Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program

The Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences (HEGS) Program is a funding initiative of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), managed by the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences within the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences. NSF was established by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science and to advance national health, prosperity, and welfare. HEGS continues this mission by supporting fundamental scientific research on the spatial dimensions of human behavior, activities, and dynamics, as well as their interactions with environmental and social processes at multiple scales. This solicitation, NSF 25-507, was posted on November 1, 2024, and supersedes NSF 21-623 . The HEGS Program is designed to foster research that is empirically grounded, theoretically engaged, methodologically rigorous, and generalizable, with the aim of advancing geographical and geospatial sciences. Projects must clearly demonstrate how proposed research engages with human dimensions relevant to society and must yield contributions to fundamental geographical theory or geospatial methods. Proposals that fail to address these requirements or that merely apply methods without contributing to theoretical development will be returned without review . HEGS accepts multiple types of proposals, including Senior Research, Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, Research Coordination Networks (RCN), conference proposals, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Research Experiences for Graduate Students (REG), supplemental funding requests, and Transdisciplinary Research in Environmental Social Science (TREES) proposals. Senior Research proposals may request up to 48 months of support, generally between $100,000 and $500,000. CAREER proposals must request between $400,000 and $450,000. RCN proposals may request up to $350,000, while conference proposals typically may not exceed $50,000. TREES awards are expected to last three to four years, with annual budgets typically ranging from $200,000 to $250,000 . The anticipated number of awards is 15 to 25 each year, including senior research, CAREER, RCN, and conference awards. The estimated total program funding is $7,000,000, contingent on availability of funds and proposal quality. The program accepts proposals from a wide range of eligible applicants, including accredited U.S. institutions of higher education, non-profit non-academic organizations, U.S.-based commercial organizations, state and local governments, and federally recognized tribal nations . Applications must be submitted electronically via Research.gov or Grants.gov in accordance with the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Deadlines for full proposals are February 3, 2025, August 1, 2025, and January 16, 2026. The program follows a recurring schedule with submissions due the first Friday in August and the third Friday in January annually thereafter. Proposals undergo merit review according to NSF’s two primary criteria: intellectual merit and broader impacts. Reviews may involve ad hoc experts, panels, or internal review processes . Applicants should note that voluntary cost sharing is prohibited, and standard NSF award and reporting requirements apply. Reporting obligations include annual and final project reports submitted through Research.gov. For inquiries, applicants are encouraged to use the program’s general email alias, HEGS-info@nsf.gov, which reaches all program directors. Additional contacts include Tom Evans (703-292-4891, tevans@nsf.gov), Jeremy Koster (703-292-8740, jkoster@nsf.gov), May Yuan (703-292-2206, mayuan@nsf.gov), and Cori J. Jacildone (703-292-8740, cjacildo@nsf.gov) .