Graduate Funding Information Service

September 17, 2020

National Geographic Early Career Grant

Application Deadline: October 21, 2020

National Geographic Early Career Grants are designed to offer less experienced individuals an opportunity to lead a project. Grant projects last one calendar year or less. Projects are typically funded for US $5,000 and cannot exceed US $10,000.

In general, National Geographic Society–funded projects should be bold, innovative, and transformative. All proposed projects must be novel and exploratory and align to the organization’s mission and focus areas. Current focus areas include wildlife, human journeys, and the changing planet. For more information about focus areas, click here. 

Eligibility
  • There is no maximum age limit for Early Career Grant applicants. However, applicants must be at least 18 years old at the time of application submission.
  • Applicants are not required to have an advanced degree.
  • Anyone with more than five years of professional experience in the field of their project focus does not qualify for an Early Career Grant and should apply for an Exploration Grant instead.
  • National Geographic encourages applications from around the world.
    • If you are planning to work outside of your home country or community, you must include the name and contact information for at least one local collaborator as a project team member in the application.
  • For additional eligibility requirements, click here.

For more information about this opportunity, including how to apply, click here (Early Career Grant information is at the bottom of the page).