Andrew Carnegie Fellows

The 2026 Class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows marked the third year of the program’s focus on building a body of research focused on political polarization. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation, formerly Carnegie Corporation of New York, committed up to $18 million to this effort over the three-year period, helping Americans understand how and why our society has become so polarized and what can be done to strengthen social cohesion. 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. Each fellow receives a grant of up to $200,000 to support their two-year research project, enabling them to devote significant time and resources to their work.

Expanded Focus

For the next three years, beginning with the 2027 cohort, we are broadening the focus beyond domestic perspectives to explicitly ask what the U.S. can learn from the experience of polarization in other countries. We are seeking 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 we would like to 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 criteria for selection prioritize the originality and potential impact of the proposal, as well as the capacity to communicate the findings to a broad audience. The fellows are selected by a distinguished panel of jurors, chaired by Dame Louise Richardson, president of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, and comprising scholars and academic and intellectual leaders from some of the nation’s most prominent educational institutions, foundations, and scholarly societies.

The fellows program is a continuation of the mission of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 as Carnegie Corporation of New York. Today the foundation works to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and peace.

Please see our frequently asked questions for eligibility requirements.

Eligibility

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. Along with presidents, chancellors, and provosts of universities, nominators include heads of independent research institutes and learned societies, leaders of some of the nation’s preeminent think tanks, and directors of academic presses, as well as editors of leading newspapers and magazines. All nominators must include in their letter of nomination two to three sentences on the institution’s internal candidate selection process. Individuals may not apply for the fellows program via self-nomination. 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.

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program prohibits a fellowship winner from accepting a fellowship of equal caliber or at a comparable level of funding that overlaps the same timeline as the Carnegie fellowship, especially awards that have specific time requirements. However, smaller grants and project support are acceptable on a case-by-case basis.

Criteria

Nominations are evaluated by the jury based on the following 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

Topic

The foundation anticipates that the work of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program will explore the many ways political polarization in the United States and abroad manifests itself in society and suggest ways that it may be mitigated. Studies of polarization in other countries should offer lessons that can be applied to the United States, such as:

• 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?

Projects based in disciplines across the humanities and social sciences are welcomed.