American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is currently accepting applications for its Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies – Long-Term 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.
About ACLS - Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies – Long-Term
The Luce/ACLS Early Career Long-Term Fellowship provides research support to early-career scholars working on China-related studies across the humanities and interpretive social sciences.
The fellowship enables recent PhD scholars to take dedicated research leave and focus on developing significant scholarly outputs, including books, articles, conference papers, and book chapters.
Supported by the Henry Luce Foundation, the fellowship aims to strengthen China studies scholarship and expand humanistic research through innovative academic and public-facing approaches.
Benefits of ACLS - Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies – Long-Term
- Stipend: Minimum $20,000, maximum $45,000, calculated as $5,000 per month for four to nine months’ work accomplished full time.
ACLS - Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies – Long-Term Requirements
Applicants who apply to both the Early Career—Long-Term and Early Career—Flexible fellowships will only be considered for the Flexible fellowship.
- You must hold a PhD degree in the humanities or interpretive social sciences officially conferred between January 1, 2018 and November 5, 2026.
- If you are not a US or Canadian citizen/permanent resident, you must hold a long-term, regular research or teaching appointment with an institution in the United States or Canada.
- Applicants who have obtained tenure, or who have submitted tenure materials for review by the application deadline, are not eligible.
- A working knowledge of Chinese or another language used in China studies (e.g., Tibetan, Uyghur) is required.
Application Date and Process
Applications must be submitted online and must include a completed application form, along with the following uploaded materials, formatted in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font with at least 1-inch margins on all sides:
- An application essay/project proposal (1300 words maximum, double-spaced). The essay should discuss:
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- The aims of the research project – what it is about and what sources are to be examined.
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- The significance of the topic and the project’s contribution to the field of China studies.
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- The intended contribution of the research to existing literature in your discipline.
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- An assessment of the project’s feasibility.
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- The nature of results expected.
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- Note: If you are proposing to convert your dissertation into a book, you must explain how the proposed work will expand or revise the dissertation.
- A work plan (300 words maximum, double-spaced). The work plan should include:
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- A timeline for the project, including activity during the fellowship period.
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- Identification of the individuals (colleagues relevant to project), institutions, and/or sites to be visited, including archives, libraries, geographical sources, as well as proposed institutional affiliation in China (if applicable).
- Optional supporting materials (e.g., images, musical scores, or other similar supporting non-text materials, without annotation, two pages maximum).
- A bibliography (1000 words maximum, double-spaced between entries) should provide an overview of the essential primary and secondary sources that inform this research.
- A resume (one single-spaced page maximum) should be included.
- An applicant’s statement (600 words maximum, double-spaced) describing the intellectual trajectory and experiences that brought the applicant to the current stage of academic career and that motivate plans for the future. If you are not yet employed/affiliated with an institution, you must describe plans for a career in China studies in the United States or Canada. It will strengthen the application to mention applications underway for academic positions, including names of institutions. Applicants in non-tenure-track positions (e.g., postdocs and visiting assistant professors) must indicate when their current positions will end.
- A list of your publications (1000 words maximum, double-spaced between entries).
- No budget is required as part of this application.
Application Deadline
05 November, 2026
Opportunity Application
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