Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program

The Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program (HEGS), administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF), supports fundamental scientific research exploring the spatial dimensions of human behavior and its interactions with environmental and social systems. Situated within the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, HEGS is grounded in contemporary geographical science and supports a wide variety of research traditions and methods. The program explicitly prioritizes work that is empirically grounded, methodologically rigorous, and theoretically engaged, aiming to produce generalizable findings that extend or challenge geographical and geospatial science. HEGS welcomes diverse methodological approaches including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods designs, but requires that proposed projects contribute meaningfully to theoretical developments within geographical sciences. Proposals must demonstrate how their geographical questions and approaches yield opportunities for theory testing or development. Applications that fail to frame their work as contributing to geographical theory will be returned without review. Strong proposals include detailed research designs with clear data collection strategies, methodological justifications, analytical plans, and mechanisms to mitigate bias. Importantly, all projects must engage with human dimensions in a way that is relevant to individuals and societies, consistent with HEGS's placement in the social and behavioral sciences. The HEGS program considers multiple types of proposals, including Senior Research Proposals, Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Proposals, Research Coordination Networks (RCNs), and conference or research community development proposals. It also supports special funding tracks such as Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Research Opportunity Awards (ROA), and the Transdisciplinary REsearch in Environmental Social Science (TREES) initiative. TREES, in particular, targets research that integrates environmental and social science and contributes explicitly to theoretical advancement in social and behavioral sciences. Projects in this stream often utilize interdisciplinary teams and multi-method analyses and typically request $200,000–$250,000 per year over 3–4 years. Eligibility for HEGS is broad and includes accredited institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, U.S.-based for-profits, tribal nations, and state and local governments. There are no limits on who may serve as PI or how many proposals can be submitted by an individual or organization. Proposal submissions are managed via Research.gov or Grants.gov and must adhere to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) in effect at the time of submission. Letters of Intent or preliminary proposals are not required. Competitive proposals often include a management plan, particularly for TREES projects, and should clearly delineate responsibilities of team members. The program follows a target date submission process with annual deadlines on the first Friday in August and the third Friday in January. For 2026, the next upcoming target date is January 16. These deadlines recur annually, with the next expected deadlines falling on August 7, 2026, and January 16, 2027. Submissions are reviewed using NSF's standard merit review criteria: intellectual merit and broader impacts. Reviewers evaluate the project's potential to advance knowledge, benefit society, and the extent to which the proposed plan is sound, well-justified, and feasible. For inquiries, applicants are encouraged to email HEGS-info@nsf.gov, which distributes messages to all program directors. Named program contacts include Jeremy Koster, Nicholas N. Nagle, and Cori J. Jacildone, who can assist with proposal guidance or budgetary matters. Although NSF expects to make 15–25 standard or continuing awards under HEGS, the total program funding is approximately $7 million, contingent on availability of funds and proposal quality.

Clearly articulate the project's contribution to geographical theory; insufficient theoretical framing will result in return without review.