Henry Luce Foundation/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art

The 2011-12 competition is now closed. The specifics below are for information purposes only. The results will be announced here in the spring.

ACLS invites applications for the Henry Luce Foundation/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art designated for graduate students in any stage of Ph.D. dissertation research or writing. Ten fellowships are available for a non-renewable, one-year term beginning between June and September 2012 for the 2012-2013 academic year. The fellowships may be carried out in residence at the Fellow's home institution, abroad, or at another appropriate site for the research. The fellowships, however, may not be used to defray tuition costs or be held concurrently with any other major fellowship or grant.

This program is made possible by funding from the Henry Luce Foundation.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• be a Ph.D. candidate in a department of art history in the United States. A student with an appropriate project whose degree will be granted by another department is eligible only if the principal dissertation advisor is in a department of art history. (Students preparing theses for the Master of Fine Arts degree are not eligible.)
• have a dissertation focused on a topic in the history of the visual arts of the United States. Although the topic may be historically and/or theoretically grounded, attention to the art object and/or image should be foremost. Projects must be object-oriented and use art-historical or visual studies approaches; proposals whose emphases are predominantly socio-historical will not be considered.
• have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. except the dissertation before beginning fellowship tenure.
• have not previously applied for this fellowship more than once.
• be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Application Requirements

Applications must include:

• Completed application form
• Proposal (no more than five pages, double spaced, in Times New Roman 11-point font)
• Bibliography (no more than two pages)
• Illustrations (no more than three pages) [optional]
• Publications list (no more than two pages) [optional]
• Two reference letters
• Institutional statement

Note that transcripts are not required.

Criteria Used in Judging Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art Applications

Scholars asked to review applications in this program are instructed to use the following three criteria:

1. The quality of the proposal with regard to its methodology, scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature.
2. The potential of the project to advance the field of study in art history, both generally and in the specific field(s) it engages.
3. The scholarly record and career trajectory of the applicant.