The American Council of Learned Societies began awarding fellowships and grants to individual scholars in 1926. Since then, ACLS has sought to meet the needs of an ever-changing academy and meet new challenges faced by scholars, whether early-career, independent, established educators, those working within the administrative ranks, and those forging paths in public-facing research.
ACLS Fellowship & Grant Programs
ACLS supports individual scholars and scholarly teams around the world in their pursuit of research that advances knowledge in the humanities and interpretive social sciences.
Supporting the scholarship of humanities and social sciences faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Supporting innovative approaches to dissertation research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences
Providing resources for projects that diversify the digital domain, advance justice and equity in digital scholarly practice, and contribute to public understanding of racial and social justice issues
Placing recent recipients of the PhD in professional positions at museums, libraries, and publications that present and interpret knowledge of Buddhist traditions
David Sterling Brown F’21 shares his Mellon/ACLS Scholars and Society Fellowship experience and his new book Shakespeare’s White Others
Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellow Prithi Kanakamedala F’21 discusses her research on Brooklyn abolitionists
ACLS Digital Justice Grantees Ned Benton G’22 and Judy-Lynne Peters G’22 discuss their work on the Northeast Slavery Records Index
Humanistic Scholarship Responding to Today’s Most Pressing Issues
“‘Drawing Unbelonging’ uses comics as a medium of inquiry to engage the sociopolitical through the lens of the personal, to critically look at pressing issues of our time, and draw attention to systemic and interconnected issues pertaining to race, gender, disability, and environmental inequality.”
Kay Sohini F’21 discusses the process of creating her graphic dissertation using comics as a method, and how nontraditional approaches to scholarship can create space for inclusive work accessible to the public.
Left: Image from Sohini’s graphic dissertation, “Drawing Unbelonging”
Support for Scholars Before and Beyond the Award
ACLS continues to provide valuable professional development resources for both applicants and awardees beyond the award period. We regularly host office hours sessions and webinars during the application period to answer questions and provide technical assistance to prospective applicants. Current and past awardees also participate in ACLS professional development workshops and convenings, including dissertation workshops for Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellows and Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies awardees; roundtable discussions and panels on topics including public-facing scholarship and mentorship for Luce/ACLS Fellows in China Studies; and an annual residency for Getty/ACLS Postdoctoral Fellows in the History of Art in Los Angeles.
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ACLS hosted the first ever gathering of CCFF awardees in New York City in October 2023.
News Article
October 30, 2023
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In summer 2023, ACLS has hosted convenings bringing fellows, grantees, learned societies, and university administrators together.
News Article
August 8, 2023
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ACLS invited scholars from the program, all of whom serve as faculty at a variety of colleges and universities across the country, for a day of discussion and sharing on how community engaged research can intersect with academic careers.
News Article
November 21, 2022
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Read reflections on the 2022 Summer Institute in China Studies, hosted by ACLS and supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.
News Article
August 1, 2022
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Learn about the convenings ACLS Staff are hosting and participating in across the globe in 2022.
News Article
September 3, 2022
ACLS fellows and partners share their work creating spaces for Black communities and stories in partnership with the Leading Edge and Mellon/ACLS Scholars and Society Fellowship programs.
Alison Turner F’22 works as the Research and Data Coordinator at Operation Shoestring in Jackson, MS through the ACLS Leading Edge Fellowship Program.
Luce/ACLS Fellow in China Studies Darren Byler F’21, G’14 shares his research on Uyghurs and other minoritized groups in Northwest China.
Luis Vargas-Santiago, 2020 Getty/ACLS Postdoctoral Fellow in the History of Art, shares his research analyzing imagery of Emiliano Zapata through the lenses of immigration and cultural dispersion.
