Littleton-Griswold Research Grant for Research in US Legal History

The 2024 grant competition is now closed. The application for the 2025 grant will be available in late 2024.

The American Historical Association offers the Littleton-Griswold Research Grant for research in US legal history and in the general field of law and society, broadly defined. The funds for this program come from the earnings of the Littleton-Griswold Fund. These modest annual grants are intended to further research in progress and may be used for travel to a library or archive, for microfilms, photographs, or photocopying—a list of purposes that is meant to be merely illustrative, not exhaustive (other expenses, such as child care, can be included). Individual grants up to $1,000 will be awarded. See the list of past recipients.

Eligibility

Only members of the Association are eligible to apply for AHA research grants.  Grants are awarded each June and may be used anytime in the subsequent 15 months for expenses related to furthering research in progress. Preference will be given to advanced doctoral students, non-tenured faculty, and unaffiliated scholars, and to those with specific research needs, such as the completion of a project or of a discrete segment thereof.

Please note: Within a five-year period, no individual is eligible to receive more than a combined total of $1,500 from all AHA research grants.

Application Process

Log into your MY AHA account at historians.org/myaha and click “Available Application Forms” in the AHA Awards, Grants, and Jobs section. The deadline is February 15.

  1. Fill in the application form, which includes your contact information, the title of your work, and specific funding and budget information.
  2. Upload an Application Packet as a single PDF. Include the following documents:
    • CV (up to 5 pages)
    • Statement (up to 750 words) describing your project, including specific uses to which you will put the funds. If special skills, such as foreign language, paleography, or oral history are essential to the project, please indicate your level of proficiency
    • Bibliography (1 page) of the most recent, relevant secondary works on the topic
  3. Letters of recommendation are NOT required.

Selection Process

A selection committee reviews applications each spring, and applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by email in mid-May. Awards are distributed each June. Please, no phone calls.

Requirements

Successful applicants will be expected to complete a survey outlining how the funds were used and how they furthered the grantee’s research. Survey responses will be due in August of the year following the grant award. AHA financial support should be acknowledged in any publication resulting from this research.

For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.