Allocation of research funding is central to the Society’s work of supporting historians and historical research.
In the financial year 2024/25, the Society awarded more than £130,000 in funding to historians through open competitions, generously assisted by partner organisations and donors. Details of current open calls for funding applications are provided below.
Funding is available to historians at three career stages. Please follow the links for further information on:
- Postgraduate Research Funding for historians studying for a History Masters degree or PhD
- Early Career Research Funding for historians within 5 years of completing a doctorate in History
- Open Research Funding for historians further on from PhD completion, or in mid / later career employed in Higher Education or in other sectors aligned to history
In 2025 the Society is running five additional funding programmes open to historians at all career stages. Please follow the links for more on our annual:
- David Berry Fellowship, to undertake work relating to the history of Scotland or the Scottish people worldwide
- Funded Book Workshops, supporting mid-career historians writing a second or third monograph
- Jinty Nelson Teaching Fellowships, to facilitate innovative and creative teaching practice
- Scouloudi Panel Grants, enabling historians to host conference panels
- Scouloudi Public History Grants, to support projects between academic historians and those working outside higher education
- Workshop Grants, enabling historians to come together to discuss projects in detail
Current calls for research funding
The following programmes currently invite applications before the deadlines:
September 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.
- Early Career Fellowship Grants provide funding of £2,000, maximum, for discrete research projects lasting no more than six months. Grants are open to early career historians within five years of submission of their doctoral thesis. Applicants must also be members of the Royal Historical Society. Next closing date: Friday 5 September 2025.
- Open Research Support Grants provide funding of either £500 or £1000 to historians to undertake historical research. Activities include visiting archives and historical sites, and travel to academic conferences. These grants are available to members of the Royal Historical Society who are not postgraduate students or early career researchers (within 5 years of completing a PhD). Next closing date: Friday 5 September 2025.
Applicants for Royal Historical Society funding must be members of the Society, with exceptions for several Postgraduate grants. To find out how to become a Fellow, Associate Fellow, Member or Postgraduate Member, please see our Join Us page.
Details of current holders of Research Fellowships and recipients of Research Funding are available here.
All enquiries about Research Funding should be sent to the Society’s Membership and Grants Officer at: membership@royalhistsoc.org.
HEADER IMAGE: Bowl with a scholar, anon, c.1575-99, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, public domain.