ACLS Announces 2025-26 Fellowship and Grant Competitions

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is pleased to announce its 2025-26 fellowship and grant competitions. ACLS offers programs that promote research across all fields of the humanities and social sciences.  
 
Our application, peer review, and award processes aim to promote inclusive excellence, and we welcome applicants from groups that are underrepresented in the academic humanities and from across the diverse landscape of higher education 

Learn about application information and eligibility criteria for all programs. 

Application deadlines vary by program. ACLS is now accepting applications for select fellowship and grant programs with September, October, and early November deadlines. Other programs, including the Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies, and ACLS Digital Justice Grants will begin accepting applications in the coming months. 

September 25, 2025, 9:00 PM EDT 

• ACLS Fellowships 

October 29, 2025, 9:00 PM EDT 

• Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art 

• Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships 

November 5, 2025, 9:00 PM EST 

• ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowships 

• ACLS HBCU Faculty Grants 

• Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies – Long-term 

• Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies – Flexible 

• Luce/ACLS Travel Grants in China Studies 

November 20, 2025, 9:00 PM EST 

• ACLS Digital Justice Development Grants 

• ACLS Digital Justice Seed Grants 

• The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowships in Buddhist Studies 

• The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Early Career Research Fellowships in Buddhist Studies 

• The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Public Impact Grants in Buddhist Studies 

December 1, 2025, 9:00 PM EST 

• Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe 

January 27, 2026, 9:00 PM EST 

• The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Buddhism Public Scholars  

• The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation New Professorships in Buddhist Studies 

March 18, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT 

• ACLS Leading Edge Fellowships  

April 1, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT 

• Letters of Intent for Luce/ACLS Collaborative Grant in China Studies 

The American Council of Learned Societies, a nonprofit federation of 81 scholarly associations, is the leading private US institution supporting scholars in the humanities and social sciences. In the 2024-25 competition year, ACLS made awards to over 440 scholars worldwide. Learn about recent awardees’ profiles and research abstracts.