Media Projects

The Media Projects program, administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Lifelong Learning, is designed to support the creation and dissemination of media projects that bring humanities themes to broad public audiences. This initiative funds the development, production, and distribution of radio programs, podcasts, and documentary films, emphasizing thoughtful, balanced, and analytically grounded humanities content. By leveraging the power of audiovisual storytelling, NEH seeks to deepen public understanding of history, literature, philosophy, ethics, and other disciplines encompassed by the humanities. The program strongly encourages projects with national or regional reach that are compelling, accessible, and scholarly in nature. There are two levels of funding available: Development and Production. Development grants of up to $75,000 are available exclusively for film projects, supporting early-phase activities such as treatment preparation, preliminary interviews, scholarly collaboration, and outreach planning. In contrast, Production grants support both film and audio formats—up to $700,000 for films and $350,000 for radio and podcasts—intended to fund the full realization and distribution of projects. Production funding may cover script development, filming or recording, editing, distribution, and related outreach efforts. Notably, development funding is not available for radio or podcast formats, which must apply directly for production-level support. All applicants must root their work in strong humanities scholarship and actively involve external scholars throughout all project phases. NEH places a strong emphasis on ensuring that the work is analytical and presents multiple perspectives. Media professionals appropriate to the proposed format should be part of the core team, and projects must be developed in formats that are engaging and accessible to a general audience. Applicants must demonstrate their project’s potential for widespread public engagement and a clear strategy for national or regional distribution. There are several important restrictions on the use of funds. NEH does not support fictional works, dramatizations, educational degree fulfillment, or promotional, political, or ideological content, including advocacy of DEI, environmental justice, or public policy positions. Other excluded uses include construction, general operations, publication costs, and projects that fall outside the humanities. Costs tied to postsecondary student support, lobbying, or performed by federal personnel are also disallowed. Applications containing any unallowable activities or costs will be rejected as nonresponsive. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 25, 2026. The application package includes a narrative, work plan, treatment or script, work samples, bibliography, biographies, and letters of commitment. Additional required documents vary depending on project scope. Projects must begin between March 1 and September 1, 2027. Applicants are not required to provide matching funds, and awards will be made as outright grants. All applications will be evaluated through NEH’s peer review process, based on criteria such as humanities content, creative approach, team qualifications, work samples, feasibility, and audience engagement strategy. NEH anticipates awarding approximately $6 million across an estimated 15 grants. Award notifications will begin in December 2026. Questions about the program may be directed to the Division of Lifelong Learning via email at [email protected]. Additional details, including example projects and application instructions, can be found at [https://www.neh.gov/program/media-projects](https://www.neh.gov/program/media-projects). For applicants considering submission, early preparation and consultation with humanities scholars is encouraged to ensure alignment with the program's goals and review expectations.

Focus on strong humanities themes, clear distribution plan, and external scholarly involvement. Avoid ineligible costs and unsupported formats.