FAQ: Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies

Yes. All topics and themes (in the humanities or interpretive social sciences) related to the history, societies, cultures, and languages in China in all periods are welcome.

Yes. The program supports the study of Chinese culture and society in all periods. Research in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang is eligible. Research may also be conducted on Chinese culture and society outside these areas, as required by the research plan. In such cases, the committee will consider the quality and intensity of the content of the project that relates to China.

ACLS supports academic research in the humanities or interpretive social sciences. For long-term fellowships, 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 (e.g., novels, films, performance, or musical composition), textbooks, or translations without a scholarly apparatus of commentary and annotation.

Proposals in the social sciences are eligible only if they employ predominantly humanistic approaches and qualitative/interpretive methodologies. Mixed methods approaches and proposals in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary humanities and related social sciences are welcome.

You can find a sample application on each program’s webpage, excluding the webpage for collaborative grants.

No. The Collaborative Grants competition currently does not use the OFA system. For early career fellowships and travel grants, completed applications must be submitted through the ACLS Online Fellowship and Grant Administration (OFA) System by the deadline specified for each competition.

It depends. If you are applying to China Studies Early Career Fellowships, you may only apply to the flexible or the long-term fellowship. Besides China Studies Early Career Fellowships, you may also apply to as many fellowship programs as are suitable, with the exception of the ACLS Public Fellows program. However, not more than one ACLS or ACLS-joint award may be accepted in any one competition year.

An applicant may apply to several competitions, ACLS fellowships or others.

For Flexible Early Career Fellowships and Travel Grants, awardees may accept other support.

For Long-term Early Career Fellowships, awardees may accept other support. Some long-term fellowships will be supported by the NEH. For NEH supported fellowships, no other NEH support may be accepted during the fellowship tenure

Yes! Please make sure that you spell check all your submitted texts and documents. Please review your submission several times for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. It is always worthwhile to ask a colleague to proofread.

The principal investigator can demonstrate equivalency through publications and professional experience.

Securitization is the process of viewing issues that are often non-security related—including people-to-people exchanges—through a security lens. In China studies, this is affecting research agendas, international scholarly exchange and collaboration, teaching, and more.

Yes. This grant will be offered over several years.

The recommendations for action must be a product of the collaborative grant. There are no limits on the type of recommendations for action.

You might be eligible if you can meet several special requirements. If the PhD is not conferred (officially awarded) by the application deadline, the applicant must:

• (At the time of application) request a university official (dissertation advisor or departmental chair) to confirm through the OFA system that the applicant is on schedule to complete the PhD by April 15, 2025. This is an online form, not a reference letter.
• (By April 15, 2025) submit a letter from the applicant’s graduate school confirming that the dissertation has been submitted and approved by the graduate school for conferral according to the university calendar. The applicant is responsible for submitting the dissertation on time in order to meet this requirement. The applicant should request that the graduate school send the letter to ACLS at [email protected].

No. An applicant who is not a US or Canadian citizen/permanent resident must meet BOTH eligibility criteria:

• Must hold a PhD degree from an institution in the United States or Canada.
• Must have an affiliation with a university or college in the United States or Canada.

Yes. However, a non-citizen/permanent resident who has just graduated from a PhD program in the US or Canada and is not yet employed/affiliated with a university in North America must describe plans for a career in China studies in the United States or Canada within the applicant’s statement. It will strengthen the application to include mention of applications underway for academic positions, including names of institutions.

The applicant may state his/her PhD institution as current affiliation in the application.

It depends. The “affiliation with a university or college in the United States or Canada” requirement for applicants who are not US or Canadian citizens/permanent residents refers to a long-term, regular research or teaching appointment. A postdoctoral fellow or visiting position would need to be an appointment lasting for at least one year with the possibility of renewal.

Long-term regular research or teaching appointments are full- or part-time positions at a college or university that are either permanent or indefinitely renewable. If you are not a US or Canadian citizen/permanent resident and you hold a postdoctoral fellow or visiting position that is less than a year and non-renewable, please email [email protected] before applying.

This eligibility requirement for non-US/Canadian citizens/permanent residents is meant to assure that the applicant intends to continue to contribute to the field of China studies in the United States and/or Canada. If you would like to make this case, we recommend that you contact us in advance of applying. We also encourage you to add a paragraph to the applicant’s statement explaining what you see yourself doing five years from now. The selection committee will make its decision based on all the information you provide in your application.

Yes. The award may be used for writing in the United States or Canada.

Follow-up research during writing is also permitted.

The work plan should provide the rationale for time requested for fieldwork/writing, including any research the applicant has already done in China, along with any plans for follow-up research. Research in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang is eligible.

