Frequently Asked Questions

The Wenner-Gren Foundation furthers the discipline of anthropology through its grants, fellowships, and other activities. We have designed our programs to support innovative and ethical research in all branches of anthropology worldwide. We provide a platform for conversations within and beyond the discipline of anthropology by hosting events, funding conferences and workshops, and supporting publications for scholars and the general public. We work to advance anthropological knowledge, amplify its impact, foster inclusivity, and address the precariousness of anthropology as a career and a field of study.

Feel free to email us at inquiries@wennergren.org.

If you are interested in applying for a Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, a Post-PhD Research Grant, a Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship, or a Fejos Postdoctoral Fellowship in Ethnographic Film, email applications@wennergren.org.

If you have a question about an active Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, a Post-PhD Research Grant, a Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship, or a Fejos Postdoctoral Fellowship in Ethnographic Film, please contact Mary Beth Moss, mmoss@wennergren.org.  If your final report is due and you have questions, contact Mark Ropelewski, mropelewski@wennergren.org

If you’d like to learn more about the Conference and Workshop Program or the Symposium and Seminar Program, contact Donna Auston at dauston@wennergren.org.

For information about the Engaged Research Grants, the Global Initiatives Grants, and the Wadsworth Fellowships, contact Judy Kreid at jkreid@wennergren.org.

To learn more about the Historical Archives Program, contact Mark Mahoney at mmahoney@wennergren.org.

If you have any questions about the online application submission process, contact applications@wennergren.org.

The May 1 deadline is for funding starting between January 1 and June 30 of the following year. The November 1 deadline is for funding starting between July 1 and December 31 of the following year. You should be close to finishing all the requirements for your degree (except the thesis or dissertation) before applying for a grant. It’s important to give your project time to gel.

The May 1 deadline is for funding starting between January 1 and June 30 of the following year. The November 1 deadline is for funding starting between July 1 and December 31 of the following year.

Apply by August 1 for projects beginning as early as April 1 of the following year. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to collaborate with your non-academic partners in designing your project.

Apply by May 1 for fellowships beginning between January 1 and December 31 of the following year.

Apply by the first Monday in November for fellowships beginning on September 1 of the following year. Use the School for Advanced Research portal.

When the competition reopens for the next available 2-year fellowship, application announcements will be posted through the University of Chicago Press.

The deadline to apply for this program is July 15.

The June 1 deadline is for conferences and workshops that will be held no earlier than January 1 of the following year. The December 1 deadline is for conferences and workshops to be held no earlier than July 1 of the following year.

Apply by May 15 for projects beginning no earlier than July 15 of the same year.

This deadline is rolling. Once we’ve accepted your application, we will move quickly to review it and, if you qualify, provide the support you need.

The deadline for these applications is March 1. If you have already begun your doctoral studies and you would like to be considered for this fellowship, you must apply during your first year in the program.

The deadline for these applications is December 15. If you have already begun your doctoral studies and you would like to be considered for this fellowship, you must apply during your first year in the program.

We award this grant once every 4 years. A call for applications will be posted on our website 6 months in advance of the next deadline.

You must submit your application using our online portal by UTC-04:00 (midnight Eastern Time) on the day of the deadline. Without prior approval, we cannot accept application materials emailed or faxed to the Foundation.

Writing proposals is hard work. So is evaluating them. We do our best to provide all our applicants with fair and constructive feedback. This takes time.

For Dissertation Fieldwork Grants, Post-PhD Research Grants, and Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowships, there are two stages to our review process.

Stage One: One of our screeners will determine whether your application meets our general criteria for evaluation. Approximately 50 percent of these proposals are successful at this point and move on to Stage Two. If you have not heard from us by August 1 (for the May 1 application deadline) or March 1 (for the November 1 application deadline), please contact the Foundation for information on the progress of your application.

Stage Two: A panel of three reviewers will evaluate your proposal. Approximately 33 percent of Stage Two applications receive grants. We will do our best to inform you of our decision at least 2 weeks before the next application deadline (April 15 for the May 1 deadline and October 15 for the November 1 deadline). Again, contact us if you have not heard from us by these dates.

Follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/wennergrenfoundation) and Twitter (@wennergrenorg) to learn when we have sent out the Stage One and Stage Two notifications.

For Engaged Research Grants, Fejos Postdoctoral Fellowships in Ethnographic Film, SAPIENS Public Fellowships, SAPIENS Public Scholars Training Fellowship, Wenner-Gren Fellowships in Anthropology and Black Experiences, Wadsworth International and Wadsworth African Fellowships, Wadsworth Institutional Grants, Conference and Workshop Grants, Global Initiatives Grants, and Historical Archives Program grants, a single panel of reviewers will evaluate your application. You should hear from us between 2 and 6 months after the application deadline.

We treat all application materials as confidential, with one notable exception.  If you win a grant or fellowship, we will publish your name, your project title, and your abstract on our website.

Our reviewers will rate your proposal on a scale of 1 to 5; the lower the score, the stronger the reviewer’s support for your application. We average out the ratings to come up with a review score, which provides us with a starting point for our final decision. The cutoff varies from program to program and season to season. Generally, proposals with average review scores of 2 and lower are funded. Then we do our best to fund as many proposals that fall in the middle range as we can.

The Foundation is committed to enlisting  reviewers whose backgrounds are as wonderfully diverse as those of applicants. We have reviewers from every subfield of anthropology, based in every continent in the world. We look for individuals with expertise in emerging fields of inquiry, and we prioritize intellectual generosity.  We are particularly eager to draw on the insights of anthropologists from historically marginalized communities and traditions of scholarship. Reviewing is hard work, and we’ve done our best to recruit individuals who have the skills and mindset they need to do a good job.

You will find annual lists of reviewers in https://wennergren.org/about-us/#financials 

Yes. Covid taught us to expect the unexpected. Pandemics aren’t the only disaster that can disrupt a researcher’s plans. If you are applying for a Conference or Workshop Grant, you’ll want to think ahead about what you’ll do if you and your colleagues are not able to gather in person.   If you are applying for an Engaged Research Grant, you and your partners should develop a broad sweep of methods, not all of which depend on your ability to meet face-to-face.

Applicants for the Dissertation Fieldwork Grant and the Post-PhD Research Grant still need to provide two separate versions of their research design, including a Plan B that would be feasible to do remotely should conditions change radically. This could be a new pandemic, a disaster, or even a personal emergency that prevents your travel. We’ve found the process of thinking through a remote plan adds immeasurably to the depth of research possibilities before, during, and after fieldwork. Should your application be approved, we’ll fund your Plan A. But if the need arises, you’ll have a Plan B in your resources to allow your work to proceed. We want to know your project will be safe and ethical even if disaster strikes.

No, but we do expect you to know what kind of permission or permit(s) you will need. In your application, we will ask you to list the permits required and the estimated date by which you expect to secure each one. These might include research visas, letters of affiliation, human subject approvals, animal care and use approvals, excavation permits, and permissions from the local scientific, academic, museum, institutional, or tribal authorities who oversee your research area. We also ask for local permission: letters, emails, and other evidence of consent from within the country or community where you’ll be doing your research. To fund your project, we need to know that you are committed to addressing any ethical issues raised by your research. Consult with your interlocutors and/or contacts for help.

No, not in principle, but there are countries where we face restrictions. The Foundation requires grantees to comply with all U.S. laws, including regulations governed by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Please see the OFAC Guidelines page on our website and consult the U.S. Department of the Treasury for more information. We require special documentation for projects located in Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, certain parts of the Ukraine, and Venezuela. The Foundation does not require this documentation at the application stage, but we must receive it before we can release funds.

We only request letters of support for Engaged Research Grant, Wadsworth International Fellowship, and Wadsworth African Fellowship applications. We use these letters to determine whether applicants will have the support they need to succeed, from individuals and communities who are key to their work. Please note, however, that except where specifically requested, general letters of recommendation are neither required nor accepted.

Film (or multimedia) samples play a critical role in our review; we look at this part of the application very closely. Choose work that represents your approach to the project and gives our reviewers a clear sense of the kind of material you’ll be presenting.

