The Leakey Foundation funds research related to human origins. This includes research on primate biology, ecology, and behavior. The majority of research grants awarded to doctoral students range from US$3 thousand to US$20 thousand. Larger projects by senior scientists and post-doctoral students may be funded up to US$30 thousand. There are no citizenship restrictions. The next application deadlines are 10 January and 15 July 2024. Find out more
Eligibility
Advanced doctoral students (advanced to candidacy – all but dissertation) and established scientists are eligible for Leakey Foundation Research Grants. There are no citizenship restrictions; however, all applications must be written in English.
Funding
The Leakey Foundation exclusively funds research related to human origins. Priority of funding is commonly given to exploratory phases of promising new research projects that meet the stated purpose of the Foundation. The majority of The Leakey Foundation’s Research Grants awarded to doctoral students are in the $3,000-$15,000 range with a funding limit of $20,000. Larger grants given to senior scientists and post-doctoral researchers may be funded up to $30,000. As of May 2022, the funding limits have increased to $20,000 for PhD candidates and $30,000 for senior scientists and post-doctoral researchers.
Deadlines
The deadlines for research grant applications are January 10th and July 15th.
We occasionally make exceptions to our application deadline. If you are experiencing extenuating circumstances that you believe would preclude you from meeting the deadline, please contact us at grants@leakeyfoundation.org. We will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis.
How to Apply
Please use the detailed application instructions as well as the application guidelines and FAQs to prepare the attachments that you will upload to your new application. Then use the links on this page to apply online.
Questions?
Click here to email our grants department at grants at leakeyfoundation dot org.
