024–2025 the Franklin Research Grants program awarded nearly $675,000 to more than 100 scholars, and the Society expects to make a similar number of awards in this year’s competition.

John Hope Franklin Dissertation Fellowship The John Hope Franklin Dissertation Fellowship is designed to support an outstanding doctoral student at an American university or an exceptional American doctoral student abroad who is completing the dissertation.

Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research Deadlines: November 17, 2025, for applications; letters of support due November 14, 2025 The Lewis and Clark Fund encourages exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation.

Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology In 2006 the American Philosophical Society and the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) partnered to promote the continued exploration of the world around us through a program of research grants in support of astrobiological field studies.

The Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology has awarded over $500,000 to more than 100 Lewis and Clark in Astrobiology Field Scholars over the past 20 years. Baruch Blumberg Grants in Astrobiology The American Philosophical Society (APS) is pleased to partner with the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) to offer research support through the Blumberg Grants in Astrobiology.

Funds are available to support graduate students and postdoctoral and early career scientists. The focus will be on three types of work not necessarily funded by other currently available sources.

Phillips Fund for Native American Research The Phillips Fund of the American Philosophical Society provides grants for research in Native American linguistics, ethnohistory, and the history of studies of Native Americans, in the continental United States and Canada. Applicant and Submission Information Applicants may be U.S. citizens and residents of the United States or American citizens resident abroad.

Foreign nationals not affiliated with a U.S. institution are eligible to apply for projects to be carried out in the United States, although applicants to the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology must be U.S. citizens, U.S. residents, or foreign nationals formally affiliated with a U.S. institution.

For the Franklin, Lewis and Clark, Phillips Fund, Daland and John Hope Franklin programs, foreign nationals affiliated with a U.S. institution are eligible to apply to carry out research anywhere in the world. Grant recipients may reapply after an interval of two years (for example, if you applied in 2024 for work in 2025 you are eligible to apply again in 2026 for work in 2027). Grants are made to individuals.

Institutions are not eligible to apply. The American Philosophical Society is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly excellence while supporting a working and intellectual environment that fosters an inclusive atmosphere for learning, prizes diverse origins and points of view, advances equal opportunities to learn and communicate, and encourages the widest possible access to its collections.

The APS has titled these goals the APS IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equality, and Access) for its enduring institutional commitment to these values. See specific programs for additional information. The deadlines for the following programs are RECEIPT deadlines for all materials, including letters of support, unless otherwise noted.

The deadlines for the 2025-2026 cycle are: Blumberg Grants in Astrobiology : November 17, 2025; notification in April 2026 Daland Fellowships : September 15, 2025; notification in January 2026 Franklin Research Grants : October 1, 2025, and December 1, 2025; notification in January 2026 and March 2026 Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research : November 17, 2025, for applications, November 14, 2025, for letters of support; notification in April 2026 Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology : November 3, 2025; notification in March 2026 Phillips Fund Grants : March 2, 2026; notification in May 2026 Online and Electronic Transmission Submission of applications through our online portal is required for the Franklin Research Grants, the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research Grants, and the Phillips Fund for Native American Research Grants.

Electronic submission is encouraged for the Baruch Blumberg Grants in Astrobiology and the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology. Completed forms and letters of support should be attached to an email. Applications should be submitted to [email protected] and letters should be sent to [email protected] .

Attached documents must be compatible with Microsoft Word for Windows software. Our system does not always receive Mac, jpeg, tiff, rtf, and dat files. Applications to the Daland Fellowship program are to be submitted as hard copy in the required number.

Letters of reference may be sent to [email protected] . Grants and fellowships are taxable income, but the APS is not required to report payments. It is recommended that grant and fellowship recipients discuss their reporting obligations with their tax advisors.

Grant money cannot be used to pay income tax. Questions concerning the DALAND, FRANKLIN, LEWIS AND CLARK, and PHILLIPS programs should be directed to Linda Musumeci, Director of Grants and Fellowships, at lm [email protected] or 215-440-3429. Questions concerning PRIZES should be directed to Erin Farrell at [email protected] or 215-440-3430.

Questions concerning all LIBRARY Fellowships should be directed to Brenna Holland at [email protected] or 215-440-3405.