Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art Grant

The Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art support graduate students conducting research on the history of art and visual culture in the U.S., including Native American art. These fellowships aim to enhance diversity in academia by welcoming applications from PhD candidates at all degree-granting institutions in the U.S. The program offers a stipend of $38,000 plus a travel and research allowance, with a total award of $42,000 for a nine to twelve-month period between July 2025 and May 2027.

Please note: ACLS requires all applicants to have an ORCID iD. Learn more. The deadline for this program has passed. Please check back for updates on future deadlines.
Fellowship and Grant Programs
Over the past century, ACLS has supported individual scholars and scholarly teams around the world in their pursuit of research with the potential to advance knowledge in the humanities and interpretive social sciences.
Our current focus includes providing more pathways for those who have traditionally had less access to external research support and scholarly resources, including first-generation scholars, people from historically marginalized communities, and non-tenure track faculty.
Our Process
Fellows and grantees in all programs are selected by committees of scholars appointed for this purpose. Learn more about peer review.
ACLS seeks to embed our commitment to inclusive excellence in all of our fellowship and grant programs, from our recruitment of peer reviewers to the evaluation of proposals and the administration of awards.
So long as they meet each program’s eligibility requirements, individual scholars may apply to as many fellowship and grant programs as are suitable. However, no more than one ACLS fellowship may be accepted in any one competition year.
Fellowship Details
Stipend: $38,000, plus up to $4,000 as a travel and research allowance.
Tenure: An academic year or equivalent, to be held for any continuous period of nine to twelve months between July 2025 and May 2027.
Completed applications must be submitted through the ACLS online fellowship and grant administration system (ofa.acls.org) no later than 9:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time, October 30, 2024.
For information on how to request reviewer feedback after March application notifications, see FAQ.
Summary
ACLS invites applications for Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art, which support graduate students pursuing research on the history of art and visual culture of the United States, including all aspects of Native American art, and who are at any stage of PhD dissertation research or writing. ACLS believes that humanistic scholarship benefits from the inclusivity of voices, perspectives, narratives, and subjects that have historically been underrepresented in academia. We also believe that diversity enhances the scholarly enterprise, and we encourage applications from PhD candidates from all degree-granting institutions in the United States.
The program offers seven fellowships for a non-renewable, continuous nine- to twelve-month term to be held between July 2025 and May 2027.
The total award of $42,000 includes a stipend and additional funds for travel and research. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation.

Eligibility

The fellowships may be carried out in residence at the fellow’s home institution or any other appropriate site for the research.The entire fellowship term must conclude before the fellow receives the PhD.Applicants must:
be a doctoral student at a university in the United States in art history or a related field, such as Native American and Indigenous studies, ethnic studies, or African American studies.have a dissertation focused on a topic in the history of the visual arts of the United States, including all facets of Native American art. Projects should be focused foremost on the art object and/or image and employ an art-historical or visual studies approach.
have completed all requirements for the PhD except the dissertation before beginning fellowship tenure.
have not previously applied for this fellowship more than once.
be a US citizen, permanent resident, Indigenous person residing in the United States through rights associated with the Jay Treaty of 1794, DACA recipient, asylee, refugee, or individual granted Temporary Protected Status in the United States.Evaluation CriteriaPeer reviewers are asked to be mindful of ACLS’s commitment to inclusive excellence, and of how equity and diversity are integral components of merit.In addition, reviewers in this program are asked to evaluate all eligible proposals on the following criteria:The quality of the proposal with regard to its methodology, scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature.The potential of the project to advance the study of American art, both generally and in the specific field(s) it engages.The applicant’s record of scholarly engagement and potential for scholarly achievement, taking into account the relative advantages and constraints on resources for the proposed project and over the course of the applicant’s doctoral training.An applicant to this fellowship may also apply to as many fellowship programs as are suitable. However, not more than one ACLS or ACLS-joint award may normally be accepted in any one competition year.Unsuccessful applicants may reapply to this program only once.Award and StipendThe fellowship is awarded to an individual graduate student. ACLS can arrange payment through the individual’s institution upon request. However, institutions may not deduct funds for overhead or indirect costs from the fellowship. For more information, review Information for Institutional Administrators.ACLS allows a university to provide awards subsidizing tuition and university fees, including health insurance.

Ineligibility

The fellowships may not be used to defray tuition costs or be held concurrently with any other major fellowship or grant.Students preparing theses for the Master of Fine Arts degree are not eligible.ACLS policy prohibits Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellows from holding concurrent fellowships that provide a stipend of any amount.In addition to the Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowship, Fellows may not accept an award that requires work of any kind, for example, a teaching or research assistantship.