Public Scholars

Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity to ensure you understand all the expectations and restrictions for projects delivered under this program and are prepared to write the most effective application.

Application Materials
Notice of Funding Opportunity, 2025 (PDF)
Grants.gov application package

Program Resources
Frequently Asked Questions, 2024 and 2025 (PDF)
List of recently funded projects
Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for NEH Grant Proposals

Sample Application Narratives
The sample applications below do not necessarily comply with the current page limits and formatting requirements. Please be sure to follow the rules in the current Notice of Funding Opportunity.

The Best Years of Our Lives (Cinema History)
Sister Novelists Before the Brontes (British Literature)
How the West was Won (American Civil War)
The Sacred Band of Thebes (Ancient Greek History)
The Doctors Blackwell (Dual Biography)
Ashley's Sack (African-American History)
Origins of European Genocide
A Biography of the American Architect Louis Kahn
A History of America through 100 Maps

When you are ready to apply, register for a Grants.gov account. If you already have registered, make sure the account is current. After registering, you must add an “individual applicant” profile. Click on the “My Account” link, then on “Manage Profiles” and “Add Profile.” Refer to Grants.gov’s instructions for adding a profile.

• Register with Grants.gov
• Grants.gov Applicant Registration Guidance
• Download Adobe Reader
• Tips for making PDFs

Follow the instructions outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity and Grants.gov instructions.

You will receive a confirmation from Grants.gov when you've successfully submitted your application. 

After you submit your application, Grants.gov will send you up to five e-mail messages confirming receipt of your application. These messages represent different stages in the application acceptance process. You should verify that you have received all confirmation messages. Please note that email filters may send these messages to your spam or junk folder.

The Public Scholars program staff will request letters of reference from your recommenders on or about September 18, 2024 (three to four weeks after the deadline). You will be notified by e-mail when each of your letters of reference has been received. After you have received the fifth message from Grants.gov (confirming that NEH received your application), you may check the status of your letters by logging in to the secure area of NEH’s website. Enter your NEH application number and your Grants.gov tracking number. You will be able to see the names and e-mail addresses of your letter writers and whether their letters have arrived. If necessary, you may send reminders to your letter writers (including the upload link) from this site. You are responsible for ensuring that your letter writers have received the solicitations from NEH and submitted their letters.