Notable Upcoming Funding Opportunities (Fall 2025)
The following funding opportunities are posted for your consideration. If you intend to apply to any of these programs, please notify ORCS ahead of time by completing our Intent to Submit (ITS) Form.
Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders (MEFL) Award. Funded by the Mellon Foundation, the MEFL award provides a $20,000 stipend—$12,000 to be used for summer research support and $8,000 for research assistance during the academic year. The award is geared towards tenure-track faculty who are working in any field of the humanities or social sciences—including, for example, history, sociology, anthropology, literature, art, gender studies, and related fields—with an emphasis on scholarly topics that relate to or provide context for the study of democracy, society, and education in the Americas. More eligibility information can be found here (Deadline: December 1).
Institute for Citizens & Scholars (ICS) Career Enhancement Fellowship. Career Enhancement Fellows are exceptional scholars whose work broadens the range of perspectives and understandings offered on college campuses and creates opportunities for crucial new scholarly voices to be heard in disciplines and institutions. Fellows are outstanding junior faculty committed to campus engagement and innovative research in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Fellows receive stipends up to $35,000, funding for travel and research, and attend a retreat to connect with other scholars and mentors (Deadline: October 24).
MacDowell Fellowship. A Fellowship consists of exclusive use of a private studio, accommodations, and three prepared meals a day for two to eight weeks at the McDowell campus in Peterborough, NH. The intention is that artists practice their work independently without assistance. Disciplines supported include architecture, film/video, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts (For March-August 2026 residencies, deadlines is September 10. For September 2026-February 2027 residencies, application opens January 15, 2026, and is due February 10, 2026).
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellowships. ACLS invites research proposals from scholars in all disciplines of the humanities and interpretive social sciences. The ultimate goal of the project should be a major piece of scholarly work by the applicant, which can take the form of a monograph, articles, publicly engaged humanities project, digital research project, critical edition, or other scholarly resources. The fellowship stipend is set at $60,000 for a 12-month fellowship. Awards of shorter duration will be prorated at $5,000 per month, with the minimum award set at $30,000. See the FAQ for more information (Deadline: September 25).
Russell Sage Foundation Grants. RSF is currently soliciting proposals in several areas–
- Core Research Grants provide up to $200,000 for fully-developed research projects within one more more of the Foundation’s current priorities ( Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context; Future of Work; Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration; and Social, Political, and Economic Inequality) (Letter of Inquiry deadline: October 29).
- Sheldon Danziger Pipeline Grants support early-career scholars (Assistant Professors, Lecturers and Adjunct Assistant Professors) and promote diversity by prioritizing applications from scholars who are underrepresented in the social sciences and/or employed at under-resourced colleges and universities. The program prioritizes innovative research on economic mobility and access to opportunity in the United States, with a focus on research that addresses structural barriers to economic mobility in this country. Individual applicants can apply for grants of up to $50,000; teams of two or more eligible applicants can apply for grants of up to $65,000 (Deadline: October 22).