URL: https://carnegie.org/our-work/special-projects/andrew-carnegie-fellows/
Objectives
The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program supports high-caliber scholarship in the social sciences and humanities that addresses important and enduring issues confronting our society. Beginning with the 2027 cohort, the foundation will fund research that explicitly asks what the U.S. can learn from the experience of polarization in other countries. Political polarization is characterized by factors such as threats to free speech, the decline of civil discourse, disagreement over basic facts, and a lack of mutual understanding and collaboration.
The program seeks proposals that address the relationship between populism and polarization, how other democracies have resisted or reversed polarization, and the conditions that determine whether polarization dissipates or accelerates into systemic violence. Examples of these conditions include civic culture, social cohesion, access to information and a healthy information environment, economic opportunity, trust in and the effective functioning of public institutions, and the rule of law.
Some of the questions that Fellows could explore are:
- What has been the relationship between populism and polarization in other countries?
- How have some countries managed to avoid polarization?
- What can we learn from countries that have undergone periods of polarization, such as South Africa, Colombia, and Northern Ireland?
- Under what conditions has polarization escalated into political violence?
- Under what conditions has polarization taken root/accelerated/declined in other countries?
The Foundation prioritizes the originality and potential impact of proposals as well as the applicant’s capacity to communicate findings to a broad audience. Interested applicants can review the list of past Fellows.
Funding Information
Up to $200,000 over 2-year research project.
Eligibility
Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States and nominated by an eligible nominator at an invited institution. 2027 begins a new three-year cycle of the fellowship. If you were a candidate in 2026 or any previous year, you are eligible to apply again only once between 2027 and 2029.
Candidates must hold a PhD or a terminal degree or have exceptional experience that qualifies them as a senior professional or intellectual. BU may submit one nomination for each of the following categories:
- Junior scholars: untenured
- Senior scholars: tenured
Candidates must be nominated by an eligible nominator, which includes university presidents, chancellors, and provosts. Deans are not eligible nominators. Other nominators include the heads of university presses, learned societies, think tanks, or newspapers.
Internal Selection Process
BU is invited to nominate one senior and one junior faculty member (2 nominees total).
Candidates interested in being nominated should submit the following materials via InfoReady Review by: 9/21/2026
- Project Statement (2 pages max) describing the proposed project, particularly how the research results will offer solutions to polarization and/or enhance social cohesion, and how the findings will be communicated to a broad audience. Citations/references may be included on one additional page
- Curated CV to address the proposal and mission of the Fellowship Program
A faculty committee will review internal proposals and submit nominees to be approved by President Gilliam and the Ken Lutchen, Vice President and Associate Provost of Research. Foundation Relations will work with the nominees to develop and submit the nomination letter and applicant materials by 11/13/2026.
Deadlines
Internal Materials Due: Monday, September 21, 2026
Anticipated Notification Date: Friday, October 16, 2026
External Materials Due: Friday, November 13, 2026