Luce/ACLS Collaborative Grant in China Studies – LOI

Collaborative grants design and pilot activities that solve specific, pressing challenges in the field.

  • Grant amount: Up to $150,000 (approximately $25,000 per group member for up to six members)
  • Grants may support projects of 12-18 months in duration. Projects must be initiated between September 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, and completed no later than June 30, 2027.
  • Grant funds may be used for planning activities, living expenses, or research costs, including, but not limited to:
    • workshops or convenings for project teams
    • research leave, course releases, or summer salary
    • funds for research (e.g., research assistants, database access, travel to libraries)
  • Grant funds may be disbursed in one of two ways: as a single grant to a host institution which will then administer all grant funds; or as separate awards (up to six) to each individual team member. If the grant is made as a single award, the host institution must be a US- or Canada-based institution.
  • No indirect costs or institutional overhead is permitted.
  • Other support may be accepted for the proposed project.
  • A midterm report and a final report are required.
All project teams applying for the Collaborative Grant must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI). The deadline for LOIs is 9:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) April 1, 2025. ACLS will only consider one LOI per collaborative team. Teams will receive brief feedback on their application and learn whether their project will be competitive in early May.

Please contact chinastudies@acls.org with any questions.

Section 1: General Information
Please enter the personal information of the Principal Investigator below. The project’s principal investigator must have a PhD in the humanities or interpretive social sciences or equivalent AND be based at an institution (e.g., college, museum, university, library) in the US or Canada.
Enabling Productive Engagement with China
Teaching and Curricular Resources
Open Access Resources
Language Training
Digital Research Methods
Other
If ‘other,’ what priority does this project address?
Section 2: Letter of Intent Upload
All project teams must submit a LOI. The LOI should be written in English and formatted in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font. The LOI must be submitted as a single upload in PDF format.

LOIs must include the following components:
  • Name and contact information for the principal investigator, who will serve as the main contact for the project.
  • Draft narrative summarizing the proposed project, and its goals and activities (no more than one page).
  • A preliminary list of project team members and affiliations (if known), summarizing their roles in the project and brief plan for collaboration (no more than one page).