Yes, but only to students from countries where opportunities for doctoral training in anthropology are limited. If this is applicable to you, check out the Wadsworth International and Wadsworth African Fellowships. If you are training doctoral students in a department in the Global South, you should look into the Wadsworth Institutional Grant.

Unfortunately, no. You may only apply to the Wadsworth program through one university at a time, and we do not allow applicants to switch host institutions. In deciding whether or not to select you as a Fellow, we pay close attention to the fit between you and your host sponsor and institution. You’ll need to make a firm decision before you seek this award.

No. Wadsworth Fellows have studied in world-class universities throughout the world.

No. We don’t accept applications from students who have completed more than a year of doctoral training.

I’m afraid not. The write-up support we offer is exclusively for Wadsworth Fellows who have received at least 2 years of funding for training prior to their dissertation fieldwork.

Yes, you are. The Foundation’s mission is to advance anthropological knowledge, amplify its impact, foster inclusivity, and address the precariousness of anthropology as a career and a field of study. You may be interested in a program focusing on policy making, public health, sustainability and conservation practices, primate conservation, heritage management, or salvage work on endangered languages. That’s fine, as long as your work speaks to broader anthropological conversations as well.

We designed this fellowship for students who plan to return to their home country after finishing their PhD, to accept an academic appointment in anthropology. We will ask your home sponsor to discuss why you are pursuing a doctorate abroad instead of seeking training in your own country. We will also ask them to comment on the opportunities that will be open to you as a teacher and/or researcher in your country upon completion of your degree. If there is a faculty member from the institution where you received your master’s degree, who is not going to be your host sponsor but who can provide this information, they could be your home sponsor.

Your program administrator is your main contact in the Foundation.  They are ready to answer any questions you might have and to help you make the most of your award.

For Dissertation Fieldwork Grants, Post-PhD Research Grants, Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowships, and Fejos Postdoctoral Fellowships in Ethnographic Film, contact Mary Beth Moss at mmoss@wennergren.org.

For Conference and Workshop Grants, Symposia, and Seminars, contact Donna Auston at dauston@wennergren.org.

For Engaged Research Grants, Global Initiatives Grants, Institutional Development Grants (discontinued), Wadsworth Institutional Fellowships, Wadsworth African Fellowships, and Wadsworth Institutional Fellowships, contact Judy Kreid at jkreid@wennergren.org.

For Historical Archives Program grants, contact Mark Mahoney at mmahoney@wennergren.org.

For Engaged Anthropology Grants (discontinued), contact Mark Ropelewski at mropelewski@wennergren.org.

Congratulations! You can accept the grant by sending in the required items through the link in your approval notice. These items include your completed, signed grant forms and copies of your permits, permissions, study or research visas, and any other pertinent authorizations. It’s important that you gather the required items and submit them all together, as you can only use the submittal link one time. If you have any questions or if there will be a long delay in sending these items, please contact your program administrator.

The only deadline we have is 2 weeks before your start date, but grantees may request payment well in advance to be ready to go. Please note that we do not provide funding retroactively. If your start date is delayed, please let us know promptly; if we have not heard from you by that date, we may assume funding is no longer needed.

Please follow the instructions in the link on your approval notice. Documents we require include the completed grant forms available through the link, as well as copies of your permits, permissions, research or study visas, and any other authorizations for your project. Please read through the checklist carefully, as you can only use the link to submit your documents once. Missing items, improperly completed forms, missed signatures, or out-of-date contact information will result in a delay of your payment. We will contact you via email about missing items. Once the required items are received, it generally takes about 2 weeks to arrange a payment.

Yes. Most grantees request an earlier payment date to begin purchasing equipment, airline tickets, etc. You are welcome to mark “as soon as possible” on the payment form. The Foundation needs at least 2 weeks to process a payment from the time we receive all your grant paperwork and permit copies. We generally do not make payments more than 6 months before the start date without special arrangement.

No, you don’t, unless you have won a Wadsworth fellowship. In all other cases, if you prefer, we can make the payment directly to you. Keep in mind that if you do receive your payment through your university, you are still the grantee of record.

