APS Franklin Research Grants 2026–27 Cycle: Up to $7,000 for Research Expenses

APS Franklin Research Grants 2026–27 Cycle: Up to $7,000 for Research Expenses

The Franklin Research Grants are small awards from the American Philosophical Society (APS) for scholars who need direct support to reach or work with research materials. The program is open across fields of knowledge, while its eligible costs are specific: research travel to libraries and archives, reproduction of research materials, fieldwork, and laboratory expenses. The award is paid to the individual applicant and can be as large as $7,000. For the 2026–27 competition, APS lists October 1 and December 1, 2026 as application deadlines, with two letters of support due at the same time. The October round has closed; the December 1 round remains open. APS does not describe late acceptance or a rolling window after December 1, so applicants should plan to submit the complete application by that published deadline.

The APS page lists two deadlines for the 2026–27 competition. The October 1, 2026 round has passed. Its listed decision is in January 2027, for work beginning in February 2027 and continuing through January 2028. The December 1, 2026 round remains available. The APS lists a March 2027 decision for work beginning in April 2027 and continuing through January 2028. The application and both letters of support are due by the deadline selected. An applicant who missed the October round can use the December deadline, subject to the one-application-per-competition rule.

Key details

What the grant can pay for

The APS describes four main purposes for Franklin support: travel to libraries and archives for research, purchase of microfilm or photocopies and equivalent research materials, fieldwork costs, and laboratory research expenses. A persuasive request ties each cost to a defined part of the research plan. For example, explain which collection or field site the work requires, what information it will provide, and why the requested travel or analysis is needed to obtain it.

The grant is for noncommercial research. It is not intended to cover conference attendance or publication costs. The Society does not pay institutional overhead or indirect costs, and the funds cannot be used to pay income tax on the award. The guidelines also exclude salary replacement during a leave or summer teaching period, living expenses while working at home, consultants, research assistants, and permanent equipment such as computers, cameras, tape recorders, or laboratory apparatus. Grants are not retroactive, so expenses already incurred should not be included as costs for APS support.

The distinction between a research cost and a general professional expense matters. Travel to consult a collection may fit the program; travel to present a paper at a conference does not. Reproduction fees for source material may fit; buying a camera to make the reproductions does not. A laboratory charge tied to the proposed research may fit; acquiring permanent apparatus is excluded. Applicants should describe the actual expense and its connection to the work instead of relying on a broad budget label.

Awards are payable to the individual and count as taxable income. The Society says it is not required to report payments and recommends that recipients discuss their reporting obligations with a tax adviser. Applicants should account for this when deciding how much to request and should make sure their project remains feasible within the award amount.

Who may apply

Applicants are expected to hold a doctorate or to have published work of doctoral character and quality. The APS explains that qualifying publications should generally be scholarly in nature and length, with extensive footnotes; peer review may be present but is not required. Ph.D. candidates are not eligible unless they have completed the degree and are only waiting for it to be conferred.

The program welcomes independent scholars and faculty members at two-year and four-year institutions, including research and non-research institutions, provided applicants meet the other eligibility rules. The APS expresses particular interest in work by scholars who recently received the doctorate. Its FAQ says proposals are judged on their merits, while a junior scholar will be favored over a senior colleague when several applicants compete for the same funds. This is a stated preference, not a separate eligibility threshold.

Citizenship and institutional affiliation determine where the work may take place. American citizens and residents of the United States may use a Franklin award for research at home or abroad. Foreign nationals who are not affiliated with a U.S. institution must use the award for research in the United States. The APS FAQ also explains that U.S. residents can include foreign nationals or permanent residents affiliated with a U.S. institution, and American citizens living abroad may apply for work anywhere in the world.

A person who has previously received a Franklin grant may apply again after an interval of two years. The rule applies whether the new request concerns a different project or a later stage of the same project. Only one application may be submitted for a given competition: the applicant may request support for one project under either the October 1 or December 1 deadline, but may not submit separate projects to both rounds.

The current cycle and its timing

December 1, 2026 is the remaining application deadline in the published 2026–27 competition. APS lists a March 2027 decision for December submissions and a work period from April 2027 through January 2028. These are the Society’s published cycle dates, not a promise that every applicant will receive an award. Build the project schedule around the stated work period. Awards are not retroactive, and the form distinguishes the inclusive dates of the trip or project from the specific dates during which APS support is needed. Enter support dates that identify when the grant funds would pay eligible costs.

The earlier October 1, 2026 round is closed. It corresponded to a January 2027 decision and work beginning in February 2027 through January 2028. The APS FAQ says an application still marked “in progress” on October 2 can be continued and submitted for the December 1 deadline. This offers a route for someone who started an application but did not submit it by the first deadline. It does not create permission to submit a second application if one was already submitted for this competition.

