Calls for research funding from the Royal Historical Society: current and forthcoming programmes

11 March 2025

Allocation of research funding is central to the Royal Historical Society’s work of supporting historians and historical research.

In the financial year 2023-24, the Society awarded more than £130,000 in funding to historians through open competitions, generously assisted by partner organisations and donors.

Full details of the Society’s Research Funding programmes are available here. The Society currently invites applications for the following three schemes — open to historians across a range of career stages — with closing dates of Friday 6 June 2025 and Friday 5 September 2025. For further information on each programme, eligibility and how to apply please follow the links below.

  • Postgraduate Research Support Grants providing grants of either £500 or £1,000 (based on the activity to be undertaken) to undertake historical research. Activities supported include: visiting an archive or historic site, or conducting interviews. These grants are reserved for historians who are Postgraduate Members of the Royal Historical Society, currently studying for a Masters degree or PhD. Next closing date: Friday 6 June 2025.
  • Early Career Research Support Grants providing grants of either £500 or £1,000 (based on the activity to be undertaken) to undertake historical research. Activities supported include: visiting an archive or historic site, or conducting interviews. These grants are reserved for historians who are within 5 years of submitting their PhD in a historical subject. Applicants must also be members of the Royal Historical Society. Next closing date: Friday 6 June 2025.
  • Martin Lynn Scholarship in African History providing a grant of £1500 to support postgraduate research for a PhD in African history. The Scholarship is open Postgraduate Members of the Royal Historical Society, currently studying for a PhD. Next closing date: Friday 5 September 2025.

Further funding calls, to be released in the near future include:

  • RHS Scouloudi Panel Grants (March), a new programme, supported by the Scouoloudi Foundation, providing funding for panels to participate in history-related conferences in 2025-26
  • RHS Scouloudi Public History Grants (March), a new programme, supported by the Scouloudi Foundation, to fund projects in public history
  • Masters’ Scholarships, 2025-26 (April), grants of £5000 to support Masters’ students from groups currently underrepresented in history in UK higher education
  • Jinty Nelson Teaching Fellowships, 2025-26 (May), awards to support innovative forms of history teaching in Uk higher education
  • Funded Book Workshops (May), grants for mid-career historians, working on a second or third monograph, to bring together specialists to discuss a near final manuscript before submission to a publisher.

HEADER IMAGE: Bowl with a scholar, anon, c.1575-99, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, public domain.