American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellowships

The ACLS Fellowship program invites research applications in all disciplines of the humanities and related 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 (e.g., novels or films), textbooks, straightforward translation, or pedagogical projects.

The ACLS Fellowships are intended as salary replacement to help scholars devote six to twelve continuous months to full-time research and writing. ACLS Fellowships are portable and are tenable at the fellow's home institution, abroad, or at another appropriate site for research. An ACLS Fellowship may be held concurrently with other fellowships and grants and any sabbatical pay, up to an amount equal to the candidate's current academic year salary. Tenure of the fellowship may begin no earlier than July 1, 2016 and no later than February 1, 2017.

The Fellowship stipend is set at three levels based on academic rank: up to $35,000 for Assistant Professor and career equivalent; up to $45,000 for Associate Professor and career equivalent; and up to $70,000 for full Professor and career equivalent. ACLS will determine the level based on the candidate's rank or career status as of the application deadline date. Approximately 25 fellowships will be available at the Assistant Professor level, approximately 20 at the Associate Professor level, and approximately 20 at the full Professor level.

Institutions and individuals contribute to the ACLS Fellowship Program and its endowment, including The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council's college and university Associates, and former Fellows and individual friends of the ACLS.

Eligibility

• U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status as of the application deadline date.
• a Ph.D. degree conferred at least two years before the application deadline. (An established scholar who can demonstrate the equivalent of the Ph.D. in publications and professional experience may also qualify.)
• a lapse of at least two years between the last "supported research leave" and September 1, 2016, including any such leave to be taken or initiated during the 2013-2014 academic year. Therefore, to be eligible, an individual's most recent supported research leave must have concluded prior to September 1, 2014. (Supported research leave is defined as the equivalent of one semester or more of time free from teaching or other employment to pursue scholarly research or writing supported by sabbatical pay or other institutional funding, fellowships and grants, or a combination of these. This definition applies to independent scholars as well as those with institutional affiliations.)

Application

Applications must be submitted online and must include:

• Completed application form
• Proposal (no more than five pages, double spaced, in Times New Roman 11-point font)
• Up to two additional pages of images, musical scores, or other similar supporting non-text materials [optional]
• Bibliography (no more than two pages)
• Publications list (no more than two pages)
• Two reference letters

Criteria Used in Judging ACLS Fellowship Applications

Peer 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 of study in which it is proposed and make an original and significant contribution to knowledge.
2. The quality of the proposal with regard to its methodology, scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature.
3. The feasibility of the project and the likelihood that the applicant will execute the work within the proposed timeframe.
4. The scholarly record and career trajectory of the applicant.
    

See the ACLS website for additional affiliated fellowships (Ryskamp, Burkhardt [$75k], ACLS/SSRC/NEH International and Area Studies, New York Public Library, etc.).