The Royal Historical Society runs an active annual programme of research grants for historians at all career stages.
These awards include the International Research Support Grant, launched in 2026. This new programme offers awards of up to £1,000 per grant to support historians, with a residential address outside the UK and Ireland, to undertake research in archives, or similar, in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland.
Applications are restricted to current International Fellows and International Associate Fellows of the Royal Historical Society who have paid their subscription fee up to an including for the year 2025-26.* Applications not supported by current active membership will be disqualified.
This new scheme recognises that many International Fellows and Associate Fellows of the Society are historians of Britain and the British world who require financial assistance to access, in person, research materials in the UK and Ireland.
For more on this programme, and eligibility for applicants, please see here: https://royalhistsoc.org/research_funding/international-research-support-grants/
Applications for this first round of grants is open from Wednesday 25 March 2026 to 23:59 on Friday 8 May 2026.
How to apply
Applications should comprise:
- short CV (2-page max) for the applicant.
- a statement on the project and proposed use of funds (750 words max) to include details of the project, the sum requested, and the intended use of funds.
When awarding International Research Support Grants, primary consideration will be given to the proposed quality and value of the research project; and the need for access to archives and archive collections in the UK or Republic of Ireland to undertake this research.
Applications are invited for sums less than the maximum £1000 per award, as required.
The Royal Historical Society seeks to use its limited funds to make the greatest impact upon the historian community, by prioritising awards to those with greatest need. This includes to historians who lack access to alternative resources (institutional or other) to enhance their work, or where funding opportunities are very limited.
The Society appreciates, given the cost of international archival work, that awards of this grant may form part of a package of funding to support a defined project. Access to alternative funds will not invalidate your submission, but will contribute towards the assessment of your application and may result in an award of a different value being made if successful.
Further information on all research support funding from the RHS can be found here: https://royalhistsoc.org/grants/.
For enquiries about grants or making an application please contact: membership@royalhistsoc.org
* For those wishing to join or rejoin the Society, please see the Join Us section of the RHS website
International Research Support Grant - Applications Portal
The Royal Historical Society runs an active annual programme of research grants for historians at all career stages.
These awards include the International Research Support Grant, launched in 2026. This new programme offers awards of up to £1,000 per grant to support historians, with a residential address outside the UK and Ireland, to undertake research in archives, or similar, in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland.
Applications are restricted to current International Fellows and International Associate Fellows of the Royal Historical Society who have paid their subscription fee up to an including for the year 2025-26.* Applications not supported by current active membership will be disqualified.
This new scheme recognises that many International Fellows and Associate Fellows of the Society are historians of Britain and the British world who require financial assistance to access, in person, research materials in the UK and Ireland.
For more on this programme, and eligibility for applicants, please see here: https://royalhistsoc.org/research_funding/international-research-support-grants/
Applications for this first round of grants is open from Wednesday 25 March 2026 to 23:59 on Friday 8 May 2026.
How to apply
Applications should comprise:
- short CV (2-page max) for the applicant.
- a statement on the project and proposed use of funds (750 words max) to include details of the project, the sum requested, and the intended use of funds.
When awarding International Research Support Grants, primary consideration will be given to the proposed quality and value of the research project; and the need for access to archives and archive collections in the UK or Republic of Ireland to undertake this research.
Applications are invited for sums less than the maximum £1000 per award, as required.
The Royal Historical Society seeks to use its limited funds to make the greatest impact upon the historian community, by prioritising awards to those with greatest need. This includes to historians who lack access to alternative resources (institutional or other) to enhance their work, or where funding opportunities are very limited.
The Society appreciates, given the cost of international archival work, that awards of this grant may form part of a package of funding to support a defined project. Access to alternative funds will not invalidate your submission, but will contribute towards the assessment of your application and may result in an award of a different value being made if successful.
Further information on all research support funding from the RHS can be found here: https://royalhistsoc.org/grants/.
For enquiries about grants or making an application please contact: membership@royalhistsoc.org
* For those wishing to join or rejoin the Society, please see the Join Us section of the RHS website