ACLS Fellowships

Fellowship Details

• Maximum award: $60,000 
• Award term: six to twelve months, which must be devoted to full-time research and/or writing. The award term must begin between July 1, 2027, and July 1, 2028, and must be completed by December 31, 2028. At least six months of the award term must be completed consecutively. Any remaining months may be completed separately, provided they still fall between July 1, 2027, and December 31, 2028, and are taken with at most one interruption. (See FAQ for more information.) 
• The fellowship is open to scholars at all postdoctoral career stages, working on or off the tenure track, who have earned a PhD in the humanities or interpretive social sciences by the application deadline. Established scholars without a PhD may also be eligible. (See the FAQ for more information.) 
• Because ACLS Fellowships are intended to help scholars undertake full-time research and writing, no teaching, administrative duties, or other major activities are permitted during the award period. The awards are portable and may be held at any appropriate site for research or writing. 
• ACLS will begin accepting applications in July 2026. Completed applications must be submitted through the ACLS online fellowship and grant administration system (ofa.acls.org) no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time, September 17, 2026. 
• Notification of results will be sent via email by April 2027. 
• For information on requesting reviewer feedback, see the FAQ. 

Program Description

ACLS invites research proposals from scholars in all disciplines of the humanities and interpretive social sciences. In the 2026-27 competition cycle, we will award at least 60 fellowships to scholars across all stages of the scholarly career. Approximately half of the awards will support early career scholars. 

We solicit applications from scholars pursuing research on topics grounded in any time period, world region, or humanistic methodology. The ultimate goal of the project should be a major piece of scholarly work by the applicant, which can take the form of a monograph, one or more articles, a publicly engaged humanities project, a digital research project, a critical edition, or other scholarly resources. ACLS Fellowships support projects at any stage of development—early, middle, or late.  

ACLS aims to select fellows who are broadly representative of the variety of humanistic scholarship across all fields of study. We welcome and encourage applications from all eligible scholars, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, age, or any aspect of identity. We also encourage applications from scholars across the range of academic institutions and beyond. In ACLS’s peer review, funding packages, and engagement with fellows, we aspire to enact our values of equity and inclusion as integral components of scholarly excellence. 

The fellowship stipend is set at $60,000 for a 12-month fellowship. The minimum award period is six months with a stipend set at $30,000. Awards shorter than 12 months and longer than six months will be pro-rated at $5,000 per month. ACLS provides award supplements of $3,000-$6,000 for independent scholars, adjunct faculty, and faculty with teaching-intensive roles, for costs incurred during the fellowship term, including research support, access to manuscript development workshops, learned society conference attendance, health insurance, and dependent care. 

The fellowship term must begin no earlier than July 1, 2027, and no later than July 1, 2028. It must conclude no later than December 31, 2028.  

An ACLS Fellowship may be held concurrently with other fellowships and grants and institutional support (such as sabbatical pay) within limits pre-set by ACLS each competition year. The combination of stipend and sabbatical salary may not exceed the amount of your full academic year salary. For fellows who do not hold tenure-track academic contracts, combined sources of income may not exceed 150% of the ACLS award. See the FAQ for further information about ACLS’s expectations for the award term, the rules for concurrent sources of support, and the options for scholars holding contingent faculty positions. 

This program does not support:  

• works of fiction (e.g. novels or films)  
• creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction   
• graphic novels, works of graphic history, or other graphic nonfiction, including historical fiction   
• creation or production of documentary films   
• works of the performing arts (e.g. musical composition, plays) 
• preparation or revision of textbooks 
• projects that are primarily pedagogical in focus, including educational or technical impact assessments   
• translation without significant scholarly interpretation and apparatus 
• dissertation research and research by students enrolled in a doctoral degree program 
• books for children or young adults   
• inventories of collections   
• guidebooks, how-to books, and self-help books   
• projects that fall outside of the humanities or interpretive social sciences 
• social science research that does not address humanistic questions and/or utilize humanistic methods 
• policy studies 

Additional Opportunities  

1. For ACLS Fellowship Applicants 

Applicants for the ACLS Fellowship are also eligible for the following opportunity, which requires a separate application:  

• ACLS/New York Public Library Fellowships 

ACLS may award residential fellowships in conjunction with The New York Public Library’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.  

ACLS/NYPL fellowships are sub-fellowships within the ACLS Fellowship program; they have the same eligibility requirements, application form, and schedule. The only additional proviso is that these residential fellowships will be granted to scholars whose projects will benefit from research in the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. An application for an ACLS/NYPL residential fellowship may have any one of the following outcomes: 

1. a fellowship awarded solely by the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the NYPL, 
2. an ACLS Fellowship awarded solely by ACLS, or 
3. an ACLS/NYPL residential fellowship awarded jointly by the two organizations. 

