Every year the Nebraska State Historical Society awards up to three research grants of $1,000 each. These grants support the work of scholars pursuing original research and interpretive writing on some aspect of Nebraska history or archeology. Applications must be emailed (or postmarked) no later than April 1. Projects must be completed by April 1 of the following year.
Applicants from any background are welcome to apply. This includes academic and public historians, graduate students, and independent researchers and writers. The grants committee gives preference to proposals for previously neglected topics, or to new approaches to and interpretations of previously treated topics. If more than one grant is awarded, preference for one will be given to current graduate students, young scholars, or non-academic scholars whose work is not otherwise subsidized.
Grant recipients are expected to spend at least one week during the grant period in residence in Lincoln working with materials from the Nebraska State Historical Society collections. The grants are intended to support research that will lead to submission of a manuscript for possible publication in the NSHS quarterly journal, Nebraska History. Manuscripts should not exceed 7,500 words, and should conform to the author guidelines.
Project Criteria
- Suitability for meaningful research in the NSHS library, archives, historic preservation files, museum, or archeological collections.
- Potential to make a significant contribution to historical scholarship on a Nebraska-related topic.
- Potential to produce a manuscript suitable for publication in Nebraska History.
- Applicant's academic training, professional experience, publication record, or other experience suggesting that the research and the resulting article will meet the highest professional standards.
Application Guidelines
If you receive an NSHS research grant, you are not eligible to re-apply the following year, but are welcome to apply again after that. NSHS employees and current board members are not eligible to apply.
Grant proposals must be emailed or postmarked by April 1. Grant recipients will be notified in May. Applications must include the following:
1. Title page containing the author’s name, address, phone and email, plus the project title or working title
2. Short narrative description of the proposed project (no more than 1,000 words) addressing the following points: a) The topic to be investigated and questions to be explored; b) Thesis or argument; c) Proposed sources to be examined, their availability, and their relevance to the topic; d) Potential contribution of the research to existing historical literature.
3. If the proposed research is part of a larger project, include a brief description of entire project, the work already completed, and the additional research to be supported by the grant.
4. A current resume or vita.
Submission
Email applications to david.bristow@nebraska.gov, or mail to:
NSHS Research Grant Program
Nebraska State Historical Society
P.O. Box 82554, 1500 R Street
Lincoln, NE 68501-2554
Evaluation of Proposals
Proposals will be evaluated according to the project criteria listed above.
Payment
Upon selection grant recipients will be paid $500. The balance ($500) will be paid upon submission of a manuscript. Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee publication by the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Acknowledgement
Grant recipients must acknowledge the NSHS in any publication resulting in whole or part from the grant-supported research.
Copyright
Copyright in published manuscripts will belong to the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Grant funding is provided by the Gladys Marie Lux Education Endowment and the Tom and Marilyn Allan Fund, both administered by the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation.
