Funding/Aug 28, 2023

NEH Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research Grants

NEH Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research Grants lead image

The National Endowment for the Humanities' Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research program makes awards to institutions and organizations conducting empirical field research to answer significant questions in the humanities. 

Archaeological methods may include field survey and field-based remote sensing, documentation or visualization, and/or excavations in support of answering research questions in all aspects of the human past, including but not limited to ancient studies, anthropology, art history, classical studies, regional studies, epigraphy, and other related disciplines. Ethnographic methods may include participant observation, surveys and interviews, and documentation or recording in pursuit of research questions in anthropology, sociology, ethnolinguistics, oral history, ethnomusicology, performance studies, folklore studies, and related disciplines.

Projects may be led by individuals with institutional affiliation or by teams of collaborating scholars from the same or multiple eligible institutions. Awards provide up to three years of support for fieldwork and data processing. While the ultimate expectation of such awards is the dissemination of results through publications and other media, this program supports costs related to fieldwork such as travel, accommodation, and equipment as well as compensation for field staff and salary replacement for the project director and collaborating scholars. 

NEH invites applications from institutions where the project director is a scholar who holds a Ph.D. or the equivalent in any discipline of the humanities or related subfields of the social sciences. NEH particularly encourages applications from junior faculty. While a project may include collaborating scholars, NEH does not permit co-project directors in this program.

Eligibility
To be eligible to apply, you must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following organization types:

  • a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
  • an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)
  • a state or local government or one of their agencies
  • a federally recognized Native American Tribal government

Individuals and other organizations, including foreign and for-profit entities, are ineligible.