ACLS Leading Edge Fellowships

Leading Edge Fellowships place recent humanities PhDs with nonprofit organizations committed to promoting justice and equity in their communities. Recent PhDs from across all fields of the humanities and interpretive social sciences are encouraged to apply for this fellowship.

The information below pertains to the 2026 competition.  
Updated information on the 2027 competition will be available starting in winter 2026. 

Fellowship Details

• Stipend: For remote positions, $70,000 in year one, and $72,000 in year two; for in-person positions, $72,000 in year one, and $74,000 in year two. All fellows will have access to health insurance and professional development funding.
• Relocation: Up to $5,000 in relocation funds for fellows who relocate for in-person positions.
• Tenure: 24 months beginning in September 2026.
• Applications will be accepted only through the ACLS Online Fellowship Application system. Please do not contact any of the organizations directly.
• Application deadline: March 11, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT.

Summary

The American Council of Learned Societies is pleased to announce the eighth competition of the Leading Edge Fellowship program, which demonstrates the potential of humanistic knowledge and methods to solve problems, build organizational capacity, and advance justice and equity in society. Leading Edge Fellowships place recent humanities PhDs with nonprofit organizations advancing justice and equity in their communities. Fellows take on substantive roles that draw on the skills and capacities honed in the course of earning the humanities PhD, including advanced communication, research, project management, and creative problem solving. This initiative is made possible through the generous support of the Mellon Foundation.

The fellowships are designed to foster mutually beneficial partnerships between fellows and their hosting organizations. Each applicant may apply for up to two of the available Leading Edge Fellowship opportunities listed below. There is a separate selection process for each fellowship opportunity.

Host Organizations and Position Descriptions

Download all of the position descriptions as a combined PDF here.

• Applicants must have a PhD that will have been formally conferred by their university between September 1, 2021, and August 31, 2026. Applicants scheduled to graduate in Spring or Summer 2026 must be prepared to verify, with confirmation from their university registrar’s office, a PhD conferral date on or before August 31. Applicants who do not have a PhD officially conferred by their university by August 31, 2026, will not be able to take up the fellowship. See FAQ for further information.
• Applicants’ PhDs must be in an eligible field of the humanities or interpretive social sciences. Please refer to our FAQ and our guidance on eligible fields below before applying.
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States for the entire duration of the fellowship term. This includes Indigenous individuals residing in the United States through rights associated with the Jay Treaty of 1794, and those who hold DACA status, Temporary Protected Status, or political asylee or refugee status. Unfortunately, neither ACLS nor the host organization can sponsor fellows for visas or provide advice on visa applications.

Eligible Fields

For the purpose of the spring 2026 competition of the Leading Edge Fellowship competition, PhDs in any eligible field in the humanities or interpretive social sciences may apply. The humanities and related social sciences include but are not limited to American studies; anthropology; archaeology; art and architectural history; classics; economics; ethnic studies; film; gender studies; geography; history; languages and literatures; legal studies; linguistics; musicology; philosophy; political science; religious studies; rhetoric, communication, and media studies; sociology; and theater, dance, and performance studies. PhDs in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary humanistic studies are welcome.

PhDs in psychology are eligible only if the degree’s focus is on the history of psychology or environmental psychology. Degrees in clinical, organizational, or counseling psychology are not eligible for this competition. PhDs in education are eligible only if the degree is in the anthropology, history, or sociology of education. PhDs in Curriculum, Educational Leadership, and Administration are ineligible for this competition. EdDs are not eligible for the purposes of this program. This program also does not accept applications from students receiving a PhD in any field of pre-professional or applied study, including in the fields of business, public policy or public administration, arts or arts education, creative writing, journalism, library sciences, law, social work, social welfare, urban planning, public health, filmmaking, and performing arts. While the pursuit of degrees in such fields often involves engagement with the humanities, this program aims to promote the value of humanities disciplines that have not traditionally been recognized as preparatory for careers beyond the academy. Master’s degrees, even if they are the terminal degree in the field, will not be accepted as substitutes for the PhD.

Please write to us at [email protected] if your degree is not listed above, or if you have any questions about your eligibility status.

The selection and placement process takes place over three stages. The first round of review is overseen by ACLS and conducted by PhDs holding positions in the cultural, policy, and media sectors. Finalists determined by this process will be interviewed by host organizations, who will send rankings and feedback to ACLS. Finally, ACLS interviews top-ranked candidates to offer the fellowship.

First round reviewers will evaluate applications based on:

• • Demonstrated ability to connect skills and capacities to the qualifications and responsibilities of the applicant’s selected position(s).

• • Demonstrated interest in and commitment to contributing to solutions to problems in society.

• • Intellectual and cultural humility and demonstrated capacity to partner, collaborate, listen, and learn from others.

• • The capacity of the award to advance the stated goals and values of the Leading Edge Fellowship program.

Applications must be submitted online and must include:

• • A completed application form, including a short answer section about applying humanistic doctoral training to careers beyond the academy.

• • A cover letter tailored to each selected position description and addressed to the host organization (1-2 pages). Applicants applying for two positions will submit two distinct cover letters.

• • A resume (1-2 pages), and a list of three references. Applicants applying for two positions will submit two resumes and lists of references. No reference letters are required at the time of application.

Find answers to common questions about this competition.

Email [email protected]