Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellowships

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 Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellowships, generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in memory of Charles A. Ryskamp, literary scholar, distinguished library and museum director, and long-serving trustee of the Foundation. These fellowships support advanced assistant professors and untenured associate professors in the humanities and related social sciences whose scholarly contributions have advanced their fields and who have well-designed and carefully developed plans for new research. The fellowships are intended to provide time and resources to enable these faculty members to conduct their research under optimal conditions. The ultimate goal of the project should be a major piece of scholarly work by the applicant. ACLS does not fund creative work (e.g., novels or films), textbooks, straightforward translation, or pedagogical projects.

Ryskamp Fellowships are intended to support an academic year of research (nine months), plus an additional summer's research (two months) if justified. Fellows have three years from July 1, 2012 to use the funds awarded them, and considerable flexibility in structuring their research time: the nine-month period may be taken as one continuous leave, or divided into two single-semester leaves; the two months of summer research may be taken before, after, or between the semesters of the year's leave. Fellows are encouraged to spend substantial periods of their leaves in residential interdisciplinary centers, research libraries, or other scholarly archives in the United States or abroad. (1) If personal circumstances preclude extended absence from their home campuses, applicants need to demonstrate that they will be released from all academic and administrative responsibilities, and that continual residence at home will successfully advance their projects in other ways—through access to particular colleagues, for example, or to valuable research collections.

ACLS will award up to 12 Ryskamp Fellowships in the 2011-2012 competition. Each fellowship carries a stipend of $64,000, a fund of $2,500 for research and travel, and an additional 2/9 of the stipend ($14,222) for one summer's support, if justified by a persuasive case.

Non-ACLS fellowships, grants, or sabbatical salary may be held concurrently with a Ryskamp fellowship, up to but not exceeding a normal academic year salary or the Ryskamp award, whichever is higher. If the Ryskamp stipend exceeds the Fellow's normal academic-year salary and the Fellow has no other sources of support, the excess will be available for research and travel expenses. Successful applicants who accept a Ryskamp fellowship will be withdrawn from any other ACLS competitions.

Eligibility Guidelines

The Ryskamp Fellowship Program is open to

• tenure-track assistant professors and untenured associate professors who by September 28, 2011 will have successfully completed their institution's last reappointment review before tenure review, (2) and
• whose tenure review will not be complete before March 1, 2012.

Applicants must hold the Ph.D. (or equivalent) and be employed in tenure-track positions (3) at degree-granting academic institutions in the United States, remaining so for the duration of the fellowship. U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is not required, and previous supported research leaves do not affect eligibility for the Ryskamp Fellowship.

Application Requirements:

Applications must be submitted online and must include:

• Completed application form
• Proposal (no more than 10 pages, double spaced, in Times New Roman 11-point font)
• Bibliography (no more than two pages)
• Publications list (no more than two pages)
• Three reference letters

Criteria Used in Judging Ryskamp Fellowship Applications

The scholarly selection committee for Ryskamp Fellows will evaluate all eligible proposals according to the following criteria:

1. The potential of the project to advance the field of study in which it is proposed and make an original and significant contribution to knowledge.
2. The ambition and scope of the proposed project.
3. The quality of the proposal with regard to its methodology, scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature.
4. The feasibility of the project and the likelihood that the applicant will execute the work within the proposed timeframe.
5. The scholarly record and career trajectory of the applicant.
6. The likelihood that the proposed schedule of time and place will increase significantly the applicant's ability to carry the project forward to timely completion.

1. Through a partnership with the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI), an international membership organization of interdisciplinary research centers with over 180 members and affiliates in over 20 countries, ACLS fellows have the opportunity to spend all or part of their fellowship terms in residence at selected CHCI member organizations. This is an optional enhancement to the award for ACLS fellows. Back to text.
2. If your institution does not have multi-year contracts, the guideline will mean having passed three annual reappointment reviews. Back to text.
3. Applicants from institutions that do not have a tenure system are not eligible. Back to text.