Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships - ACLS
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Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships

Supporting Innovative Approaches to Dissertation Research in the Humanities and Interpretive Social Sciences
  • Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships
    • Competition
    • FAQ
  • Fellowship and Grant Programs
    • ACLS Fellowship Program
    • ACLS Community College Faculty Research Fellowships
    • ACLS Digital Justice Grants
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    • ACLS Open Access Book Prize + Arcadia Open Access Publishing Award
    • The Arnold L. and Lois S. Graves Awards in the Humanities
    • Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art
    • Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies
    • Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships
    • The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies
    • Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe
More About This Program
Program Contact
fellowships@acls.org
Program Status
Active

The Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship program is designed to support emerging scholars as they pursue bold and innovative research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences. The program is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.

The program will make awards to doctoral students who show promise of leading their fields in important new directions. The fellowships are designed to intervene at the formative stage of dissertation development, before writing is advanced, and provide time and support for emerging scholars’ innovative approaches to dissertation research – practical, trans- or interdisciplinary, collaborative, critical, or methodological. The program seeks to expand the range of research methodologies, formats, and areas of inquiry traditionally considered suitable for the dissertation, with a particular focus on supporting scholars who can build a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable academy.

Meet the Latest Awardees
All Recent Awardees
2025

Nia Cambridge

2025

Ingrid E. Sub Cuc

2025

John Sabogal Venegas

2025

Michelle Ha

Learn more about the Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellows

  • ACLS Awards 45 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships

    Awards support 45 early-career doctoral students pursuing innovative dissertation research

    News Article
    April 29, 2025
  • ACLS Announces 2024 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellows

    Awards support 45 emerging scholars pursuing pathbreaking dissertation research

    News Article
    April 18, 2024
  • 2023 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellows Share their Cutting-Edge Projects

    Four Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellows share their pathbreaking research methodologies, project formats, and areas of inquiry.

    News Article
    July 28, 2023
  • ACLS Announces 2023 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellows

    Awards Support 45 Early-Career Doctoral Students Pursuing Innovative Approaches to Dissertation Research

    News Article
    April 25, 2023
  • ACLS Announces Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship Program

    New program will support early career scholars pursuing innovative approaches to dissertation research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences

    News Article
    April 19, 2022
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Opportunities & Deadlines

Name Type Due
Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships Fellowship

October 30, 2024, 9:00PM EDT

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Formed in 1919, ACLS is a nonprofit federation of 81 scholarly organizations. As the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, ACLS holds a core belief that knowledge is a public good.

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