ACLS Leading Edge Postdoctoral Fellowships

The ACLS Leading Edge Fellowship program aims to demonstrate the potential of humanistic knowledge and methods to solve problems, build capacity, and advance justice and equity. 

Leading Edge Fellowships place recent humanities and interpretive social science PhDs with nonprofit organizations throughout the US who are advancing justice and equity 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.

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 on the fellowship website.

Fellowship Details

• Stipend: For remote positions, $70,000 in year one, and $72,000 in year two; for in-person positions, $72,000 in year one, and $74,000 in year two. All fellows will have access to health insurance and professional development funding.
• Relocation: Up to $5,000 in relocation funds for fellows who relocate for in-person positions.
• Tenure: 24 months beginning in September 2026.

Eligibility

• Applicants must have a PhD that will have been formally conferred by their university between September 1, 2021, and August 31, 2026. Applicants scheduled to graduate in Spring or Summer 2026 must be prepared to verify, with confirmation from their university registrar’s office, a PhD conferral date on or before August 31.
• Applicants’ PhDs must be in an eligible field of the humanities or interpretive social sciences. There is an FAQ available on the fellowship website.
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States for the entire duration of the fellowship term.