Mind & Life Research Grants

About this program

The Mind & Life Institute offers annual Research Grants of up to $25,000 through the Varela, Hanser, Dill, and BESS awards to support rigorous, interdisciplinary research on contemplative practices, their mechanisms, and applications to human flourishing and reduced suffering. Projects must be completed within two years and may address personal well-being, compassionate communities, or human–Earth connections, with preference for interdisciplinary studies incorporating first-person contemplative methods and collaboration with contemplative scholars or practitioners. Applicants must have attended the Mind & Life Summer Research Institute in 2022 or later and be graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty within their first five years, or researchers with no more than five cumulative years as independent investigators. Applicants must be affiliated with a research institution, may not hold an active Mind & Life grant, and must submit a rigorous five-page proposal, budget, CV materials, and two recommendation letters; funds support direct research costs only.