It depends on whether or not you are a U.S. citizen and the location of your research project, fellowship, conference, or workshop. Non-U.S. citizens expending grant funds in the U.S. should pay careful attention to the regulations. For more information, see U.S. Tax Issues and the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s Tax Reporting Requirements.

No, Wenner-Gren awards do not include funds to cover institutional overhead or any fees related to the administration of our grants and fellowships.

No, but you will need to contact your program administrator before you make any significant modifications to your project or fellowship. According to your grant agreement, you can only spend funds on items included in your approved budget. Your fellowship agreement obligates you to work on your project for the full duration of your award.

If you have a Dissertation Research Grant, a Post-PhD Research Grant, or an Engaged Research Grant, you will need prior approval from the Foundation to modify your research topic, geographical location, methodology, project personnel, budget, or the starting date and duration of your award. To request these changes, please email your program administrator.

For changes to Conference and Workshop Grants, Global Initiatives Grants, Historical Archives Program grants, Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowships, Fejos Fellowships in Ethnographic Film, and Wadsworth fellowships, you will need to contact your program administrator. Most changes to these awards also require prior approval.

We review requests for significant changes promptly on a case-by-case basis. We will work with you to be sure that we fully understand your situation before we make a decision.

Contact your program administrator. You’ll want to share your new dates with them and explain the reason for the change. If you are altering your timeline, include a revised itemized budget.

Yes, but again you will need to contact your program administrator to seek advance permission. Please include in your email an explanation for the change and a revised itemized budget.

Your program administrator can help you with this. Send them a new specific end date and explain why you are seeking an extension. You’ll want to confirm that the budget is unchanged.

You’ll want to reach out to your program administrator. They will need a revised itemized budget for the full amount of the grant, along with an explanation for the changes. Use the same format and level of detail that you did in your original budget. If you are simply moving small amounts (less the $100) from one approved category to another, you do not need advance permission.

A lot can happen between the day you receive your award letter and the day you complete your grant. You may need to change the location of your project. You may need to move your meeting to another city or take it online. Your topic may have shifted. If you have a Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, you may be working with a new supervisor. You may be affiliated with a new institution. You may have changed your name, your pronouns, or your contact information. Reach out to your program administrator. They will help you with the process.

If you receive one of our awards, your program administrator will explain the reporting requirements: when to send them, to whom to send them, and what will happen once the Foundation receives them. Depending on the program, the contents and form of the final report will vary; please see the final report guide for your program. If your program isn’t included there, contact your program administrator for further information.

Technically, yes, but we strongly encourage you to donate these items to your research participants. It’s a good way to compensate them for their help. However, be sure to remove any identifying information first.

No. We just want to hear about what you accomplished with our funding.

We don’t have specific publication requirements, although we do hope that you will publish your findings. When you do, we would be grateful if you would acknowledge the Wenner-Gren Foundation. We would like to be listed in all publications resulting in whole or in part from your grant. Please also send us copies of this work. Include your name, the grant number, and a full bibliographic citation in Current Anthropology format.

We would love to publicize your accomplishments. As was the case with your application, we will treat your final reports, with the exception of your final abstract, as confidential. But if you provide us with photographs, films, or other materials created in connection with your project, we may want to use them on our website or for other purposes related to the Foundation’s activities. Unless you indicate otherwise, we will assume that you have given us permission to do so. We will also assume that we have your permission to use your name, a description of your research project, and the names of organizations you are associated with. If this is not the case, please let us know. And please only send us images that are ethically sourced, as described in our Standards of Practice for Photographs and Videos.

No.  We will only notify you if you miss your final reporting due date. If you don’t remember what this deadline is, please feel free to email your program administrator to check on your grant’s status.

If you contact us with a good explanation for the delay, we’ll give you an extension. Please email your program administrator as soon as you know your reports will be late and give us a date by which you will turn them in. There will be repercussions if you fail to report on your grant. Individuals who fail to fulfill our reporting requirements become ineligible for further support from the Wenner-Gren Foundation.