Fund Your Research. Advance Ideas That Matter.
Each year, IHS offers $4+ million dollars in highly competitive grants for research and teaching in our areas of focus. One hundred percent of our funding goes to helping you deepen and expand the frontiers of your discipline. Request a free guide to our application process →
Submit your information to receive our Funding Application Guide.
Requests for Proposals
The Institute for Humane Studies is seeking proposals for funding in several areas of interest pointing toward a future of abundance, progress, and freedom.
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Energy Innovation
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Debating AI Existential Risk
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Balance of Powers in the US
Flexible Teaching and Research Funding
Graduate Student Funding
IHS supports PhD students and postdoctoral fellows with grants awarded on a rolling basis:
Academic Mentorship
PhD Students and Candidates for the 2026–2027 Academic Year
Grant Amount
Up to $8,000
Junior Fellowships
Junior Fellowships are invitation-only awards to help leading PhD students commit their summers to discipline-defining research.
Roger Pilon Fellowship
Grant Amount
$10,000
The Roger Pilon Fellowship awards $10,000 grants for the next academic year to up to two qualified Columbia University School of General Studies students selected each year by IHS.
The grant is paid to the winner’s account at Columbia University after the winner attends an IHS event (winners will receive information about upcoming IHS events) and after IHS receives notice from Columbia that the winner has registered for the fall 2023 semester.
The priority deadline for applications for the fall 2023 semester is September 15, 2023. Notice of fall semester awards will be given on September 29, 2023. Applications submitted after September 15, 2023, will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
We also encourage you to explore other funding opportunities from IHS.
More About the Roger Pilon Fellowship:
The Roger Pilon Fellowship is generously supported by Roger Pilon, PhD JD (GS, 1971), and administered by the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS), which works to achieve a freer, more humane, and open society by connecting and supporting talented graduate students, scholars, and other intellectuals who develop and apply classical liberal ideas. The fellowships are intended for students planning careers that advance the ideas of the classical liberal tradition.
Am I eligible?
The Roger Pilon Fellowship is open to full-time students who will be enrolled at Columbia University’s School of General Studies during the 2023–2024 academic year. The fellowships are intended for students who plan to pursue either:
- Academic careers in political philosophy, American history, economics, or law, or
- Legal careers practicing public-interest law in the classical liberal tradition.
Veterans of US armed forces will receive special consideration.
What do I need to complete the application?
A completed online application form will include:
- CV or resume.
- Official transcript from Columbia University‘s School of General Studies (prospective students may submit their most recent transcript from a previous institution).
- Short essays on the following:
- List four books or thinkers that have influenced your worldview, and explain why (<100 words each).
- Autobiographical sketch (<500 words).
- Discuss your understanding of the U.S. Constitution (<1,000 words).
- Discuss your career plans, including why you have chosen them (<500 words).
- One letter of recommendation, sent from the recommender directly to the Institute for Humane Studies.
Please direct any questions and letters of recommendation to Funding@TheIHS.org.
