External Grants

Foundations Supporting Research in Philosophy


Comments: Summary of research areas for foundations that support fellowships in Philosophy. Includes foundations that list Philosophy (Humanities) as a core funding area. The asterisk (*) denotes that the institution is a foundation managed by Princeton’s CFR Office.

The Foundation Center is the premier resource for those who are seeking funds from Foundations.  The link provided here provides access to the Professional Edition of the database, which is available to anyone on campus through the Princeton University's Library at no cost.

1. John Templeton Foundation*

Core Funding Areas

  • Science and the Big Questions
  • Character Development
  • Freedom and Free Enterprise
  • Exceptional Cognitive Talent and Genius
  • Genetics

Signature Program

  • Templeton Prize

Recent fellowships related to Philosophy (grant amount and start year)

2. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation*

Core Program Areas

  • Higher Education and Scholarship
    • New Directions Fellowships: Click on the hyperlink for details (NOTE: this is a limited submission opportunity to which the Mellon Foundation invites Princetonto apply every 2-3 years; typically, Princeton is only able to institutionally nominate one candidate to submit an application)
  • Scholarly Communications and Information Technology
  • Art History, Conservation, and Museums
  • Performing Arts
  • Conservation and the Environment

Recent fellowships and awards related to Philosophy

  • ACLS Digital Innovation Fellowships: See ACLS below
  • Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellowships: See ACLS below
  • Frederick Burkhardt Residential Fellowships for Recently Tenured Scholars: See ACLS below
  • Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowships: See ACLS below
  • A.W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellowship (American Philosophical Society): PhD in any humanities discipline awarded within the past five years; December 9, 2013 application deadline
3. American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)

Fellowships and grants related to Humanities and related Social Sciences (including Philosophy)

4. Center of Theological Inquiry

In its current program for 2012-2015, CTI has announced three annual inquiries on interdisciplinary topics, awarding 36 fellowships to participating scholars. This has been made possible by a major grant of $3.5 million from the John Templeton Foundation. The three inquiry topics are:

  • Law and Religious Freedom (2014-2015) - December 15, 2013 deadline
  • Religious Experience and Moral Identity (2013-2014) – no longer accepting applications
  • Evolution and Human Nature (2012-2013) – no longer accepting applications
5. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
  • Guggenheim Fellowships: “midcareer” awards; grant amounts vary; mid-September deadline for the U.S. and Canada
6. Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
7. The Bogliasco Foundation

Bogliasco fellowships are awarded, without regard to nationality, to qualified persons doing advanced creative work or scholarly research in the disciplines below.

  • Archeology
  • Architecture
  • Classics
  • Dance
  • Film/Video
  • History
  • Landscape/Architecture
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Philosophy
  • Theater
  • Visual Arts
8. The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation

Core Programs:

  • Humanities (including Philosophy)
  • Performing Arts
  • Research Libraries
  • Venetian Programs