Because this is a joint fellowship, applicants for ACLS/NYPL residential fellowships must also apply to the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the NYPL. The deadline for that separate application and three letters of recommendation is 5 PM Eastern Time, Friday, September 25, 2026. The application material for the NYPL competition is available on their website. 

The stipend for ACLS/NYPL fellowships will be $90,000. The Center provides opportunities for up to 15 fellows to explore the rich, diverse collections in the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. It also serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas among fellows, invited guests, the wider academic and cultural communities, and the interested public. The fellowship additionally includes individual office space and access to common areas in the Library building. Fellows are required to be in residence from the beginning of September 2027 through the end of May 2028 and to participate in Center activities, which may include lunches, panel discussions, public conversations, symposia, and interviews. More information about The New York Public Library and its collections is available on their website. 

2. For ACLS Fellowship Finalists 

Finalists, those who make it to the second round of peer review in the ACLS Fellowship competition, are also eligible for the following opportunity, which requires no separate application: 

• ACLS Project Development Grants support projects from faculty at teaching-intensive institutions such as minority-serving institutions, regional comprehensives, and community colleges. Applicants from these institutions who are not selected for fellowships, but present particularly promising proposals, may be awarded a grant of $5,000 to help advance their projects. Project Development Grants do not require a separate application. All eligible applicants from teaching intensive institutions are considered for these grants. (See the FAQ for more information.) 

3. For ACLS Fellowship Awardees 

• CHCI: Through a partnership with the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI), an international membership organization of interdisciplinary research centers with over 170 members and affiliates in 23 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 and does not require a separate application. 
• Named Fellowships: Named fellowship awards are made possible by generous donors. The following named fellowships will be awarded to selected awardees in the ACLS Fellowship pool, and do not require a separate application: 
  • ACLS Frederic E. Wakeman, Jr. Fellowships in Chinese History, for scholars pursuing research on Chinese history, in particular modern Chinese history after 1912. Established in memory of Professor Wakeman, the late scholar of East Asian history and Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley. 
  • The ACLS H. and T. King Fellowships in Ancient American Art and Culture, for scholars, in particular those in the early stages of their careers, who are pursuing research on the  art  and architecture of pre-contact societies in the Americas, including anthropology, archaeology, epigraphy,  and historical accounts related to their visual culture. 
  • ACLS/Marwan M. and Ute Kraidy Centennial Fellowship in the Study of the Arab World and Latin America, for scholars pursuing research in any field of the humanities and interpretive social sciences on the Arab and/or Latin American worlds, with a special interest in supporting comparative or transnational approaches across these spheres. Established by ACLS Board Member Marwan M. Kraidy and Ute Kraidy in recognition of our centennial anniversary. 
  • ACLS Morton N. Cohen and Richard N. Swift Fellowship, for scholars pursuing research in the humanities. Established by bequests from Morton Norton Cohen, a scholar of Lewis Carroll and grantee of ACLS, and Richard Swift, a scholar of international law. 
  • ACLS Oscar Handlin Fellowships in American History, for scholars pursuing archival research on American history. Established in memory of Professor Handlin, a professor of history at Harvard University for over 50 years, who was known for his promotion of social, ethnic, and immigration history. 
  • ACLS Pauline Yu Fellowships in Chinese or Comparative Literature, for scholars pursuing research in Chinese and/or comparative literature. Established in honor of Pauline Yu, president emeritus of ACLS and a prominent scholar of Chinese Literature, by her family, friends and colleagues. 
  • ACLS Susan McClary and Robert Walser Fellowships in Music Studies, for scholars pursuing research in any area of musicology. Established by Professors McClary and Walser to benefit emerging or established researchers in music studies with a goal of supporting the most promising and innovative scholarship of the future. 

Applicant Resources 

Applicants can attend office hours and watch a webinar on the application process. 

ACLS staff will host live Zoom office hours where applicants can ask questions about the fellowship and application process. Click below on the date to register for applicant office hours. In addition, a recorded webinar will be made available by the end of July. 

• Friday, August 7, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET 
• Thursday, August 20, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET 
• Wednesday, September 2, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET 
• Tuesday, September 8, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET 
• Monday, September 14, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. 
  

Read “Writing Proposals for ACLS Fellowship Competitions” by Christina M. Gillis 

Learn more about past awardees. 

Applicants must: 

1. be a US citizen, a permanent resident, an Indigenous individual residing in the United States through rights associated with the Jay Treaty of 1794, a DACA recipient, an asylee, a refugee, or an individual granted Temporary Protected Status in the United States. In addition, a foreign national who has been living in the United States or US territories for the three years immediately preceding the application deadline is also eligible, provided they do not establish permanent residence outside the United States during the period of the fellowship. 
2. have a PhD in the humanities or social sciences. A PhD degree must have been conferred before the application deadline. Note: Applicants with a PhD of Education are eligible but applicants with a Doctor of Education degree are not eligible. An established scholar who can demonstrate the equivalent of a PhD in publications and professional experience may also qualify (See the FAQ for more information). 

