Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program

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. 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. The next class of fellows will be announced in spring 2025.

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.

Focus areas:

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 welcomed providing they offer lessons that can be applied to the United States. Projects based in disciplines across the humanities and social sciences are welcomed.

Evaluation 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 cohesion

Application Instructions

Please submit:

1. A one‐page letter of intent with a description of proposed aims and approach specifically addressing the evaluation criteria.
2. CV (not biosketch) of the PI.
3. A letter of nomination from the Dean or Chair. This letter should indicate whether the faculty member is eligible in the junior or senior (tenured) scholar category. This letter of support signifies that the Dean or Chair have ensured that the nominee and application are likely to be of sufficient quality to be competitive nationally. Please be sure to address the funder’s stated selection criteria.

to limitedsubs@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Thursday, September 12, 2024. If given the go-ahead by the limited submissions review committee, submissions are due to the sponsor 11/8/2024. Faculty with questions about this funding opportunity may contact Andrew Storms (as89@uw.edu) in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.