Program Will Offer Summer Internships and Professional Development Support for Emerging Scholars of Religion

NEW YORK, Nov. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is pleased to announce the second competition of the Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future program, funded generously by the Templeton Religion Trust. This program provides practical work opportunities for talented, entrepreneurial PhD students in the humanities and social sciences whose dissertation topic relates to the study of religion. It also aims to build institutional partnerships that create a pipeline of new leaders knowledgeable about the rapidly changing American religious landscape.

Through their nine-week, full-time summer 2027 internships, fellows will gain practical experience in how their research skills can be applied outside of academia while engaging directly with their host organizations and the communities they serve. Participating PhD students will also join cohort-based programming in the year following the internship that includes in-person and virtual workshops and educational events in preparation for careers inside and outside of the academy.

Host organizations benefit from fellows' scholarly perspectives and broad sets of skills and capacities in writing, project management, cultural competencies, research, and problem-solving skills.

After successful placements in summer 2026, all 10 host organizations return for the 2027 season, offering a wide range of opportunities for fellows to apply their advanced training in religious studies to practical challenges in communities at the forefront of religious change in the United States. The host organizations are: American Friends Service Committee; Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership; The Conversation; The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Minnesota (CAIR-MN); Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies; Interfaith America; Jewish Women's Archive; Norton Healthcare; Operation Shoestring; and Religion News Service.

ACLS is now accepting fellowship applications, with submissions due by 5:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, January 13, 2027. Applicants must be current PhD students in a humanities or social science department at a college or university in the United States. Learn more about the program, eligibility guidelines, and the selection process.

Each graduate intern will earn a summer stipend of $14,250 for remote projects and $15,500 for interns who work onsite. ACLS also provides relocation funding if necessary.

Awardees must be able to take up a nine-week internship in the Summer of 2027, released from normal coursework, assistantships, and all teaching responsibilities. Awardees will also be required to attend a seminar with other participants in late August 2027, and virtual programs in the 2027-2028 academic year. 

This program is supported by the Templeton Religion Trust (TRT) as part of a three-year, multifaceted initiative, including research, public engagement and pipeline development in service of Identifying and Advancing the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future.

About ACLS

Formed more than a century ago, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 87 scholarly organizations. As the leading representative of American scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, ACLS upholds the core principle that knowledge is a public good. In supporting its member organizations, ACLS expands the forms, content, and flow of scholarly knowledge, reflecting our commitment to diversity of identity and experience. ACLS collaborates with institutions, associations, and individuals to strengthen the evolving infrastructure for scholarship.

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SOURCE American Council of Learned Societies