Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program Grant

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program, initiated in 2015, supports outstanding research in humanities and social sciences, awarding $200,000 fellowships to scholars addressing critical societal issues. In 2023, the focus shifted to political polarization in the U.S., aiming to foster understanding and cohesion. Annually, about 30 scholars are funded for one or two years to produce significant studies or books. The program encourages innovative research that can impact the field and benefit a wide audience.

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program was established in 2015 to provide philanthropic support for high-caliber research in the humanities and social sciences. During its first eight years, nearly 250 scholars received fellowships of $200,000 to explore a range of important and enduring issues confronting our society.
In June 2023, the Corporation announced a second phase of the program and a new focus on political polarization in the United States. For at least the next three years, the program will ask scholars to help Americans understand how and why our society has become so polarized and what we can do to strengthen the forces of cohesion in our society. Political polarization is characterized by threats to free speech, the decline of civil discourse, disagreement over basic facts, and a lack of mutual understanding and collaboration.
Fellowships of $200,000 are awarded annually to about 30 exceptional scholars, authors, journalists, and public intellectuals. The funding is for a period of one or two years with the anticipated result of a book or major study. The criteria prioritize the originality and promise of the research, its potential impact on the field, and the scholar’s plans for communicating the findings to a broad audience.
Topic
The Corporation anticipates that the work of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program will explore the many ways political polarization in the United States manifests itself in society and suggest ways that it may be mitigated. Studies of polarization in other countries will be considered providing they offer lessons that can be applied to the United States.

Eligibility

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program is open only to citizens or permanent residents of the United States whose names have been forwarded by a nominator designated by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Candidates must have a Ph.D., hold a terminal degree,  or be a high-level professional working outside of academia.We welcome candidates holding a terminal degree other than a PhD. We also welcome candidates with exceptional experience that qualifies them as a senior professional or intellectual.Nominators include heads of independent research institutes and societies, university presidents, leaders of some of the nation’s preeminent think tanks, and directors of major university presses, as well as editors of leading newspapers and magazines.Each nominator may put forward a maximum of two scholars. University presidents may nominate one junior and one senior scholar. Regardless of title, a junior scholar is defined as someone who received a PhD within the last 10 years. Nominators outside academe — e.g., the head of a university press, think tank, publisher, or a newspaper — may nominate up to two people.You may be nominated for the fellows program multiple times.

Ineligibility

Individuals may not apply for the fellows program via self-nomination.The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program prohibits a fellowship winner from accepting a fellowship of equal caliber or at a comparable level of funding as the Carnegie fellowship, especially awards that have specific time requirements. However, smaller grants and project support are acceptable on a case-by-case basis. No indirect/overhead costs will be allowed or paid to the university.