FAQ: Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe

You can find a sample application on the program’s competition page on the ACLS website, under the heading “Supporting Documents.”

ACLS supports academic research in the  humanities or social sciences. The ultimate goal of the project should be a major piece of scholarly work by the applicant.

ACLS does not fund creative work or the performing arts (eg, novels, films, performance, or musical composition), nor does it fund textbooks, pedagogical projects, or translations without a scholarly apparatus of commentary and annotation.

For the purpose of this competition, the  humanities or social sciences  include but are not limited to:

• American studies
• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Art history and architectural history
• Classics
• Economics
• Ethnic studies
• Film and media studies
• Gender studies
• Geography
• History
• Languages ​​and literatures
• Legal studies
• Linguistics
• Musicology
• Philosophy
• Political science
• Psychology
• Religious studies
• Rhetoric and communication
• Science and technology studies
• Sociology
• Theater, dance, and performance studies

Proposals in the social science fields listed above are eligible  only if  they employ predominantly humanistic approaches and qualitative/interpretive methodologies (eg, economic history, law and literature, political philosophy, history of psychology). Mixed method approaches and proposals in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary humanities and related social sciences are welcome.

Yes. An applicant for this program may also apply to as many fellowship programs as are suitable. However, not more than one ACLS or ACLS-joint award may be accepted in any one competition year. 

Yes. Applying for an ACLS fellowship does not preclude applications for other fellowships. Awardees in the SISECSE competition may hold other awards and/or receive separate funding for their project. A complementary award may be accepted if it does not take time away from participation in the summer institute. Acceptance of a SISESCE award commits you to attendance and full participation at all events during the two-week summer institute. 

Yes. As long as the non-ACLS award will not interfere with your full participation during the two-week summer institute from June 3, 2026 to June 19, 2026, you may hold a concurrent award. 

Acceptance of a SISECSE award commits you to attendance and full participation in all events during the two-week summer institute.

Yes. Please carefully review your submission for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Consider asking a colleague to proofread. 

No. In order to apply, your PhD degree must be conferred (officially awarded) by an accredited university by December 2, 2025. 

Yes. If you have published scholarly work equivalent to the academic work required for the PhD degree, you may apply. You must have completed a substantial academic project that required a sustained period of research, similar to a dissertation, in the humanities or social sciences. 

We do not consider a JD to satisfy the PhD equivalency in itself, unless it was accompanied by: 

• a record of scholarly publications that are humanistic in nature (as opposed to case studies or technical legal issues) 

• a substantial academic project that required a sustained period of research (such as a dissertation or book) 

No. In order to be eligible, research proposals must be focused on the study of East Central or Southeastern Europe, understood as Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. 

Yes. Please use the applicant’s statement of interest to explain how participation in the Summer Institute will benefit your research project. 

No. As long as your PhD was granted by an accredited institution and you have an affiliation with an institution (ie, college, museum, university) in North America or East Central and Southeastern Europe, you are eligible to apply.

No. Applicants must already be affiliated with an institution (i.e., college, museum, university) in North America or East Central and Southeastern Europe. 

Yes, you are eligible to apply, but you must include in your application essay an explanation of your commitment to the field, how you plan to contribute to it over the long term, and your intention to maintain an institutional affiliation in North America or East Central and Southeastern Europe. The evaluators will take this information into account as they refer to the evaluation criteria.  

No. There are no plans to produce a publication of the participants’ work at the end of the Summer Institute.

If you submitted an application in the 2024-25 competition year, you may use that log-in for the 2025-26 competition year and carry forward information from the “Common Profile” section. You will need to fill out all the remaining sections. 

This will vary, depending on your preparation. Completing the online forms may take as long as two hours. In addition, you must submit an application essay, a statement of interest, and supporting documents. ACLS recommends beginning work on your application several weeks before the deadline. 

No. You may work in multiple sessions, although you must save your work after you finish each section of the application. Once you have submitted the application, you cannot reopen or revise it.  

No. Your application will be evaluated as submitted.

No. This program will not accept reference letters as part of the application package. Other ACLS programs do require reference letters. Please check  the application requirements for each program to which you are applying. 

Proposals to the Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe are read by experts in Eastern European studies from a variety of disciplines in the humanities or social sciences.