Limited submission opportunities (LSOs) are funding opportunities where the sponsor has placed a limit on the number of applications that may be submitted from an institution. Below is a list of annually recurring LSOs sorted by anticipated internal deadline, along with the office that administers the application process for FAS faculty. Please be aware of the following:
- This is meant to serve as a reference for faculty and administrators for planning purposes. Deadlines are general and may differ from year to year depending on when a competition is announced by the sponsor. For updated information on a particular competition, use the links below.
- All announcements of LSO competitions will be disseminated by FAS Research Development to FAS department chairs and administrators and posted in the Harvard University funding portal (HUFP).
- Faculty may not apply directly for LSOs without institutional endorsement.
- If you are interested in applying for an LSO that is not on this list, please bring it to our attention as soon as possible by contacting Erin Hale (erin_hale@fas.harvard.edu).
| Award Program | Anticipated Internal Deadline | Anticipated Sponsor Preproposal or Letter of Intent Deadline (if applicable) | Anticipated Sponsor Deadline | Administrator of Internal Selection Process for FAS faculty |
| Archer Foundation Award in Brain Research | Late April | Mid-May | Mid-September | Office of the Vice Provost for Research |
| Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships | Mid-September | Early October | Not an LSO, but institutional endorsement is required. Contact FAS Research Development for help obtaining institutional endorsement. | |
| Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship | Late August | Early September |
Not an LSO, but institutional endorsement is required. A Letter of Support & Acknowledgement of Application must be signed by the applicant’s Department Chair. |
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| Beckman Young Investigator Program | Mid-July | Early August | Not an LSO, but institutional endorsement is required. | |
| Boston Scientific Foundation STEM Education Grant | Mid-July | Early September | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| Brain Research Foundation Fay/Frank Seed Grant | Late November | Early January | Late March | Office of the Vice Provost for Research |
| Brain Research Foundation Scientific Innovations Award | Mid-May | Late June | Late September | Office of the Vice Provost for Research |
| Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award Program | Late November | Early February | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| Graham Foundation for the Fine Arts Production and Presentation Grants | N/A | Late February | One nomination per department. Each department will have its own selection process. | |
| Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program in Bioethics | Mid-August | Mid-September | Early January | Office of the Vice Provost for Research |
| Mallinckrodt Grants | Early June | Early August | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| Mellon Foundation John E. Sawyer Seminars on the Comparative Study of Cultures | Early January | Early March |
Office of the Vice Provost for Research Award is open to Harvard applicants every 2-3 years |
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| Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellowship | Mid-August | Mid-October | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| Moore Inventor Fellows | Mid-October | Mid-December | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Projects | Early January | Mid-February or Mid-July | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipends | Early July | Late September | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| NIH Director's Early Independence Award | Mid-June | Mid-August (optional LOI) | Mid-September | Office of the Vice Provost for Research |
| NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) | Late September | Early January | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) | The PIRE program is currently paused for revision of the solicitation. | Office of the Vice Provost for Research. Not offered every year. | ||
| NSF Physics Frontiers Centers | Late May | Early August | Late January | Office of the Vice Provost for Research. Award is only offered every 3 years (January 2020) |
| NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program | Late September | Early December | Early February | Office of the Vice Provost for Research |
| NSF Science and Technology Centers (STC) | Early May | Late June | Late January | Office of the Vice Provost for Research. Offered every three years. |
| Packard Fellowships in Science and Engineering | Late January | Mid-March (nomination only) | Mid-April | Office of the Vice Provost for Research |
| Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences | Mid-March | Mid-October | University Committee on Biological Sciences (UCBS) | |
| Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program | Mid-August | Mid-September | Mid-October | Office of the Vice Provost for Research. This was previously handled by UCBS for all faculty. Now non-HMS faculty apply through OVPR. |
| Searle Scholars Program | Late July | Late September | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| Simons Investigators in Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics and Computer Science | Early August | Late October | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| Sloan Research Fellowships | N/A | Mid-September | Three nominations per department. Each department will have its own selection process. | |
| Whiting Public Engagement Programs | Mid-March | Mid-June | Office of the Vice Provost for Research | |
| W.T. Grant Scholars Program | Mid-March | Early July | FAS Research Development |