Humanities Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are an important segment of the American education system and possess a rich history of service to their students and communities. Humanities Initiatives grants can help strengthen the teaching and study of the humanities at HBCUs by supporting the development of new or improvement of existing humanities programs, educational resources, or coursework. Projects must address a core topic or focused set of themes drawn from humanities areas such as history, philosophy, religion, languages and literature, or humanities-informed composition and writing skills. 

Past recipients have planned workshops, curricular enhancements, and public events about literary icons like Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, and Albert Murray; integrated college history into humanities courses; and digitized and contextualized the papers of African-American writer Margaret Walker Alexander. 

By supporting projects like these, Humanities Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities grants can help institutions better serve current students and position themselves to build on success for the future. 

NEH welcomes applications for projects that would take between one and three years to complete, and projects of varying scope and duration are judged equally. 

Recorded Webinar

Live Q&A: The Live Q&A has been cancelled, but please feel free to send your questions to hi@neh.gov. 

Optional Draft Review: Submit your materials as attachments to hi@neh.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern on March 25, 2025 to receive feedback from NEH staff.