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The Asian Cultural Council Graduate Fellowship 2026 is now accepting applications. Interested candidates are urged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and to apply.
Opportunity Details
ACC gives a small number of Graduate Fellowship grants to support the travel and living expenses of graduate students from Asia who choose to study in the United States because comparable programs are not available in their home country, territory, or region and/or because they work in a field that is underrepresented in their home country, territory, or region.
ACC’s Graduate Fellowship program aims to advance international cultural exchange and to enrich and broaden scholarly narratives and critical discourse by increasing access to academic training in the arts and cultural fields.
What does the Graduate Fellowship offer?
Funding for Travel and Living Expenses
ACC’s Graduate Fellowships provide $15,000 USD for one academic year, with the possibility of renewing for one additional year. One academic year in this application cycle includes the full-time pursuit of coursework from Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 or from Spring 2027 to Fall 2027.
ACC’s grant funding is intended to cover Graduate Fellows’ travel and living expenses related to the coursework portion of their graduate degree program. ACC will not provide grants to applicants who are only in the fieldwork research or thesis-writing phase of their graduate studies. ACC’s grant funding does not support tuition or direct research expenses (e.g. travel for fieldwork, equipment, etc.).
For more information about the Graduate Fellowship payment schedule, please see further below.
Connection to the ACC Community
In addition to supporting their travel and living expenses, ACC welcomes Graduate Fellows into a growing global community of artists, arts professionals, scholars, and institutions that have benefited from and continue to support ACC’s mission. ACC staff may make introductions to alumni in a relevant field, where possible. Graduate Fellows are also invited to share news about their performances, exhibitions, publications, and other important updates through our newsletters and events page.
Funding for Travel and Living Expenses
ACC’s Graduate Fellowships provide $15,000 USD for one academic year, with the possibility of renewing for one additional year. One academic year in this application cycle includes the full-time pursuit of coursework from Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 or from Spring 2027 to Fall 2027. ACC’s grant funding is intended to cover Graduate Fellows’ travel and living expenses related to the coursework portion of their graduate degree program. ACC will not provide grants to applicants who are only in the fieldwork research or thesis-writing phase of their graduate studies. ACC’s grant funding does not support tuition or direct research expenses (e.g. travel for fieldwork, equipment, etc.).
In addition to the general eligibility requirements (see here), applicants to the Graduate Fellowship program must carefully review and meet the following eligibility requirements:
Visa Requirements
Graduate Fellows must have a valid student visa to attend their degree programs in the U.S. Please note that ACC does not sponsor Graduate Fellows' student visas.Graduate Fellows should contact their current or prospective university for further information.
Payment Schedule
The Graduate Fellowship award follows a three-part payment schedule that commences after the applicant accepts their award, signs ACC’s grant agreement, and submits ACC’s Information Collection Form with further details about the applicant and their graduate program. Grant decisions will be announced in mid-May 2026.
Please note that Graduate Fellows’ degree programs may start in the spring semester. In this case, an advance payment will be made in the preceding fall, the first (spring) semester payment will be made on February 1, and the second (fall) semester payment will be made on October 1.
Grant Renewal
Graduate Fellows may be eligible for a renewal of their grant funding for up to one additional academic year (i.e. two semesters of coursework) pending ACC’s review of their academic record during their first year of ACC-supported study and proof of enrollment for the second year of coursework. ACC will, at its sole discretion, review the submission, determine the acceptance or refusal of the renewal request, and inform the Graduate Fellow once a decision is made.
Please carefully review the instructions below to learn more about submitting an application for the Graduate Fellowship program. As a reminder, you may submit an application for only one ACC fellowship or grant type per grant cycle.
Deadlines
Applications must be submitted by November 19, 2025, at 9:59 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST).
Letters of recommendation must be uploaded by November 26, 2025, at 9:59 AM EST. Learn more about the letter of recommendation requirements further below.
GoApply
Applications must be submitted through GoApply, ACC’s application platform. Previous applicants may log in to their account with their email and password.
Starting on October 1, 2025, at 9:59 AM EDT, previous and new GoApply users can click here to log in or create a GoApply account. Once you have logged in or registered with GoApply, you can open the “Opportunities” menu item, and then click on the “apply” button next to “Graduate Fellowship.” GoApply registration instructions are available in English, Chinese, and Japanese.
Please note that ACC’s GoApply applications will only be available from October 1, 2025, at 9:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time to November 19, 2025, at 9:59 AM EST.
Eligibility Quiz
The application begins with an eligibility quiz, which will ask questions assessing your eligibility based on ACC’s general grant guidelines and the Graduate Fellowship guidelines. Only applicants whose responses confirm their eligibility for the Graduate Fellowship will be allowed to proceed with the rest of the application.
If you are not sure how to respond to an eligibility quiz question, please contact the relevant ACC representative office (see here).
Required Application Materials
Applicants must be prepared to provide the application materials listed below. Required items are marked with an asterisk (*).
Work Samples
Applicants must provide up to three work samples that best exemplify their work. Work sample attachments may include image files (JPEG or PNG) or PDF files containing images, links to videos, audio clips, or other relevant media or materials to support your application. (See examples of work samples.) Please refer to the work sample guidelines listed below.
Recommendation Letter and References
ACC asks you to provide contact information for three separate individuals: one person who will submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf and two referenceswhom ACC can contact if we have any questions about you or your proposal.
Conflicts of Interest
The recommender and references should not be ACC trustees, staff, or donors. All applicants will be asked to sign a conflict-of-interest statement attesting that their recommender and references, to the best of their knowledge, are not ACC trustees, staff, or donors.
Letter of Recommendation Deadline
Your recommender must upload their letter of recommendation to GoApply after you have submitted your application. The deadline for the letter of recommendation is November 26, 2025, at 9:59 AM EST. Only after you have submitted your application will your recommender receive an email containing a link and instructions for uploading their letter to GoApply. We recommend that you ask for your recommender’s support in advance and that you submit your application early, so that your recommender has enough time to upload their letter. Your application will not be considered complete and will not be reviewed until your letter of recommendation has been uploaded.
Bilingual Applications
In addition to submitting question responses in English, applicants who apply through ACC Hong Kong, ACC Japan, and ACC Taiwan should refer to their respective bilingual application requirements. Please note that the bilingual fillable forms (for completion and upload) and translated eligibility quizzes (for reference) will be made available for download on October 1, 2025, at 9:59 AM EDT.
Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Mainland China (Optional)
In addition to completing the application in English, applicants who are citizens or permanent residents of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Mainland China, and are applying through ACC Hong Kong, may also submit an optional copy of their application in Chinese. To do so, please download, complete, and upload to GoApply the bilingual application form provided below. Please note that the application is provided in traditional Chinese, but applicants may provide responses in simplified Chinese, if desired.
Japan (Required)
Applicants who are citizens or permanent residents of Japan and are applying through ACC Japan must submit an additional copy of their application in Japanese and a PDF of their CV/resume in both English and Japanese. Descriptions or captions of work samples must also be made available in both English and Japanese. Applicants should download, complete, and upload to GoApply the bilingual application form provided below.
Taiwan ROC (Required)
Applicants who are citizens or permanent residents of Taiwan ROC and are applying through ACC Taiwan must submit an additional copy of their application in traditional Chinese and a PDF of their CV/resume in both English and traditional Chinese. Descriptions or captions of work samples must also be made available in both English and Chinese. Applicants should download, complete, and upload to GoApply the bilingual application form provided below.
