Program Description

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program awards research stipends of up to $200,000 to 30 exceptional scholars, journalists, and authors, making it possible for the fellows to devote their time to significant research. The 2026 Class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows will mark the third year of the program’s focus on building a body of research focused on political polarization. Carnegie has committed up to $18 million to this effort over the three-year period.

Focus topic: 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. Scholars must 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.

Program Timeline: The fellowship must begin on the first of the month between July and September of 2026. It is not possible to defer the start of the fellowship. It must begin no later than September 1, 2026.

The funding is for a period of one or two years with the anticipated result of a book or major study.

The 2026 invitation for nominations has just been announced, with a deadline of 5 p.m. ET Friday, November 7. We are issuing this call–with an internal deadline of September 5, 2025–to allow for ample preparation.UC Irvine has been invited to nominate one tenured scholar and one untenured scholar. Please note that candidates who have been nominated in the past two years are not eligible for candidacy.

Eligibility

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program is open only to citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Candidates must have a Ph.D., hold a terminal degree, or be a high-level professional working outside of academia. Carnegie welcomes candidates holding a terminal degree other than a PhD (e.g., JD, MD, or MFA). Individuals may not apply for the Fellows program via self-nomination.

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

Internal Application Process

To submit your internal application, please apply by 11:59 p.m. PST Friday, Sept. 5 through the UCI Review Site with the following:

Cover Sheet, with name, contact information, and title of project
CV (no more than 3 pages)
Research project summary of two pages detailing your proposal. Please use one-inch margins, single-spacing and 12-point font.

Sponsor Website:
The following link contains additional information on the program and FAQs: https://www.carnegie.org/news/articles/andrew-carnegie-fellows-program-info/#faq

Questions about our internal campus review process may be directed to
Mike Gallo at magallo@uci.edu. Questions about the Carnegie Fellows Program may be directed to Roberta Flores in Corporate and Foundation Relations at r.flores@uci.edu.

To apply for this funding opportunity please visit uci.infoready4.com.