Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program
Program Summary
The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program has a focus onÌýpolitical polarization in the United States. The program asks 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, 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 promise to offer actionable solutions, and the scholar’s plans for communicating the findings to a broad audience.
Carnegie 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 are welcome, provided they offer lessons that can be applied to the United States. Projects based in disciplines across the humanities and social sciences are welcome.
Deadlines
CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST October 6, 2025
Sponsor Application Deadline: 3:00pm MSTNovember 7, 2025
Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)
- Nomination Type: Tenured / Untenured
- Prospectus (3 pages maximum, minimum 12-point font size, double-spaced): Prepared by the nominee, the prospectus should describe the project, including a projected work plan and approximate time frame.
- Dean, Director, Chair Nomination Letter:ÌýFor the purposes of the internal competition, the letter should be from a dean, director or chair and include a brief description of the candidate’s accomplishments and the research proposal’s potential to address political polarization in the United States. Self-nominations are not allowed.
- Nominee’s CV (1 page maximum): The CV should be in bulleted list form; no narrative.
- Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.
To access the online application, visit:
Eligibility
To be eligible, you must be a U.S. citizen or have permanent U.S. residency status and be nominated. Nominees must have a Ph.D., hold a terminal degree, or be a high-level professional working outside of academia. Nominators include heads of independent research institutes and learned societies, university presidents, leaders of some of the nation’s preeminent think tanks, and directors of major publishers, as well as editors of leading newspapers and magazines.
The following are eligible for consideration for a fellowship: scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals.The foundation welcomes candidates holding a terminal degree other than a PhD. The foundation also welcomes candidates with exceptional experience that qualifies them as a senior professional or intellectual.
Candidates who have been nominated for the Fellows Program since the change of focus to polarization (i.e., who were nominated for the 2024 or 2025 fellowships) may not be nominated again during the current three-year period, regardless of who nominated them.
Self-nominations will not be accepted.
Nominations must be approved by the president.
Limited Submission Guidelines
The university is limited to nominating one tenured scholar and one untenured scholar.
Award Information
Award Amount: $200,000
The award may be over a one- or two-year period. During the selected period, you may opt to go on sabbatical for the entirety or for a portion of the fellowship. You may also choose to teach classes part-time and/or to work on the project over the summer.
Review Criteria
Nominations are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Originality and promise of the idea
- Quality of the proposal
- Record of the nominee
- Plans to communicate findings to a broad audience
- Promise to offer solutions to harmful polarization or to enhance social cohesionÌý