You may apply as long as you meet the program’s eligibility requirements, which include a PhD conferred (officially awarded) no earlier than January 1, 2016, and the fact that you have not submitted tenure materials for review by the application deadline.

No. Applicants who have obtained tenure, or who have submitted tenure materials for review, are not eligible.

Our policy is that ACLS fellowships provide salary-replacement stipends.

For long-term fellowships, stipends may be used for research costs (e.g., travel, access to online archives, conference participation, hiring of research assistance outside of the US or Canada) and living expenses, including childcare or eldercare. The application essay should state how these costs will support the project’s objectives, but no budget is required. During the fellowship tenure, which must consist of consecutive months, fellows must be on leave from teaching and service. No employment is allowed so that fellows may devote their full time to the project.

For flexible fellowships, stipends may be used for research costs (e.g., travel, access to online archives, conference participation, hiring of research assistance outside of the US or Canada) and living expenses, including childcare or eldercare. Flexible fellowships do not require leave from teaching and service, and do not require the three months to run consecutively.

Travel to and research in China are a priority for this program. Travel to and research in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang are eligible with equal priority.

In addition, research on Chinese cultures and societies conducted outside these areas will also be considered. The application essay must convincingly explain why the use of the sources proposed is appropriate, and how the project contributes to the field of China studies, broadly conceived.

No. These programs are not offered.

No. You are not eligible for an Early Career Fellowship.

No. An applicant who is not a US or Canadian citizen/permanent resident/work authorized status holder must meet BOTH eligibility criteria:

• Must be enrolled in a PhD program at or hold a PhD degree from an institution in the United States or Canada.
• Must have an affiliation with a university or college in the United States or Canada.

No. Applicants must either be a graduate student enrolled in a PhD program at a university in the US or Canada, or applicants must be contingent faculty already affiliated with a university in the US or Canada.

It depends. The “affiliation with a university or college in the United States or Canada” requirement for applicants who are not US or Canadian citizens/permanent residents refers to a long-term, regular research or teaching appointment. A visiting position would need to be an appointment lasting for at least one year with the possibility of renewal. If you are not a US or Canadian citizen/permanent resident and you hold a visiting position that is less than a year and non-renewable, please email [email protected] before applying.

No. Contingent faculty must hold a PhD by the application deadline.

No. Applicants who have obtained tenure, or who have submitted tenure materials for review, are not eligible.

If you submitted an application in the 2023-24 competition year, you may use that log-in for the 2024-25 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 how much work you have prepared before you begin the application process. Simply filling in the form will probably take at least an hour, if not two. In addition, you will need to submit your application essay and supporting documents. For graduate students applying for a travel grant, you will also need to secure a referee to write a letter in support of your application. You should start the process at least several weeks before the deadline to determine what is required and to start preparing your materials.

No. You may work in multiple sessions, though you will need to save your work after you finish each section of the application. Once you have submitted the application, you cannot work on it again.

You may estimate the amount you expect to receive or fill in nothing. You can enter this amount in the section asking you to list other major funding sources to which you ARE APPLYING in the current year for your present research proposal. Should you be offered a Luce/ACLS fellowship, you will need to provide ACLS with the specific amount(s) for any other funding you will receive during the fellowship period.

No. Your application will be evaluated as submitted.

A reference letter is only required for graduate students applying for a travel grant. The reference letter must come from the applicant’s dissertation advisor or a faculty member eligible to  be the advisor.

You can check the OFA system to see if your reference has been submitted. If your letter has not been submitted by the deadline, you should contact the writer of the missing letter. If your designated referee cannot write the letter, you may ask someone else to write for you and submit the appropriate information on your reference form. However, please note that once the required letter has been submitted for your application (regardless of which of your referees submits a letter), no more will be accepted. Think carefully, then, before requesting a replacement letter. You would not want to put a referee in the position of writing a letter for you and which then cannot be submitted.

No. You may not. We do not accept letters from dossier services. Your reference letter must be submitted through the ACLS Online Fellowship and Grant Administration (OFA) System by your referee.

Proposals to the Luce/ACLS Program in China studies are read by experts in China Studies from a variety of disciplines in the humanities or interpretive social sciences.

The projects ultimately selected vary widely. While there is no one model to follow for a successful application and we do not provide examples of proposals that receive funding, you are encouraged to view information on previous awardees and brief project descriptions here. For more guidance, please see Writing Proposals for ACLS Fellowship Competitions by Christina M. Gillis.

The fellowship/grant is awarded to an individual scholar. However, we can arrange payment through the scholar’s institution upon request. In that case, the institution is not permitted to deduct funds for overhead or indirect costs from the individual’s fellowship. See Information for Institutional Administrators.