 Other Limitations 

1. Resubmissions: You may revise and resubmit a previously rejected application. Resubmissions must comply with the requirements of the current competition, including eligibility and format requirements. You do not need to address previous submissions to this program as most reviewers change year-to-year.   
2. Multiple submissions: You may apply to as many ACLS fellowship and grant programs as are suitable. However, you may submit only one application per competition and deadline.  
3. Limitations regarding overlap with other ACLS awards: No more than one ACLS or ACLS-joint award may be accepted in any one competition year. You may not apply for the support of activities that ACLS has already funded with a previous award.  
4. Limit of award stipend amount: For tenured scholars and scholars on tenure track, ACLS will prorate the award amount if it exceeds your salary. The fellowship stipend level will be reduced so that the combination of stipend and sabbatical salary does not exceed the amount of your full academic year salary. 
5. Concurrent grants from other organizations: You may hold an ACLS fellowship concurrently with fellowships or grants from non-ACLS sources—including sabbaticals and grants from your own institution—supporting the same project during your award term.  
6. Collaborative projects: ACLS Fellowships are designed for individual researchers; awards may not be divided. However, you are eligible to apply if you are working as part of a collaborative team but seeking funding only for yourself. If you are seeking funding for more than one scholar in a collaborative project, each individual must: 

• • submit a separate application specifying their individual contribution 
  • independently meet the eligibility requirements 
  • clearly explain how the work will be divided and the extent to which each collaborator’s contribution depends on that of the other(s) 

Peer reviewers will consider each application on its own merits.

ACLS seeks to support outstanding scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences through a rigorous peer review process emphasizing broad intellectual significance and feasibility of completion. Reviewers are asked to be mindful of ACLS’s commitment to inclusive excellence, understood as the enhancement of scholarship through the inclusion of a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. ACLS recognizes academic excellence from all sectors of higher education and beyond, and believes academic excellence is best achieved when all individuals have the opportunity to contribute fully to the scholarly community. We are especially interested in supporting scholars who hail from diverse institutions and groups that are underrepresented in the academy. However, all applications are evaluated on their individual scholarly merit, the originality and significance of the proposed project, and the applicant’s record of achievement, without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, or any other protected characteristic.  

Reviewers in this program are asked to evaluate all eligible proposals on the following four criteria: 

1. The potential of the project to advance the field or fields of study in which it is proposed and make an original and significant contribution to scholarship. 
2. The quality of the proposal with regard to its clarity, methodology, scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature.  
3. The feasibility of the project and the likelihood that the applicant will successfully execute the work proposed for the award term.  
4. The scholarly record and career trajectory of the applicant, taking into account relative advantages or constraints on resources for the proposed project or over the course of the applicant’s career. 

Applications must be submitted online and must include these components: 

• Completed application form 
• Proposal (no more than three pages, single-spaced, in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font, inclusive of any footnotes or endnotes). Footnotes may be in 10-point font. 

Your proposal should address both experts in your field and general readers. 
For experts, explain why this project offers insight into the issues of your discipline, and make clear what question or problem is being addressed. 
For those outside your field, explain any terms that might not be familiar, and explain possible implications for scholars in other fields or a general audience. 

• Up to two additional pages of images, musical scores, or other similar supporting non-text materials (optional). Any captions must be brief and descriptive. Interpretation or argument concerning the non-textual material must appear in the proposal, not on these additional pages. 

• Work plan (no more than one page, in single-spaced text or in a timeline/chart format, in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font). The work plan should clearly outline the work to be undertaken during the fellowship term, indicating when and where it will be carried out. The work plan should also demonstrate how this work fits into the overall project.  

• Bibliography (without annotation, no more than two pages, single-spaced, in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font) demonstrating relevant primary and secondary sources to be utilized in the proposed research project. 

• List of your publications (no more than two pages, single-spaced, in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font) 

• A brief personal statement of up to one page (single spaced, in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font) describing your intellectual trajectory as a scholar and how your proposed work connects to your personal experience and broader research interests. You might choose to include information about your motivations for pursuing a particular topic of study or methodology, or how your classroom experience informs your approach to your proposed research. 

Note for the 2026-27 competition year:  

• This program will not accept writing samples. 
• This program will not accept reference letters. 

Formatting:  

• All uploads must have margins of one inch on all sides. You may use any standard citation style but remember that citations (whether footnotes or endnotes) are included in the page count for the relevant component of the application.  

Applications that do not adhere to the stated formatting guidelines will be excluded from review. 

ACLS recommends all applicants have an ORCID ID. Learn more. 

Find answers to common questions about this competition.

Email [email protected] with questions not answered by the FAQ page.