Mellon ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship Program

Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowships support graduate students who show promise of leading their fields in important new directions. The fellowships provide a year of support for doctoral students preparing to embark on innovative dissertation research projects in the humanities and interpretive social sciences.

About this Award

The Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship is different from traditional dissertation fellowships because it is designed as an early stage intervention for innovative research design and data collection for doctoral students at, or near, the prospectus stage of their dissertation project. The award is interested in advancing innovative research in the humanities and interpretive social sciences that is developing new knowledge about the subjective human experience. 

Over the fellowship year, fellows will be granted resources to plan and conduct the extra work that supports their ability to advance dissertation research that innovates their field and discipline; proposed activities during the fellowship year ideally take students beyond traditional dissertation activity, including attending workshops on methodological training, exploring alternatives to traditional formatting and presentation of the project, traveling for data collection, collaborating with an external mentor, and so on. In essence: the award is extra time and extra funding to go above and beyond what one can do with their dissertation within the confines of a traditional doctoral program. 

The award is not designed for writing any part of the dissertation, conducting late-stage analysis, completing the dissertation, or fast-tracking a student toward early completion. Proposed activities should be focused on work that advances the applicant’s proposed innovations in their field or discipline. 

Award Details

• Mellon Foundation provides annual stipend and an award for project-related research, training, development, and travel costs.
• ASU Graduate College provides tuition support for recipients of this award who make the request at the time of application. This award can cover standard tuition, ASU fees and ASU health insurance, but would not cover any program fees/tuition.

Application and Eligibility Information

• Must be a PhD student in a humanities or social sciences department.
• Must be able to take a full year (9-12 months) of sustained specialized research and training and be released from normal coursework, assistantships and all teaching responsibilities for the fellowship year.
• Must have completed at least two years and all required coursework in PhD program currently enrolled by the start of the fellowship term.
• Have not advanced to ABD status before January 1st of application year.

• Have not previously applied for the award more than once. 

   

Applicants for this award should meet the following criteria: 

• Currently writing their prospectus or just completed their prospectus.
• Desiring more time for research design/early data collection during the fellowship year.
• Can request their department (department chair, director of graduate studies, or dean) endorse their application and communicate that the department understands the intention of the fellowship is to promote to develop non-traditional dissertation research with the aim to innovate areas such as research topics, scholarly methods, and the forms and format of the dissertation. The department should also be willing to communicate that the institution believes that its graduate curriculum and progress-charting for students can respect and accommodate the applicant’s proposed exploration of non-traditional approaches to scholarship.
   

Details for Applicants

Application Support

• Due to the highly competitive nature of the award and the nuances that are particular to this specific application, applicants are strongly encouraged to work with ASU's Office of National Scholarships Advisement (ONSA) to discern the award’s fit for their dissertation project and to receive specialized support on their application materials.
• Applicants are encouraged to contact ONSA in May of the year they wish to apply. Interested applicants can directly contact [email protected].

Funding Support

• To request Graduate College tuition commitment, contact us at least 15 days prior to the application deadline at [email protected] to receive the tuition support request form (this can be done by the applicant, their faculty advisor, or the academic department). 

  Submit form with as much detail as possible.

• Approximately 3-5 business days after submission, the Graduate College will reach out via email to both the student applicant and department with information about our funding commitment.
• Applicant will enter the name and email of the individual that is submitting the institutional letter (actually a form) in the same area of the Mellon/ACLS application that requests reference contacts. This form is usually submitted by a faculty or staff member in the student’s academic department as it requires knowledge of the applicant’s academic plans.

• Individual submitting institutional letter will share the Graduate College commitment received by email on the appropriate form.

   

Award Details for Mellon/ACLS recipients at ASU

If you are selected to receive this award and have made a tuition request from the Graduate College:

• Please contact us as soon as you are notified and provide a copy of notification letter or email to [email protected].
• After this is received, the Graduate College will reach out with an additional form to complete ahead of your award year.
• At least two weeks before the start of the fall semester, please submit the required online form to have your award applied.
• Should the tuition award not disburse to your student account as expected, please reach out to us as soon as possible.
   

Contact 

For application support- [email protected] 
To request Graduate College tuition commitment - [email protected] 
To apply, visit https://www.acls.org/competitions/mellon-acls-dissertation-innovation-fellowship/

Additional Information

Taxes

Each fellow is personally responsible for individual taxes related to this award. Additional information regarding awards-related tax issues can be found on the tax considerations webpage. Specific questions should be directed to a tax advisor or contact the ASU Financial Aid and Scholarship Services.

Overawards

An overaward is when a student's need-based awards exceed their financial need, or the total of the awards exceeds the cost of attendance. If a student has been overawarded, federal regulations require ASU to adjust their awards, which may result in a reduction in awards or a bill. Need-based aid includes grants, scholarships, Federal Work-Study, Federal Perkins Loans, and outside resources (i.e., faculty/staff tuition benefits, scholarships, stipends, etc.). Non-need-based aid includes unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Graduate PLUS Loans, and Private Education Loans. Questions regarding overawards should be directed to ASU Financial Aid and Scholarship Services.