American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)

ACLS, a private, nonprofit federation of 73 national scholarly organizations, is the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and related social sciences. Advancing scholarship by awarding fellowships and strengthening relations among learned societies is central to our work. Other activities include support for scholarly conferences, reference works, and scholarly communication innovations. 

Leadership

Since its founding in 1919, ACLS has provided the humanities and related social sciences with leadership, opportunities for innovation, and national and international representation. President Pauline Yu speaks in the US and abroad on topics vital to scholarship and the academy today. ACLS convenes representatives from across the academic and public humanities for conferences on issues of broad interest to scholarly community, including an annual meeting, meetings and seminars for member society representatives, and commissions and working groups.

Research

ACLS Fellows are engaged in creating new knowledge that benefits our understanding of the world. ACLS continues to be the leading private institution supporting scholars in the humanities and related social sciences. In the 2014-15 competition year, ACLS made awards totaling over $16 million to more than 300 fellows and grantees worldwide. ACLS’s fellowship competitions provide a range of opportunities for scholars at all career stages (from graduate students to distinguished professors to independent scholars) working with varied disciplines and methodologies in the US and abroad. Major international initiatives include the African Humanities Program and the Center for Educational Exchange with Viet Nam (CEEVN). 

Innovation

ACLS has long supported new methods and subjects of humanities scholarship. New fellowship programs address digital humanities, collaborative research, postdoctoral opportunities, and scholars at work outside the academy. Recent initiatives on scholarly communication include Humanities E-Book, and sponsored publications such as the American National Biography and the Darwin Correspondence Project.

Stewardship

ACLS is a federation of 73 member societies, professional organizations for humanities scholars, and its mission is to strengthen the relationships among them. Each society is concerned with a distinct field of study, but all are involved in the promotion of research, scholarly publication, and education.