ACLS invites applications for Frederick Burkhardt Residential Fellowships for Recently Tenured Scholars, made possible by the generous assistance of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The fellowships are named for the late Frederick Burkhardt, president emeritus of ACLS, whose decades of work on The Correspondence of Charles Darwin constitute a signal example of dedication to a demanding and ambitious scholarly enterprise. These fellowships support long-term, unusually ambitious projects in 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 Burkhardt program offers two sets of opportunities for recently tenured humanists. The first set of Burkhardt Fellowships support an academic year (nine months) of residence at any one of the 13 participating residential research centers, and are open to faculty at any degree-granting academic institution in the United States. An additional set of Burkhardt Fellowships are designated specifically for liberal arts college faculty, and support an academic year of residence at a wider range of locations including campus humanities centers and university academic departments to be proposed by the applicant.

Fellowships at a Participating Research Center
These Burkhardt Fellowships are intended to support an academic year (nine months) of residence at any one of the 13 residential research centers participating in the program. Such an environment, beyond providing free time, encourages exchanges across disciplinary lines that can be especially helpful to deepening and expanding the significance of projects in the humanities and related social sciences. This year's successful applicants may take up the fellowship in 2017-18 or in either of the succeeding two academic years, but candidates must commit themselves firmly to their preferred year and residential center on their completed applications. Candidates must also commit themselves to relocating as needed in order to be in residence for the entire nine-month tenure of the fellowship.

ACLS will award up to 10 Burkhardt Fellowships for residency at these centers in the 2016-17 competition year.

Eligibility
These Burkhardt Fellowships are open to recently tenured humanists—scholars who will have begun their first tenured contracts by the application deadline but began their first tenured contracts no earlier than the fall 2012 semester or quarter. An applicant must be employed in a tenured position at a degree-granting academic institution in the United States, remaining so for the duration of the fellowship. US citizenship or permanent residency is not required, and previous supported research leaves do not affect eligibility for the Burkhardt Fellowship. This is a residential fellowship; scholars who are unable to commit to a nine-month residence at one of the 13 participating centers should not apply.

Fellowships for Liberal Arts College Faculty
One of the strengths of American higher education is the diversity of institutions that interact but remain distinct. In this educational ecosystem, liberal arts colleges serve as strongholds of the humanities by placing those fields at the core of their curricula. To support recently tenured faculty at these institutions, ACLS has designated a set of Burkhardt Fellowships specifically for them, with awards designed to support ambitious research in the humanities and encourage intellectual networks across types of institutions.

These Burkhardt Fellowships support an academic year (nine months) of residence at a university academic department or university-based humanities center of the applicant’s choice. This year's successful applicants may take up the fellowship in 2017-18 or in either of the succeeding two academic years, but candidates must commit themselves firmly to their preferred year and residential location on their completed applications. Candidates must also commit themselves to relocating as needed in order to be in residence for the entire nine-month tenure of the fellowship.

In the 2016-17 competition year, ACLS will award up to 10 Burkhardt Fellowships for residency at the applicant’s proposed location.

Eligibility
These opportunities within the Burkhardt Fellowship program are open to recently tenured humanists—scholars who will have begun their first tenured contracts by the application deadline but began their first tenured contracts no earlier than the fall 2012 semester or quarter. An applicant must be employed in a tenured position at a liberal arts college in the United States, remaining so for the duration of the fellowship. (See our FAQ for additional information.) US citizenship or permanent residency is not required, and previous supported research leaves do not affect eligibility for the Burkhardt Fellowship. This is a residential fellowship; scholars who are unable to commit to a nine-month residence at their proposed location should not apply.