Public Humanities: Funding Opportunities

In addition to the opportunities below, public humanities projects can include various digital and archival components. For more information on digital work and funding opportunities in the humanities, see the Digital Humanities Grants & Resources Web page. For more information on film, curation, and exhibition activities, see  these categories on the Faculty External Funding Oppportunities Web page.

Public Humanities Fellowships

• John Nicholas Brown Center Public Humanities Fellowship (The John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Brown University) - Up to three-month fellowships are offered to encourage thoughtful reflection on issues of concern to the public humanities and to connect cultural organizations and the public. These fellowships provide a stipend, office space, and access to Brown University resources.
• Publicly Active Graduate Education (Imagining America) - Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) broadens notions of scholarship and professionalization within the academy by supporting graduate students and early-career scholars pursuing publicly-engaged academic work in the arts, humanities, and design. One-year fellowships include travel assistance to a Fellows Summit and the annual conference, commitment to participate in a year-long working group, and presentation of one's related work.
• Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship (Center for the Humanities, University of WI-Madison) - The Fellowship creates conditions under which humanists can reach larger and more diverse audiences; influence public discussions of contemporary issues; and make scholarship in the humanities more accessible.
• Simons Public Humanities Fellowship (Hall Center for the Humanities, The University of Kansas) - This innovative program brings one Simons Fellow to the Hall Center and KU to participate in the intellectual life of the university for a period ranging from one month to one semester.

Public Program Development

• The National Endowment for the Humanities has a Public Programs division that supports a wide range of public humanities programs, especially for projects that make use of new and emerging technologies. These are excellent opportunities to collaborate with libraries, museums, and other cultural organizations. Funding opportunities include the America's Historical and Cultural Organizations grants, which offers both planning and implementation grants, for exhibitions at museums, libraries, historic sites and historical and cultural organizations. In addition, the NEH supports radio and television programs that explore significant events, figures, and developments in the humanities through the America's Media Makers grants.  With the Bridging Cultures: Implementation Grants for Public Programs, the NEH welcomes proposals to implement a national or regional program for broad and diverse public audiences on changing humanities themes.

• Florida Division of Cultural Affairs - In addition to its grants and recognitions, the Division supports projects to advance arts and culture in the Sunshine State.
• Florida  Humanities Council - Grants provide support for humanities projects on a wide variety of topics and formats.
• The Knight Foundation - The Knight Foundation's Engaged Communities program fosters initiatives that develop in people a strong sense of belonging and caring, timely access to relevant information, the ability to understand that information, and the motivation, opportunity and skills to take sustainable action on a range of issues throughout their lives.
• American Express Historical Conservation and Preservation supports organizations and projects that preserve or rediscover major historic sites and monuments in order to provide ongoing sustainable access and enjoyment for current and future audiences. The programs we support include historic landmarks and public spaces. They emphasize preserving sites that represent diverse cultures.
• Tourism Cares Worldwide Grants support preservation and educational interpretation of cultural, historical, and natural tourism-related sites. 
• VisitGainesville offers a Tourist Product Development Grant to enhance established events and create new products that have the demonstrated potential to contribute to Alachua County's tourism economy.
• See also our listing of Main Funding Bodies in the Humanities.

Research Support for Public Scholarship

• Faculty Grants for Original Case Studies (Bob Graham Center for Public Service, UF) -  The Bob Graham Center for Public Service awards research grants to University of Florida faculty and graduate students to generate original case studies for inclusion in the Bob Graham Center Civic Library.
• The Julian Pleasants Visiting Scholar Award (Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, UF)  - This bi-yearly award promotes cutting edge oral history research at UF, and includes a stipend of $1,000.   
• See also our listing of Main Funding Bodies in the Humanities and funding opportunities for Documentary and Film Support.

Support for Public Speakers/Workshops

• Support for Workshops and Speaker Series in the Humanities (Center for the Humanities & the Public Sphere, UF) - The Center sponsors collaborative exchanges between faculty and students by supporting workshops and speaker series that  invite innovative faculty from outside the University to participate in interdisciplinary collaborations with resident faculty, students, and members of the wider community. 
• International Speakers Matching Funds (UF International Center) - The objective of the International Speakers Program is to encourage discussion and debate at UF on major international and global issues. 

K-12 Education and Training

• Summer Seminars and Institutes (NEH) - These grants support faculty development programs in the humanities for school teachers and for college and university teachers, from two week to five weeks in duration. Applications are particularly encouraged in the areas of Bridging Cultures and We the People.
• Teaching American History (TAH, U.S. Department of Education) - The program is designed to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge and understanding of and appreciation for traditional U.S. history. Grant awards will assist LEAs, in partnership with entities that have content expertise, to develop, document, evaluate, and disseminate innovative and cohesive models of professional development. 

Awards

• National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards (The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, NEA, NEH, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services) - Yearly applications are invited from after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs sponsored by museums, libraries, educational institutions (e.g., preschools; elementary, middle, and high schools; universities; and colleges), and other organizations.  
• National Council on Public History Awards - A variety of awards, ranging from Excellence in Consulting, to Outstanding Public History Project, to article and book prizes, are offered yearly.
• Américo Paredes Prize (American Folklore Society) - This $200 award is given every year to recognize excellence in integrating scholarship and engagement with the people and communities one studies, or in teaching and encouraging scholars and practitioners to work in their own cultures or communities. Nominations are due in August of each year.

The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere would be grateful for any information regarding additional links we should add to this page. Please contact us at: humanities-center@ufl.edu with updates.  

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