The American Council of Learned Societies began awarding fellowships and grants to individual scholars in 1926. Since then, ACLS has sought to meet the needs of an ever-changing academy and meet new challenges faced by scholars, whether early-career, independent, established educators, those working within the administrative ranks, and those forging paths in public-facing research.
ACLS supports individual scholars and scholarly teams around the world in their pursuit of research that advances knowledge in the humanities and social sciences.
Fellows and grantees in all programs are selected by committees of scholars appointed for this purpose.
ACLS seeks to embed our commitment to inclusive excellence in all of our fellowship and grant programs, from our recruitment of peer reviewers to the evaluation of proposals and the administration of awards.
ACLS continues to provide valuable professional development resources for both applicants and awardees beyond the award period. We regularly host office hours sessions and webinars during the application period to answer questions and provide technical assistance to prospective applicants. Current and past awardees also participate in ACLS professional development workshops and convenings.
The ACLS FAQ defines the humanities and “interpretive” social sciences for the purpose of ACLS fellowship and grant competitions.
Please be sure to review the eligibility requirements and FAQs for individual competitions for more details.
Doctoral Futures is a collaborative effort to assess and reimagine humanities graduate education to better prepare the next generation of knowledge producers.
The ACLS Intention Foundry (IF) is a series of in-person and virtual workshops focused on advancing equity, inclusion, and justice within the academy.
Generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Publicly Engaged Religion Mapping Project is a collaborative initiative to document and analyze the landscape of publicly engaged scholarship on religion in North America.
Amplifying Humanistic Scholarship supports initiatives that cultivate a twenty-first-century ecosystem in which humanistic publications can thrive.
Building Blocks for A New Academy shares and uplifts the work of creating more just, humane, and innovative colleges and universities.
Doctoral Futures is a collaborative effort to assess and reimagine humanities graduate education to better prepare the next generation of knowledge producers.
The ACLS Intention Foundry (IF) is a series of in-person and virtual workshops focused on advancing equity, inclusion, and justice within the academy.
Generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Publicly Engaged Religion Mapping Project is a collaborative initiative to document and analyze the landscape of publicly engaged scholarship on religion in North America.
Amplifying Humanistic Scholarship supports initiatives that cultivate a twenty-first-century ecosystem in which humanistic publications can thrive.
Building Blocks for A New Academy shares and uplifts the work of creating more just, humane, and innovative colleges and universities.
