PrintMajor Funding Sources
Internal Harvard Funding Sources
Federal Agencies
| Agency | What they fund |
|---|---|
| Administration for Children and Families (ACF) | Supports projects that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. |
| Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) | Supports research to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. |
| Agency for International Development (USAID) | Supports research that is intended to produce knowledge that will offer solutions to specific development challenges including broad-based economic growth; environment; population, health and nutrition; democracy; and providing humanitarian assistance and aiding post-crisis transitions. |
| Center for Disease Control (CDC) | Provides funding to help promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. Grants assist health-related and research organizations that contribute to CDC's mission through health information dissemination, preparedness, prevention, research, and surveillance. |
| Department of Agriculture (USDA) | Supports food and agriculture research, including biotechnology, genomics, pest management, biofuels, and childhood obesity. |
| Department of Commerce | Supports projects that foster economic growth and the creation of new American jobs to ensure sustainable economic opportunities. |
| Department of Defense
Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) Defense Avanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) |
Supports basic and applied research related to the mission of each service. |
| Department of Education | Supports research on education from pre-school through higher education and adult education. |
| Department of Energy | Supports research related to energy, including solid state lighting, smart grid, electric vehicles, and clean energy technologies. |
| Department of Transportation | Supports research to bring advanced technologies to the transportation systems and funds university transportation centers. |
| Economic Development Administration (EDA) | Supports projects to create jobs and advance global competitiveness. |
| Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Supports research that will improve the scientific basis for national environmental decisions. |
| Housing and Urban Development | Supports research on housing, urban issues and policy analysis. |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | Supports efforts to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. Executes three key functions: policy research, program evaluation and data collection. |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) | Seeks to develop innovative technologies, knowledge, and infrastructures to support decisions for human exploration and to promote international and commercial participation in U.S. exploration efforts. |
| National Endowment for the Arts | Supports artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | Provides funding to strengthen teaching and learning in schools and colleges, facilitate research and original scholarship, provide opportunities for lifelong learning, preserve and provide access to cultural and educational resources, and strengthen the institutional base of the humanities. |
| National Institute of Justice | Provides grants for research, development and evaluation projects relating to criminal justice and forensic laboratory enhancement. Also funds research fellowships. |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | Supports research that increases our fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability. |
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) | Supports research on the structure and behavior of th eocean, atmosphere, and related ecosystems. |
| National Science Foundation (NSF) | Supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission | Supports education and research on nuclear materials safety and other nuclear-related issues. |
| State Department - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs | Supports academic, cultural and professional exchange and training programs. |
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Private Foundations
The list below includes a selection of private foundations but is not comprehensive. Detailed information on thousands of private foundations can be accessed using Harvard's subscription to the Foundation Directory Online search mechanism.
| Foundation | What they fund |
|---|---|
| Alfred P. Sloan Foundation | Funds research in science and technology, standards of living and economic performance, education and careers in science and technology, and selected national issues. |
| American Cancer Society | Supports cancer research. |
| Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | Offers grants in higher education, scholarly communication, museums and art conservation, performing arts, information technology, and the environment. |
| Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation | Supports research in global development and health, and education in the United States. |
| David and Lucile Packard Foundation | Offers grants in conservation and science, population, children, families and communities. |
| Ellison Medical Foundation | Supports research in aging and global infectious diseases. |
| Ford Foundation | Supports programs that strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. |
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute | Supports research and teaching in the biomedical sciences. |
| Human Frontier Science Program | Research grants and fellowships in the Life Sciences. |
| James S. McDonnell Foundation | Supports scientific research in mind/brain/behavior, complex systems, and brain cancer. |
| John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation | Funds research through four programs: global security and sustainability, human and community development, public interest media, and the MacArthur Fellows program. |
