Humanities Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Maximum award amount

$150,000

Expected Output

Community Partnerships; Curriculum; Faculty Development; Teaching Resources

Period of performance

One to three years

About the Program
Application Instructions

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 postponed. Check back here for updates.

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

Examples of Projects Funded by this Grant Program

Bridging the Gap through Public History

View All Projects

Application Instructions

Review your application package

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, 2025 (PDF)

Recent Awards

Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for NEH Grant Proposals

Sample Application Narratives

Grambling State University, Creating an Interdisciplinary Minor in Digital Humanities

Claflin University, Classical and Contemporary Literature from South Asia

Tuskegee University, Literary Legacies of Macon County and Tuskegee Institute: Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph W. Ellison, and Albert Murray

Hampton University, Black History Matters: Documenting the Legacy of Charles H. Williams on the Campus of Hampton University

Sample Budget Form and Justification

When you are ready to apply, register for an account with SAM.gov and Grants.gov; both are required. If you already have completed the registrations, make sure they are current.

Complete your application package

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

Submit your application package on Grants.gov

You will receive a confirmation from Grants.gov when you’ve successfully submitted your application. Subsequently, you will receive up to five more notices confirming different stages in the application process. Verify that you have received all confirmations. Note that email filters may send these messages to your spam or junk folder. 