FAQ: ACLS Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future

Eligible applicants must be currently enrolled at the time of application in a US-based PhD program in the humanities and social sciences (see separate FAQ on disciplinary eligibility). Applicants should not be planning to graduate until academic year 2027-2028. Awardees will be asked to provide confirmation of their enrollment status.

After the summer 2026 internship is complete, awardees are required to participate in a two-day career seminar (August 2026, location TBD, domestic travel costs will be covered by ACLS) as well as virtual programs in the academic year following the internship (2026-2027). Committing to participate in this programming is a requirement for accepting the ACLS Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future award.

Applicants need not be members of any, or any particular, faith, faith community, or faith tradition.

The ACLS Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future program is designed for current PhDs in any eligible field of the humanities or related social sciences, so long as they demonstrate that their research and studies thus far have focused on a topic or topics related to religion, broadly defined.

Be sure to share any coursework or research activities in your cover letter that relate to the work of the internship project, and to thoroughly consider and respond to the short answer questions that are part of the application form. These answers will be used to assess your interest in the intersection of religion and public life, as well as the required cohort-based professional development activities.

The ACLS Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future seek to provide practical professional development opportunities for emerging scholars of religion, and to develop a pipeline of emerging leaders knowledgeable about the rapidly changing American religious landscape.

This program is supported by the Templeton Religion Trust as part of a three-year, multi-faceted initiative, including research, public engagement and pipeline development in service of Identifying and Advancing the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future.

Please provide a projected PhD graduation date estimate based on the typical time to degree in your graduate program. This information should be available from the director of graduate study, a department handbook, etc. We also ask you to share the date you obtained ABD status, if applicable, or if you know the date you expect to achieve ABD status, as this helps ACLS and reviewers to understand your current progress toward the PhD.

No. This program is specifically targeted to current PhD students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Individuals not currently enrolled in PhD programs at the time of application are ineligible. Applicants should not be planning to graduate until academic year 2027-2028. Awardees will be asked to provide confirmation of their enrollment status.

No, any student currently enrolled at a US-based PhD program in an eligible discipline may apply for this program, regardless of citizenship status.

No. You must be currently enrolled at a US-based PhD program in an eligible discipline to apply.

For the purpose of the winter 2026 competition of the ACLS Graduate Internships in the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future competition, PhDs in any eligible field in the humanities or related social sciences may apply. The humanities and related social sciences include but are not limited to American studies; anthropology; archaeology; art and architectural history; biblical studies; Buddhist studies; classics; economics; ethnic studies; film; gender studies; geography; history; languages and literatures; legal studies; linguistics; musicology; philosophy; political science; psychology (excluding organizational, clinical or counseling psychology); religious studies; rhetoric, communication, and media studies; sociology; and theater, dance, and performance studies. PhDs in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary humanistic studies are welcome.

Students at divinity schools are eligible as long as they are pursuing a PhD; MDiv and MTS students are not eligible. Most PhDs in Education are not eligible unless the focus is the anthropology, history, or sociology of education. PhDs in Higher Education, Educational Leadership, and Educational Policy are not eligible. EdDs are not eligible degrees for the purposes of this program. This program also does not accept applications from students receiving a PhD in the fields of business, public policy or public administration, education or arts education, clinical or counseling psychology, creative writing, journalism, library and/or information sciences, law, social work, social welfare, urban planning, public health, filmmaking, performing arts, or any field of pre-professional or applied study. Master’s students, even if a Master’s is the terminal degree in the field, will not be eligible.

If your degree field is not listed above, or if you have questions about your eligibility, please contact [email protected].

No, applicants must be prepared to begin the fellowship term within the advertised date range in the project description.

Most internships require in-person work in the city listed in the project description. Awardees working in person will receive a slightly higher stipend than those in remote internships—$15,400, versus $14,000 for remote internships. If awardees do not currently live within commuting distance of the project location, they must relocate and up to $2,000 will be provided in relocation funding. Project descriptions that are marked as “remote” do not require relocation. See individual project descriptions for more details—remote projects are only at organizations that work primarily remotely, and remote work and stipend level are not negotiable for any position in this competition.

Yes, but fellowships cannot be held concurrently or awarded in the same calendar or competition year. Applicants must also meet the specific eligibility criteria for this program at the time of application.

No. Fellows may not enroll in summer coursework or hold other significant employment during the internship period (Summer 2026). Awardees are also required to participate in a two-day career seminar in August 2026 (location TBD, domestic travel costs will be covered by ACLS) as well as a few virtual programs in the academic year following the internship (2026-2027).

Applicants may choose to apply to either one or two of the internship projects offered in the current competition.