The page also describes special programs connected with Franklin applications. The APS/British Academy Fellowship supports one to two months of research in London during 2027, with travel between the United States and United Kingdom and monthly subsistence paid by APS. Applicants must request this option through the Franklin application by October 1; applicants not selected for that fellowship are considered for a Franklin grant. Since that deadline has passed, a December applicant should not assume they can newly enter the British Academy competition.

The American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) Fellowship is described by APS as a $2,500 add-on for candidates conducting research at the British Library alongside an already awarded short-term research grant from an American research collection. Franklin applicants may indicate interest and apply by either the October 1 or December 1 deadline; successful Franklin applications that indicated interest are referred to ATBL. It is distinct from the Edinburgh fellowship and does not replace the Franklin application.

APS also lists a fellowship with the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh. It supports between two and four months of humanities or social science research in Edinburgh during 2027. APS notes a particular welcome for applications connected with disability and chronic illness. The current program page gives February 26, 2027 as the deadline and directs applicants to IASH for application information. APS says that this fellowship application also serves as the Franklin application, so applicants should follow the linked IASH process rather than assume the standard portal procedure applies. Because APS page text includes differing deadline information in its FAQ, applicants interested in IASH should confirm the operative date with IASH before submitting.

Preparing the application

Start with the research question and the materials needed to answer it. Name the archives, libraries, field sites, or laboratory work involved and explain what the project will examine there. State why access to those materials or that research setting is necessary. If an online source or nearer collection cannot answer the question, explain the specific limitation rather than simply saying that travel is important.

The application is submitted through the online portal linked from the official Franklin page. The APS provides a sample application for planning the submission. The current page labels it as the 2026 sample application. The form has strict character limits, and spaces count. The official limits are 250 characters for the title, 5,500 for the project description, 1,500 for the bibliography, 2,000 for publications pertinent to the project, 1,500 for unrelated publications, 500 for foreign languages, 500 for additional relevant information, 3,000 for reasons for the requested budget, and 5,500 for letters of support.

Use the project description to establish the question, the evidence, and the work plan within the available space. The budget justification should itemize the eligible expenses and show how each supports the stated work. Explain travel routes or duration where relevant, anticipated reproduction charges, field expenses, or laboratory costs. Separate the overall project schedule from the dates when APS funding would be spent. Keep the request within the program’s expense rules and show that the work can proceed without excluded salary, overhead, equipment, or assistant costs.

The bibliography should include works cited in the project statement and publications that reflect current and historical scholarship in the field. Keep publication lists relevant to the requested project where the form asks for pertinent publications. Check each section against the official character limit before submitting; an otherwise strong narrative can become difficult to evaluate if the form truncates it or leaves required information out.

Letters of support and submission sequence

Two letters of support are required, and the letters are due on the same deadline as the application. They must directly address the project outlined in the proposal. APS discourages Interfolio submissions because dossier letters can be too long and may be truncated, and because they may not speak to the specific project.

Enter the letter writers’ contact information in the portal early. The system then sends them instructions for submitting their letters. APS recommends completing this section before the rest of the application so writers have time to prepare. The writers will not see the proposal in the portal, so send each writer the project statement or discuss the plan with them directly. A focused letter can speak to the importance of the material, the method, or the feasibility of the work in a way a general recommendation cannot.

Applicants do not have to wait for letters to arrive before submitting their own application, but they should monitor the reference status in the account and ensure both letters are submitted by the deadline. The APS contact listed for questions about applicant or project eligibility, permitted expenses, and confirmation of receipt is Linda Musumeci, Director of Grants and Fellowships, at 215-440-3429 or through the email link on the official page.

After an award

Franklin recipients must submit both project and financial reports one month after completion of the funded portion of the work, using the timeframe stated in the proposal. APS says reporting instructions are provided with award notification. When planning the project, retain clear records of the expenses paid from the award and make sure the research schedule and reporting point are realistic.

The Franklin program is best suited to a bounded research task with a clear cost and evidentiary purpose. A scholar might need to consult a specific archive, reproduce material that cannot be accessed digitally, conduct fieldwork, or pay for laboratory research. The application should make that chain easy to follow: identify the evidence, explain the work needed to access or analyze it, and connect each requested cost to that work. Check the official page for the current portal, sample application, program rules, and any changes before applying.

Official links

• Program page, guidelines, sample application, and portal link: American Philosophical Society Franklin Research Grants
• ATBL Transatlantic Fellowship information: American Trust for the British Library
• IASH application information: APS/University of Edinburgh Fellowship