American Council of Learned Societies Offers 2026 Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships
News related to:American Council of Learned Societies · 2 min read
NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is inviting applications for the 2026 Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art. This prestigious program aims to support graduate students researching the history of American art and visual culture, including all aspects of Native American art.
The fellowships, which are funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, offer seven awards of $49,500 each. These fellowships include a stipend and additional funds for travel and research. Applications are due no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time on October 28, 2026.
ACLS is seeking applicants who are doctoral students at universities in the United States, pursuing research in art history or related fields such as Native American and Indigenous studies, ethnic studies, or African American studies. Students preparing theses for the Master of Fine Arts degree are not eligible.
To be considered, applicants must 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. The projects should be focused on the art object and/or image and should employ an art-historical or visual studies approach. Applicants must have completed all requirements for the PhD except the dissertation before beginning fellowship tenure.
Eligible applicants must be US citizens, permanent residents, Indigenous persons residing in the United States through rights associated with the Jay Treaty of 1794, DACA recipients, asylees, refugees, or individuals granted Temporary Protected Status in the United States. The program welcomes applicants who are at any stage of PhD dissertation research or writing, believing that humanistic scholarship is strengthened by the inclusion of a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.
The American Council of Learned Societies, formed a century ago, is a nonprofit federation of 85 scholarly organizations. As the leading representative of American scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, ACLS upholds the core principle that knowledge is a public good. The Henry Luce Foundation, established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., advances its mission by nurturing knowledge communities and institutions, fostering dialogue across divides, enriching public discourse, amplifying diverse voices, and investing in leadership development.