Each applicant may apply to up to two projects. Applicants have many reasons for selecting the project(s) they apply to, but the two most important factors are 1) interest in/dedication to the organization’s mission; and 2) fit with or aptitude for the particular project and organization. Applicants sometimes wonder whether it is possible to “game” the application process by applying to what they think might be a less competitive position, but the best strategy is to apply for the position(s) for which you feel you are best suited and would align best with your interests, skills, and career goals. It’s also important that you are able to relocate to the city where the internship will take place, and ACLS offers up to $2000 in relocation funding to awardees.

This will vary, depending on how much work you have prepared before you begin the application process. Simply filling in the form—including the two short answer questions—will probably take an hour if not two, plus you will need to submit a cover letter and resume for each position to which you choose to apply. We highly recommend that you start the process before the deadline to get a sense of what is required and start preparing your materials.

No, you may work on it in multiple sessions, though you will need to save your work after you finish each section of the application. Once you have submitted the application, you cannot work on it again.

Please find the two required short answer questions below for your reference:

1) ACLS Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future provide practical work opportunities for talented, entrepreneurial PhD students in the humanities or social sciences whose dissertation topic relates to the study of religion. Please provide a concrete example of a helpful skill, capacity or perspective honed by your study of religion that you can contribute to work beyond the academy. (Up to 500 words)

2) ACLS Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future provide summer work opportunities for PhD students to explore potential future careers related to the study of religion, and develop new leaders knowledgeable about the rapidly changing American religious landscape. Awardees will attend a two-day seminar in August 2026 and virtual cohort-based activities in academic year 2026-2027 dedicated to professional development. Please use the space below to describe your interest in exploring a variety of careers and professional pathways. (Up to 500 words)

Applicants should address all materials to their selected host organization, not ACLS. It is very important to review the position description and do some research about the host organization. Read the project description carefully, visit the organization’s website, and familiarize yourself with the work they do. NOTE: Applicants may not contact the host organization with any questions about the fellowship, position, or application process. Questions about the program should be directed to ACLS.

Please note that each cover letter should not exceed one page in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font and should have one-inch margins on all sides. Applicants applying for two positions will submit two distinct cover letters.

A CV or curriculum vitae is a detailed description of all the academic activities and accomplishments you have accumulated during your program of study, and includes extensive information about academic experience, including degrees, teaching experience, research, awards/honors, professional associations/licenses, publications, presentations and other achievements. A resume is a strategic, targeted and concise overview of the most relevant skills, achievements and experiences that relate to the particular career or position to which you’re applying.

The résumé should not exceed two pages in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font. This will not likely be an exhaustive account of your career, but instead a more targeted list of relevant experiences and successful efforts that you would bring to the work you are applying for. Only include selected publications if they are relevant, and make sure to explain this relevance in your cover letter.

Additional information and support on resume writing may be available through your university’s career services center.

The deadline to submit completed applications for this fellowship is Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 9 PM EST.

No, your application will be judged as it is at the time of submission. However, you may be contacted during the review process for further information or clarification about elements in your application.

If you are selected as a fellow, you will be asked to submit university documentation of your enrollment status from your university registrar, director of graduate studies, or graduate department secretary.

Your main priority should be to designate a reference who can speak to the strength of your qualifications for a particular project. A referee may or may not be someone you worked with during your graduate studies and is not required to be an academic.

Please include the name, title, and contact information (email address and phone), and a brief description of your relationship to the referee. Should you be designated as a finalist, you should inform your referee that they may be contacted as part of the review process. No reference letters will be accepted.

Successful applicants are able to demonstrate the connection between their past academic, extracurricular, and professional experience and the position to which they are applying. It is important to translate the skills and capacities you are honing in your doctoral studies and extracurricular activities to make them legible to a new audience and connect them to the responsibilities in the project description. There is a growing body of literature online with advice about applying to jobs outside the academy, which would be useful to consult as you prepare your application. A number of ACLS’s member scholarly societies have developed programming and online resources for career exploration, among them the Modern Language Association’s Connected Academics initiative, the American Historical Association’s Career Diversity programming, and the American Philosophical Association’s Beyond Academia report. Other resources include career services websites at your graduate institution, and resources created by ACLS, including the Public Pathways report.

Successful applicants need not have strongly defined dissertation topics, nor does your dissertation topic need to be closely aligned with the work of the host organization. It is more important to demonstrate your interest in the relevant project and how the work of the internship will advance your intellectual and professional goals—in whatever discipline or research topics you may be currently pursuing.

Applications go through two separate stages of review: First, all eligible applications are read by peer reviewers whose collective expertise covers a range of disciplines in the humanities as well as a broad spectrum of career experience. The first stage of review determines which applications will go on to the second stage. At that point, applications are reviewed by the host organizations. Final interviews are conducted by ACLS.

Given the complexity of this process and short timeline, applicants will not be notified of their status until the process is complete in late spring, unless they proceed to the finalist stage.

No, comments from reviewers are not available. We encourage all applicants to seek feedback on application materials from your peers, academic mentors and advisors, as well as campus-based career services when available.