Fellowship Overview
The deadline to apply has passed, but there’s still time to apply for the Hayek Fund for Future Scholars which reimburses graduate school application fees and the Hayek Fund for Scholars which awards up to $750 for graduate student research or conference fees.
If you applied, decisions will be announced on May 1st via email.
The Humane Studies Fellowship (HSF) program provides more than just monetary awards. The fellowships connect winners to a support network to guide them through a successful career in academia. Humane Studies Fellowships are awarded to full-time graduate students embarking on liberty-advancing careers in ideas. The fellowships support study in a variety of fields, including economics, philosophy, law, political science, history, and sociology.
Awards range from $2,000 to $15,000 and fellowship winners may re-apply for each year of their studies. In 2012, the Institute for Humane Studies awarded more than $800,000 to over 200 students. Fellowship winners are also preferred candidates for IHS invitation-only programs such as our Career Development Seminars, which help students think strategically about how to succeed in academia, our Colloquia to discuss and refine the fellows’ research, and our Summer Graduate Research Fellowship, a non-residential research and writing program that provides participants with the opportunity to complete a publishable scholarly article.
HSF is open to full-time and prospective graduate students, including law students.
Research Interests
Past fellows have researched historical and contemporary ideas on freedom of action and association and the rule of law. Some notable research interests include:
- market-based approaches to environmental policy
- the legal development of privacy and property rights in 18th-century England
- the role of patient autonomy in bioethics
- impediments to economic growth in developing countries
- the relationship between U.S. presidential politics, fiscal policies, and economic performance
Exceptional candidates with an evident intention of advancing liberty through other intellectual activities, such as teaching, policy analysis, and law, will also be considered.
A Network of Intellectuals
Fellows join a network of more than 1,400 scholars and students, including David Schmidtz at the University of Arizona, Tyler Cowen at George Mason University, and Randall Kroszner at the University of Chicago. Fellows consistently credit the program with providing support and inspiration beyond the financial award:
“The Humane Studies Fellowship put me in touch with a community of people who have, throughout the years, given me good advice and encouragement.” Tom Bell, Professor of Law, Chapman University School of Law (listen to interview)
