Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship (United States)

Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships support graduate students in the humanities and social sciences who show promise of leading their fields in important new directions. The fellowships are designed to intervene at the formative stage of dissertation development, before research and writing are advanced. The program seeks to expand the range of research methodologies, formats, and areas of inquiry traditionally considered suitable for the dissertation, with a particular focus on supporting scholars who can build a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable academy.

ACLS believes that humanistic scholarship benefits from inclusivity of voices, narratives, and subjects that have historically been underrepresented or under-studied in academe. They especially welcome applications from PhD candidates whose perspectives and/or research projects cultivate greater openness to new sources of knowledge, innovation in scholarly communication, and, above all, responsiveness to the interests and histories of people of color and other historically marginalized communities, including (but not limited to) Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous communities from around the world; people with disabilities; queer, trans, and gender nonconforming people; and people of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. They also believe that institutional diversity enhances the scholarly enterprise, and they encourage applications from doctoral students from all accredited institutions of higher education in the United States.

The program supports projects that push the traditional approaches and forms of dissertation research in new directions. The strongest applications will show evidence of thoughtful plans for engaging the sources, resources, scholars, and communities – on campus and/or off – necessary to advance their projects. Fellows might design a fellowship year that includes:

• directed interdisciplinary research and methodological training that pushes beyond the scope of their field’s norms with faculty within and/or outside their home institutions;
• exploration of new modes of scholarly communication and dissertation design;
• intensive digital methods training and research;
• collaboration with community partners;
• a short-term practicum with a non-academic organization (such as a think-tank or social justice organization) to develop experience with applied methods, site-based research involving community-engaged or collaborative approaches.

Funding Information

• Award: $40,000 stipend for the fellowship year, plus up to $8,000 for project-related research, training, development, and travel costs. The award also includes a $2,000 stipend for external mentorship.
• Tenure: one year beginning between July 1 and September 1, 2024.

Eligibility Criteria

The basic eligibility criteria for applicants are outlined below. As opposed to fellowship programs that support dissertations where writing and research is well underway, advanced, or nearing completion, this program intends to intervene at the formative stages of project development. Given the variation in graduate student trajectories, and the variation of curricular requirements across departments and schools, this program’s eligibility window covers a varying and flexible period in the middle of doctoral study. Some applicants may be applying in the year immediately before achieving candidacy/ABD status, or the year they achieve candidacy, to support the first stretch of work as a PhD candidate; others may seek to expand their field/methodological horizons at a relatively earlier stage of their graduate studies. As described in the criteria below, the program requires applicants to have completed all required coursework in their doctoral curriculum by the time the fellowship commences. Individuals must be enrolled full-time and may not accept teaching or research assistantships, other major fellowships, internships, or similar internal or external awards during fellowship tenure.

• Applicants must:
  • Be a PhD student in a humanities or social science department in the United States.
  • Be able to take up a full year (9-12 months) of sustained specialized research and training, released from normal coursework, assistantships, and teaching responsibilities.
  • Have completed at least two years and all required coursework in the PhD programs in which they are currently enrolled by the start of the fellowship term.
  • Have not advanced to PhD candidacy/ABD status prior to January 1, 2023.
  • have not previously applied for this fellowship more than once.
  • Note: The Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship program does not accept applications from students receiving professional or applied PhDs, terminal degrees that are not a PhD (such as an EdD or MFA), or PhDs outside of humanities and social science departments, including the following disciplines: business, clinical or counseling psychology, creative or performing arts, education, engineering, filmmaking, law, library and information sciences, life/physical sciences, public administration, public health or medicine, public policy, social work, or social welfare.

For more information, visit American Council of Learned Societies.