ACLS Fellowship Program

The ACLS Fellowship program supports outstanding scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences. ACLS Fellowships are awarded competitively to individual scholars, including independent scholars, whose projects demonstrate exceptional research, rigorous analysis, and compelling writing. ACLS is committed to inclusive excellence, which we define as the pursuit of academic excellence that is enriched by a plurality of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. 

In 2026, ACLS proudly celebrates 100 years of supporting individual scholars through its grantmaking. The ACLS Fellowship program is funded primarily through the ACLS endowment, which has been strengthened by the generous support of funders, members, and individual donors since the organization’s founding in 1919. In the most recent competition year, the ACLS Fellowship program awarded approximately $3.5 million to 63 exceptional scholars.   

The ACLS Fellowship program includes the following additional opportunities (no separate application required):  

• ACLS Project Development Grants 
  PDGs support projects from scholars holding teaching-intensive positions. Eligible applicants who advance to the final round of the ACLS Fellowship program but are not selected for fellowships may be awarded a grant of $5,000 to help advance their projects. See FAQ for more information. 

• ACLS Frederic E. Wakeman, Jr. Fellowships in Chinese History  

• ACLS H. and T. King Fellowships in Ancient American Art and Culture  

• ACLS Marwan M. and Ute Kraidy Fellowships in the Arab World and Latin America 

• ACLS Morton N. Cohen and Richard N. Swift Fellowships 

• ACLS Oscar Handlin Fellowships in American History  

• ACLS Pauline Yu Fellowships in Chinese or Comparative Literature  

• ACLS Susan McClary and Robert Walser Fellowships in Music Studies  

In addition, applicants for the ACLS Fellowship program are eligible to apply for the ACLS/New York Public Library Fellowships at The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. These joint fellowships require a separate application to the Cullman Center, due on September 25, 2026, 5:00 PM ET. The application link is available here. 

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