CALL FOR PROPOSALS: 2027 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program

reposted from CARAT

Dear CAHSS faculty member,

We invite you to submit a proposal to be nominated for the 2027 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program competition, sponsored by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Details are below.

• The purpose of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program is to support high-caliber scholarship in the social sciences and humanities. The 2027 program expects to provide fellowships of $200,000 to 30 exceptional scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals. The funding is for a period of either one or two years, with the anticipated result being a book or major study.

• The 2027 call for applications is on the theme of political polarization. For the next three years, beginning with the 2027 cohort, the Carnegie Fellows Program will be broadening the focus beyond domestic perspectives to explicitly ask what the U.S. can learn from the experience of polarization in other countries.  The program is 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. These conditions may include but are not limited to 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.
• UMBC may nominate two scholars for the competition: one tenured and one senior untenured (i.e. teaching professors and professors of the practice). Candidates must have a Ph.D. or hold a terminal degree in their field. Untenured candidates will need to become PI Eligible through the exception process, which requires a letter from the Dean or ADR explaining that the faculty has undertaken significant research during their appointment at UMBC.

• Andrew Carnegie Fellowships are open only to citizens or permanent residents of the United States.
• Candidates who were nominated for the Fellows Program in any cycle up to and including 2026 are allowed to apply again one time during this next three-year cycle (through 2029). Candidates for 2027 will not be eligible to be nominated again (regardless of who nominates them) in 2028 or 2029.

Please keep in mind that Carnegie seeks projects that will be written to communicate with a broad audience. You may find it useful to browse the projects that were awarded last year and read through a study of their focus and potential impact since the theme (political polarization in the U.S.) is unchanged.

The Carnegie jury will evaluate nominations by the following criteria:

• Originality and promise of the idea
• Quality of the proposal
• Promise to offer means to reduce harmful polarization or to enhance social cohesion
• Record of the nominee
• Plans to communicate findings to a broad audience

If you are interested in being considered for the internal competition, please EMAIL the following application materials to:

Carnegi.bs0ulrhjc4r5p385@u.box.com by 5 pm EDT on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

We urge you to contact CARAT Director Marc Ruppel (mruppel@umbc.edu) as soon as possible to discuss your proposal.

Your application materials must include:

1)  A 3-5 page, double-spaced prospectus describing the project, including a projected work plan and approximate time frame. Fellowships will be for either 12 or 24 months and must begin on the first of the month between July and September of 2027, and no later than September 1, 2027.

Note: The Carnegie program allows flexibility in how you manage your time commitment. You may opt for a regular fellowship leave or decide to teach part-time during the semester while working full-time on your project during the summer. 

2) Curriculum vitae

3) Estimate of budgetary requirement for a one- or two-year project. Funds may support:

• Salary and fringe benefits
• Project-related travel (research, conferences)
• Research assistants (hourly or stipend)
• Other project needs (i.e., data collection, surveys, transcription, project supplies and a consultant or contractual service)

The Dean's Office will convene a panel to review the applications and select one or two scholars to recommend to the President as UMBC's nominee(s) by October 21st. The nominee(s) will work with CARAT to complete the application process and to forward all materials to the President's Office by October 29th. A letter of nomination from President Sheares Ashby is required for the application. Applications must be submitted to the Carnegie Corporation of New York by November 13, 2026 (5:00 P.M. EST).

For additional questions, please contact Associate Dean Eric Stokan (estokan@umbc.edu) or Marc Ruppel, Director of CARAT (mruppel@umbc.edu.