Andrew Carnegie Fellows : Awards | Carnegie Corporation of New York

Congratulations to the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Class of 2021!

Each year the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program recognizes a select group of extraordinary scholars and writers who receive philanthropic support for scholarship in the humanities and social sciences that addresses important and enduring issues confronting our society.

The program is a continuation of the mission of Carnegie Corporation of New York, as founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1911, to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. It was established in 2015 under the guidance of the late Vartan Gregorian, who was president of the foundation from 1997 until his death on April 15, 2021, one week after the 2021 fellows were named by the selection jury. Gregorian often noted that an important fellowship early in his career contributed to his success in higher education and then philanthropy. To date, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program has funded a total of 216 scholars, journalists, and authors, with an investment of $43.2 million.

The fellows, who receive $200,000 stipends, are selected by a distinguished panel of jurors, chaired by John J. DeGioia, president of Georgetown University, and comprised of scholars and academic and intellectual leaders from some of the nation’s most prominent educational institutions, foundations, and scholarly societies. The criteria prioritize the originality and potential impact of a proposal, as well as a scholar’s capacity to communicate the findings to a broad audience.

Past fellows have produced a wide range of important titles addressing critical social issues, including bestsellers like Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny and Masha Gessen’s National Book Award–winning The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, among others. For more information about scholarly research supported by the Corporation, explore our historical timeline.