Budgeting an NEH Fellowship
Last updated June 23, 2026
An NEH Fellowship supports individual scholars with a stipend commonly around $5,000 per month for six to twelve months, up to roughly $60,000, so you can work full time on research and writing. Track it across living support, research costs, and professional costs, and set aside money for taxes.
What an NEH Fellowship provides
The NEH Fellowship supports individual scholars, commonly paying around $5,000 per month for six to twelve months, up to roughly $60,000, so you can focus full time on research and writing.
Organizational NEH project grants are different: they use the standard federal budget categories and report on form SF-425. This template is for the individual fellowship, where the stipend mainly supports your living and research while you work.
Track your research period
A simple structure is living support (your draw, housing, health insurance, taxes), research (travel, archives and access fees, books and materials), and professional (conference registration, editing or translation, publication costs).
Logging as you go keeps your runway visible across the fellowship and makes any summary you need easy to produce.
Keep receipts and a category summary
Attach receipts to your research and professional expenses and keep a category summary. Even where no formal expense report is required, clean records make your work and your taxes far simpler.
Common questions
How much is an NEH Fellowship?
Commonly around $5,000 per month for six to twelve months, up to roughly $60,000.
What can NEH Fellowship funds be used for?
They support your full-time research and writing, which in practice covers living costs during the period plus research and professional expenses.
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