Emerging Scholars Program
Supports the Emerging Scholars Program, offering full-time research fellowships for public-interest work in the classical-liberal tradition.
The Emerging Scholars Program sits under the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and is based in Arlington, Virginia. It is a full-time fellowship built to cultivate rising public intellectuals who want to pursue ideas-driven work in the classical liberal tradition. Mercatus itself was founded in 1980 and operates as an independent center within George Mason University. The main route is a two-year salaried fellowship with benefits, mentorship, policy analysis training, communications support, and weekly collaborative activity. A one-year Future of Scientific Discovery track runs from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027 and is open for two positions. Applicants may come from academia, policy, journalism, business, or other fields, and Mercatus can sponsor visas case by case. This fellowship fits people with an independent research agenda and a clear public argument to develop over time. The strongest candidates are those who can contribute serious writing, seminar discussion, and multimedia work while staying close to Mercatus's focus on market-oriented thinking and classical liberal ideas. It is a talent-building program first, not a project grant.
Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.