The Carl Menger Fellowship is a one-year, competitive, and online fellowship program awarded to PhD students from any university and any discipline, including but not limited to economics, philosophy, political science, and sociology.
The aim of these fellowships is to introduce students to and encourage them to critically engage key thinkers in political economy that they might not otherwise encounter during their graduate studies. As such, Carl Menger Fellows meet nine times over the fellowship year, participating in online seminar discussions on the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy. Fellows will join a network of Mercatus students, alumni, and scholars who are conducting and engaging with cutting edge research in contemporary political economy.
Students who meet all of the following 3 criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
Yes. Acceptance to the program is conditional on enrollment in an accredited PhD program during the year of participation in the Carl Menger Fellowship program.
To apply to the Carl Menger Fellowship, click the “Apply” button above or below, and complete the online application, including:
A 1-2 page cover letter explaining:
your graduate school career to date,
your research interests and current projects,
your familiarity with the thinkers associated with the Austrian, Virginian, and Bloomington schools of political economy, and
what you hope to get out of the program.
A current resume/CV
A few short answer questions
Application review will begin after the deadline, and decisions will begin to be announced twelve or more weeks after the deadline.
The fellowship involves monthly online colloquia where fellows read and discuss key ideas and themes within Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy, also known as mainline political economy. Fellows are provided further, optional opportunities to engage, learn and discuss these ideas and themes with their peers through an online discussion forum where additional material (videos, podcast episodes, journal articles and the like) will be shared.
Carl Menger Fellows are required to have internet access to participate.
Specific dates are subject to some variability and are only communicated to successful applicants. Historically, fellows meet roughly once a month for a total of 9 colloquia during the fellowship year.
Yes. It is the responsibility of the applicant to determine whether work related to completing a dissertation or going on the job market will interfere with full involvement in the program. Applicants who can commit to full particpation in the program are strongly encouraged to apply.
Yes. PhD students from any discipline who have a research or teaching interest that would benefit from a greater understanding of key writings in political economy are strongly encouraged to apply.
Any student of any nationality enrolled in any doctoral program at any university, in the US or elsewhere, is eligible to apply for the Carl Menger Fellowship. The program will arrange and cover airfare, as well as lodging and meals associated with the fellowship.
Each fellow is responsible for making the appropriate verifications of their eligibility to receive funding from the Mercatus Center. Fellows should check with their home departments, international student offices, or private foundations (as appropriate) to verify their eligibility. Fellows are responsible for any applicable taxes on the honoraria provided through the Carl Menger Fellowship.
Carl Menger Fellows are required to remain enrolled as a degree seeking doctoral student throughout their participation in the Carl Menger Fellowship program, fully attend and actively participate in all aspects of the scheduled program of events (i.e., the nine online one-day colloquia), arrive on time and prepared for each colloquia session having carefully read the assigned reading in advance, keep their webcams turned on during every colloquium, and behave professionally in all activities of the Carl Menger Fellowship program.
Fellows are responsible for maintaining an up-to-date record with the program of a valid postal address to which packages can be shipped. Required readings will be distributed by email one month in advance of each colloquium and supplemental books associated with the required readings will be distributed by post in advance of each colloquium.
Yes.
Yes, fellowship recipients are eligible to re-apply to the Carl Menger Fellowship each year of their studies. Doctoral students may also be eligible for the Adam Smith Fellowship, Oskar Morgenstern Fellowship, Frédéric Bastiat Fellowship, Elinor Ostrom Fellowship, Ronald Coase Fellowship, and Don Lavoie Fellowship.
Carl Menger is widely recognized as the founder of the Austrian school of economics and a key figure in the development of marginalism (also referred to as the marginal revolution). He challenged the then-prevailing theories of value and price and argued that people made decisions at the margin and that price was determined at the margin. His major works include Principles of Economics (1871), Investigations into the Method of the Social Sciences (1883) and “On the Origin of Money” (1892). He taught at the University of Vienna as a professor of political economy from 1872 until 1903.
Email [email protected] regarding general questions about the fellowship or questions about your application status or application materials.
