Fellowship and Grant Programs

ACLS is one of the leading private institutions supporting scholars in the humanities and interpretive social sciences at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. Fellows and grantees in all programs are selected by committees of scholars appointed for this purpose. Learn more about peer review.

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.

Descriptions of the 2021-22 programs are available here. Please note that as of the 2021 competition year, ACLS is requiring all applicants to have an ORCID iD.

2020-21 Fellowships & Grants

350

Scholars Supported by ACLS Fellowship and Grants

175

U.S. Institutions Represented

$25 million

Awarded Across Programs

Applicants who are not US citizens or are based at institutions outside the United States should review the information we provide for international applicants.

So long as they meet each program’s eligibility requirements, individual scholars may apply to as many fellowship and grant programs as are suitable. However, no more than one ACLS fellowship may be accepted in any one competition year.

For the purpose of these competitions, the humanities and interpretive 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; and theater, dance, and performance studies.

However, proposals in the social science fields listed above are eligible only if they employ predominantly humanistic approaches and qualitative/interpretive methodologies (e.g., economic history, law and literature, political philosophy, history of psychology). Proposals in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary humanities and related social sciences are welcome, and most programs do not restrict the focus of research to any geographic region or to any cultural or linguistic group of study.

Learn more about what qualifies as humanities and interpretive social sciences.

As many of our programs have more specific eligibility criteria, please read the descriptions for each competition carefully and review their specific FAQs for more information on what types of applications are or are not eligible.