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.

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, 2017 and no later than February 1, 2018.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• be a US citizen or permanent resident
• have a PhD that was conferred at least two years before the application deadline. (An established scholar who can demonstrate the equivalent of a PhD in publications and professional experience may also qualify.)
• have had a lapse of at least two years between the last "supported research leave" and September 1, 2017, including any such leave to be taken or initiated during the 2016-17 academic year. Therefore, to be eligible, an individual's most recent supported research leave must have concluded prior to September 1, 2015. (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.)

ACLS/NEH International and Area Studies Fellowships
In order to encourage humanistic research in area studies, special funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and ACLS has been set aside for ACLS/NEH International and Area Studies Fellowships to be designated among the successful applicants to the central ACLS Fellowship competition. Scholars pursuing research and writing on the societies and cultures of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union will be eligible for these special fellowships.

Application must be made to the ACLS Fellowship program and all requirements and provisions of that program must be met, with the addition that (a) an International and Area Studies Fellow must be either a US citizen or a permanent resident who has lived in the United States continuously for at least three years by the application deadline and (b) the fellowship will be used for research and/or writing while based abroad. These fellows also must submit a final report to both NEH and ACLS. Designation of the ACLS/NEH International and Area Studies Fellows will be made by ACLS.

ACLS/New York Public Library Fellowships
ACLS may give up to five residential fellowships per year in conjunction with The New York Public Library’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. The Center provides opportunities for up to 15 fellows to explore the rich, diverse collections in the NYPL's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. The Center also serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas among fellows, invited guests, the wider academic and cultural communities, and the interested public. It provides individual office space and common areas in the Library building. Fellows are required to be in residence from September 5, 2017 through May 25, 2018 and to participate in Center activities. These may include lunches, panel discussions, public conversations, symposia, and interviews.

The stipend for ACLS/NYPL fellowships will be $70,000, regardless of the applicant’s faculty rank or rank equivalency. ACLS/NYPL fellowships are subfellowships within the overarching ACLS Fellowship program; they have the same eligibility requirements, application form, and schedule. The only additional proviso is that these residential fellowships will be granted to scholars whose projects will benefit from research in the NYPL's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Because this is a joint fellowship, applicants for ACLS/NYPL residential fellowships must also apply to the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the NYPL.