| March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation | Programs fund research into the prevention and treatment of birth defects and prematurity, including genetics, development, and social, behavioral, and environmental hazards. |
| Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Supports education, training and research aimed at improving health and health care in the United States. |
| Rockefeller Foundation | Funds research in agriculture, arts and culture, health, employment, housing, education, and globalization in eastern and southern Africa, southeast Asia, and North America. |
| Smith Richardson Foundation | Funds research in international security, foreign policy, and domestic public policy. |
| William and Flora Hewlett Foundation | Supports programs in education, environment, global development, performing arts, philanthropy, and population. |
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Harvard Internal Opportunities
| Sponsor | What they fund |
|---|---|
| Asia Center Grants | Supports research and study in Asia for students and faculty, as well as the activities of Asia-focused student organizations. |
| Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs | Offers research fellowships during the academic year to individuals who wish to devote their time to research and writing in the fields of science and international affairs. |
| The Biomedical Accelerator Fund | Provides development gap funding to Harvard investigators, thereby fostering and advancing the development of nascent technologies emanating from university labs into commercial development and, ultimately, the global marketplace. |
| Center for the Environment Small Grants for Exploratory Research | Support preliminary explorations of significant environmental issues that show promise for further scholarship. |
| Center for International Development Faculty Grants | Supports research and seminars relating to international development. |
| Center for Jewish Studies Harry Starr Fellowship in Judaica | Covers travel expenses and a stipend for a group of scholars from around the world to gather at Harvard to engage in full-time research in a designated subject area in Judaica. |
| David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies | Supports Harvard faculty research, teaching, and professional activities relating to Latin America. |
| Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies | Supports individual research and sponsored research programs on Russia and the nations and countries that surround it. |
| Edmond J. Saffra Center for Ethics | Provides fellowships in ethics, addressing fundamental problems of ethics in a way that is of practical benefit to institutions of government and to society generally. |
| Film Study Center | Supports internationally eminent and emerging filmmakers, video artists, sound artists, and photographers whose creative projects seek to interpret the world, especially the fabric of human existence and cultural difference, through moving and still images and sounds. |
| Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy | Provides fellowships to to advance research in the field of press, politics and public policy; provide an opportunity for reflection; facilitate a dialogue among scholars, journalists and policymakers; and create a vibrant and long-lasting community. |
| The Milton Fund | Supports studies of a medical, geographical, historical, or scientific nature, which must be either in the interests of promoting the physical and material welfare of the human race, or of investigating and determining the value and importance of a discovery or invention. |
| Mind/Brain/Behavior Interfaculty Initiative Faculty Grants | These awards are intended to support faculty members who want to examine MBB-related issues through interdisciplinary research, education, or experiences. |
| Presidential Instructional Technology Fellows (PITF) | Creates opportunities for graduate and undergraduate to collaborate directly with faculty in the creation of and use of digital teaching materials with immediate uses in courses. |
| President's Innovation Fund for International Experiences | Provides seed funding to faculty members at any Harvard school to support the development of creative and significant academic experiences abroad for Harvard College students. |
| Provost Fund for Interfaculty Collaboration (PFIC) | This fund supports a variety of cross-faculty collaborations, including but not limited to new interdisciplinary courses, working groups, small-scale conferences, and new research projects that have relevance to fostering interfaculty collaboration more broadly. |
| Radcliffe Fellowships | Supports artists and scholars who have both exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishments. |
| Raoul Berger-Mark DeWolfe Howe Legal History Fellowship | The purpose of the fellowship is to enable the fellow to complete a major piece of writing in the field of legal history. |
| Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies Fellowships & Grants | Provides fellowships and grants for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Undergraduate and graduate fellowships and grants allow students to gain first-hand knowledge of Japan, practice language skills and conduct research. Postdoctoral fellowships provide scholars with exceptional promise an opportunity to transform dissertations into publishable manuscripts. |
| University Commitee on Biological Sciences | Offers a selection of funding opportunities from private foundations that require candidates to be nominated by Harvard University (limited submission opportunities). |
| Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Faculty Grants | Supports research that deepens the understanding of the forces, both domestic and international, that are transforming many countries as well as the international system. |
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