Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program 2027

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program provides philanthropic support for scholarship in the humanities and social sciences that addresses important and enduring issues confronting our society, with a special emphasis on political polarization. 

In spring 2027, the Foundation plans once more to award around 30 fellowships of up to $200,000 each to extraordinary scholars, authors, journalists, and public intellectuals. 

Focus area: 

For the 2027 class, the Foundation is broadening the focus of the Fellows Program. The goal remains to help Americans understand how and why society has become so polarized and what can be done to strengthen the forces of cohesion. While the Foundation remains interested in work focused solely on the US context, it now also asks what the US can learn from the interplay of polarization and democracy in other countries that might ensure the sustainability of pluralist democracy. Studies of polarization in other countries should offer lessons that can be applied to the United States. 

Carnegie is seeking proposals which address the relationship between populism and polarization, how democracies have resisted or reversed polarization, the impacts of AI and social media, 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. 

Questions to explore include (but are not limited to):

• 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? 

Proposals grounded in any field of the humanities or social sciences for solutions-focused, pathbreaking research which may be relevant to polarization and social cohesion in America today are welcomed.

Evaluation criteria:

• Originality and promise of the idea
• Quality of the proposal
• Promise to offer solutions to harmful polarization or to enhance social cohesion
• Record of the nominee
• Plans to communicate findings to a broad audience beyond the candidate’s own academic discipline 

Eligibility Requirements

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program is open only to citizens or legal residents of the United States who have been nominated by the head of an institution designated by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation.  

Candidates must have a PhD, hold a terminal degree, or be a high-level professional working outside of academia.  

Individuals may not apply for the Fellows program via self-nomination.  

2027 begins a new three-year cycle of the fellowship. Candidates in 2026 or any previous year are eligible to apply again — only once — between 2027 and 2029. 

Application Instructions

Please submit as one combined pdf labeled with PI’s Lastname, Firstname: 

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 tenured or untenured category. This letter of support signifies that the Dean or Chair has 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 Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Late submissions will not be considered. If given the go-ahead by the limited submissions review committee, submissions are due to the sponsor 11/13/2025. Faculty with questions about this funding opportunity may contact Sumathi Raghavan (sumathi@uw.edu) and Andrew Storms (as89@uw.edu) in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.