Every week, AHA Today showcases a new grant, fellowship, or scholarship of interest to historians which has been posted to our free Calendar. This week we are featuring the National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Program.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) invites applications for the 2017 round of the Public Scholar Program, which is intended to support well-researched books in the humanities that have been conceived and written to reach a broad readership. Books supported through the Public Scholar Program might present a narrative history, tell the stories of important individuals, analyze significant texts, provide a synthesis of ideas, revive interest in a neglected subject, or examine the latest thinking on a topic. Most importantly, they should present significant humanities topics in a way that is accessible to general readers. 

The Public Scholar Program is open to both independent scholars and individuals affiliated with scholarly institutions. It offers a stipend of $4,200 per month for a period of 6 to 12 months. The maximum stipend is $50,400 for a 12-month period. Applicants must have US citizenship or residency in the United States for the three years prior to the application deadline. In addition, they must have previously published a book with a university or commercial press or at least three articles and essays in publications reaching a large national or international audience.

Application guidelines (including a full statement of the eligibility requirements) and a list of FAQ’s for the Public Scholar Program are available on the NEH’s website at http://www.neh.gov/grants/research/public-scholar-program. The application deadline for this cycle is February 1, 2017. Recipients may begin the term of the grant as early as September 1, 2017 or as late as September 1, 2018. In the last cycle of the competition, the Endowment received 318 applications and made 30 awards.

A list of previously funded projects and several samples of successful applications are available in the sidebar at the right of the webpage linked above. For additional information, please write to publicscholar@neh.gov.