Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research
Division of Research Programs
THE DEADLINE FOR THIS CYCLE HAS PASSED.
Updated guidelines will be posted in advance of the next deadline. In the meantime, please use these guidelines to get a sense of what is involved in assembling an application.
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The Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research program makes awards to institutions and organizations conducting empirical field research to answer significant questions in the humanities. Archaeology and ethnography are important methodologies utilized by many disciplines across the humanities and social sciences that provide observational and experiential data on human history and culture.
Archaeological methods may include field survey and field-based remote sensing, documentation or visualization, and/or excavations in support of answering research questions in all aspects of the human past, including but not limited to ancient studies, anthropology, art history, classical studies, regional studies, epigraphy, and other related disciplines. Ethnographic methods may include participant observation, surveys and interviews, and documentation or recording in pursuit of research questions in anthropology, ethnolinguistics, oral history, ethnomusicology, performance studies, folklore studies, and related disciplines.
Projects may be led by individuals with institutional affiliation or by teams of collaborating scholars from the same or multiple eligible institutions. Awards provide up to three years of support for fieldwork and data processing. While the ultimate expectation of such awards is the dissemination of results through publications and other media, this program supports costs related to fieldwork such as travel, accommodation, and equipment as well as compensation for field staff and salary replacement for the project director and collaborating scholars. Applicants interested in publishing the results of field research are encouraged to apply to one of NEH’s individual fellowship programs or Collaborative Research.
On June 21, 2021 NEH staff hosted a webinar describing the program, discussing its goals, the application and review process, budgetary issues, and suggestions for writing an effective application. The presentation included questions and answers from participants. The webinar can be viewed here and a PDF version of the presentation slides is also available.
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
Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research Notice of Funding Opportunity 2021 (PDF)
Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research Grants.gov application package
Program Resources
SF-429-A Real Property Status Report (PDF)
Sample Narratives
As soon as you know you're ready to apply for an award, make sure you register for a D-U-N-S® number, with SAM.gov, and with Grants.gov account as this is vital to the grant application process. If you already have registered for these items, make sure they are up to date.
Follow the instructions outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity and in the Grants.gov instructions.
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.