The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), with financial support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, announces competitions for Dissertation-completion fellowships and Early-Career Postdoctoral Fellowships.
During 10 annual fellowship competitions (2008-18), ACLS efforts have stimulated the growth of a robust humanities community in Africa. More than 400 scholars early in their careers received research support and more than 100 senior scholars at African universities served as peer reviewers and advisers.
In 2019 Carnegie Corporation announced a grant commemorating the ACLS Centennial for an extension of AHP activities. This grant will support two new fellowship competitions (2019-20 and 2020-21). The new competitions will be for postdoctoral fellowships only.
About The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)
Formed a century ago, ACLS is a nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations. As the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and related social sciences, ACLS holds a core belief that knowledge is a public good. As such, ACLS strives to promote the circulation of humanistic knowledge throughout society. In addition to stewarding and representing its member organizations, ACLS employs its $140 million endowment and $35 million annual operating budget to support scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and to advocate for the centrality of the hum... continue reading
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ACLS African Humanities Fellowship Program
Aim and Benefits of ACLS African Humanities Fellowship Program
- Fellowship stipends allow recipients an academic year free from teaching and other duties for revising the dissertation for publication or for the first major research project after the PhD. Fellows are also eligible for additional benefits such as residential stays for writing, manuscript development workshops, and publication support.
- Each fellow may request a residential stay at an African institute for advanced study. Residencies have proved to be extremely popular and productive, granting fellows time and space to concentrate on writing. Because residencies must be taken at an institute outside the home country, they foster international communication. Currently AHP Fellows may take residencies at six institutes from South Africa to Senegal, Ghana to Tanzania
Requirements for ACLS African Humanities Fellowship Program Qualification
- Applicants must be nationals and residents of a country in sub-Saharan Africa and must be currently working at universities in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda.
- Women are especially encouraged to apply. .
- Dissertation-Completion Fellowships are not available in South Africa.
- Projects must be in the humanities and must be carried out in sub-Saharan Africa. AHP fellowships may not be used for travel outside the continent.
Selection Criteria
- The intrinsic interest and substantive merit of the work proposed
- The clarity of the intellectual agenda
- The feasibility of the work plan
- The record of achievement of a postdoctoral scholar and the promise of a PhD candidate
- The contribution the work is likely to make to scholarship on the continent and worldwide
The African Humanities Program seeks to strengthen humanities scholarship in Africa
- By promoting diversity in terms of gender and historical disadvantage, along with diversity in disciplines, institutions, and regions. Women are especially encouraged to apply.
- By making research opportunities available to staff at African universities.
Application Deadline
December 4, 2020
How to Apply
Interested and qualified? Go to
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) on to apply
For more details, visit ACLS website
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