Event Date
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is pleased to announce the 2022 competition of the Leading Edge Fellowship program. The Leading Edge Fellowship program aims to demonstrate the potential of humanistic knowledge and methods to solve problems, build capacity, and advance social justice and equity. The fellowships support recent PhDs in the humanities and interpretive social sciences as they work with social justice organizations to advance justice and equity in communities across the United States.
ACLS welcomes applications from recent PhDs in the humanities and related social sciences to take on full time positions at one of twenty social justice organizations, including the Center for Court Innovation, HEAL Food Alliance, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta.
Our host partners provide professional development opportunities and employee benefits to fellows, and draw on fellows’ scholarly perspectives and broad set of skills. Fellows receive a stipend of $62,500 for the first year, $65,000 in the second, and have access to funds and opportunities for professional development through ACLS and our alumni network. This initiative is made possible through the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The deadline for applications is Monday, March 28th by 9pm EDT. Applications will be accepted only through the ACLS online application system. Applicants should not contact any of the organizations directly. Please visit https://www.acls.org/programs/leading-edge/ for complete position descriptions, eligibility criteria, and application information.
This year, ACLS will also be offering an informational webinar on the application process, March 3rd at 1pm ET. Interested applicants should register here: https://acls-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P1dcFI4wQ7yk95XS3IZd0g.
Fellowship Details
- Stipend: $62,500 in year one, and $65,000 in year two, plus health insurance and professional development funding
- Tenure: 24 months beginning in September 2022
- Applications will be accepted only through the ACLS Online Fellowship Application system. Please do not contact any of the organizations directly.
- Application deadline: March 28, 2022, 9pm EDT
Summary
The American Council of Learned Societies is pleased to announce the fourth competition of the Leading Edge Fellowship program, which demonstrates the potential of humanistic knowledge and methods to solve problems, build capacity, and advance justice and equity in society. Leading Edge Fellowships place recent humanities PhDs with nonprofit organizations promoting social justice in their communities. Fellows take on substantive roles that draw on the skills and capacities honed in the course of earning the humanities PhD, including advanced communication, research, project management, and creative problem solving. This initiative is made possible through the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The fellowships are designed to foster mutually beneficial partnerships between fellows and their hosting organizations. Each applicant may apply for up to two of the available Leading Edge Fellowship opportunities listed below.
Eligibility
- Applicants must have a PhD that was/will be formally conferred by their university between September 1, 2017, and September 1, 2022. Applicants scheduled to graduate in Spring or Summer 2022 must be prepared to verify, with official university documentation, the successful defense of the dissertation by no later than May 31, 2022.
- Applicants’ PhDs may be in any field in the humanities or humanistic social sciences. See FAQ for further information.*
- Applicants must be authorized to work in the US for the entire duration of the fellowship term. This includes Indigenous individuals residing in the United States through rights associated with the Jay Treaty of 1794, and those who hold DACA status, Temporary Protected Status, or political asylee or refugee status. Neither ACLS nor the host organization can sponsor fellows for visas.
Application Guidelines
Applications must be submitted online and must include:
- A completed application form, including a short answer section about applying humanistic doctoral training to sectors beyond the academy.
- A cover letter tailored to each selected project and addressed to the host organization (1-2 pages). Applicants applying for two positions will submit two distinct cover letters.
- A resume (1-2 pages) and a list of three references. Applicants applying for two positions will submit two resumes and lists of references. No reference letters are required at the time of application.
Host Organizations and Position Descriptions
Download all of the position descriptions as a combined PDF here