Exploring Complex Solutions for a Complex World Fellowship Grant

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is the premier research center advancing classical liberal ideas and cultivating the talent to apply them.
The Exploring Complex Solutions for a Complex World Fellowship is a competitive, renewable, and online fellowship program for high school students. Fellowships are open to students from any high school program (whether public, private, or home school) who are interested in understanding political, economic, and social life. Exploring Complex Solutions Fellows attend a series of online activities, including an online discussion portal and online reading discussion sessions led by various Hayek Program scholars that introduce them to the complexity of the world around us, the challenges of planning, and the importance of trade-offs. Fellows will join a network of Mercatus students, alumni, faculty, and scholars who are conducting and engaging with cutting edge research in contemporary political economy.
Each cohort participating in this online program will participate during one semester of the academic year. Each participant will receive copies of the books to be discussed, which may include Applied Mainline Economics by Matthew D. Mitchell and Peter J. Grube; Doing Bad by Doing Good by Christopher J. Coyne; and National Economic Planning by Don Lavoie. Those selected to participate in the fellowship can expect to directly interact with Mercatus Center scholars who hold doctoral degrees in economics political science, and sociology, read approximately 100-page selections from each of the 4 books assigned, and to spend roughly 2 hours of time each week participating in asynchronous, online discussions with other high school students and Mercatus Scholars on the reading selections and supplemental materials. Participants will gain experience thinking critically about key issues and participating in discussions with others from a variety of backgrounds. This experience will help prepare students for college and provide an opportunity to receive academic advice from scholars and staff.

Eligibility

In order to be accepted into the Exploring Complex Solutions for a Complex World Fellowship program, you must be both of the following:

• Enrolled in high school

Be at least 16-years-old by the start of the fellowshipAny student of any nationality enrolled at any high school, in the US or abroad, and is at least 16 years old at the start of programming is eligible to apply for the Exploring Complex Solutions for a Complex World Fellowship. The program will be conducted entirely online.