News and Announcements

Applications Open for the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program

Posted: 2026-09-06 07:53:49   Expiration: 2026-10-02 07:53:49

NDSU will nominate two faculty members for a fellowship that awards up to $200,000 for research on polarization and social cohesion, and internal applications are due Oct. 1.

NDSU has the opportunity to nominate two faculty members for the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program, one of the most prestigious awards in the humanities and social sciences. Fellows receive up to $200,000 to support pathbreaking research. The university will run an internal application process to select its nominees, and proposals are due at 11:59 p.m. CT on Oct. 1.

About the Program

The program plans to award about 30 fellowships of up to $200,000 each in spring 2027 to extraordinary scholars, authors, journalists, and public intellectuals. It supports projects that help Americans understand how and why society has become so polarized and what can be done to strengthen the forces of cohesion.

For the 2027 class, the program has broadened its focus. It remains interested in work centered solely on the U.S. context, but it now also asks what the U.S. can learn from the interplay of polarization and democracy in other countries that might ensure the sustainability of pluralist democracy. Proposals grounded in any field of the humanities or social sciences are welcome, particularly those that address:

  • The relationship between populism and polarization.
  • How democracies have resisted or reversed polarization.
  • The impacts of AI and social media.
  • The conditions under which polarization has declined, become entrenched, or escalated into violence.

Eligibility

Applications are open to all scholars who hold a terminal degree and are citizens or legal residents of the United States. The university will nominate one tenured faculty member and one faculty member who is not tenured.

University Application Process

Applicants submit the following materials:

  • A three- to five-page prospectus describing the proposed work, the potential to offer solutions to harmful polarization or to enhance social cohesion, the originality and promise of the idea, and plans to communicate findings to a broad audience. The prospectus should be double-spaced in a minimum of 12-point font.
  • Budgetary requirements, following the Carnegie budget template.
  • A curriculum vitae, 10 pages maximum.

Fellowships may be used to support such expenses as salary, fringe benefits, project-related travel, research assistants, data collection, and surveys. They will not be awarded to support dissertations, debt repayments, lobbying efforts, the purchase of equipment, or rent.

Submit applications online. Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. CT on Oct. 1.

The Office of Research and Creative Activity is available to assist applicants with budget development. For assistance, contact ndsu.researchdev@ndsu.edu.

Review and Selection

A three-member selection committee will review submissions and recommend the university's nominees 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.

Selected candidates will be notified by Oct. 9.

Nomination Process

Following selection, the Office of Research and Creative Activity will assist the two nominees in refining their proposals to meet the full Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program submission requirements, which include:

  • A three- to five-page prospectus prepared by the nominee describing the proposed research, including a projected work plan and approximate time frame. The prospectus should be double-spaced in a minimum of 12-point font. Jurors will not read any prospectus beyond the five-page limit, though footnotes and a bibliography are excepted.
  • A one-page summary of the prospectus, formatted as above.
  • A description of the project in 75 words or fewer.
  • An estimate of budgetary requirements, using the budget form and instructions provided in the online application.
  • A copy of the nominee's curriculum vitae.
  • A one-page summary of the nominee's curriculum vitae in bulleted format.
  • A short narrative biography of 250 to 400 words for use in media dissemination and on the program's website.

Full proposal packages are due to the Office of the Provost by Friday, Nov. 6.

Additional Information

For additional information on the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program, including details on the budget, criteria, topic, and frequently asked questions, visit the program information page.

Questions

Questions about the internal application process can be directed to Haley Hamel, Director of Operations, at haley.hamel@ndsu.edu. Questions about the fellowship itself can be directed to the program's coordinators at acfellows@carnegie.org.

-- Academic Affairs: Haley Hamel