The James Buchanan Fellowship 2024/2025 for early-career scholars.

Application Deadline: April 15, 2024.

To introduce early-career scholars to the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy.

The James Buchanan Fellowship is a one-year, competitive fellowship program awarded to scholars in any discipline who have recently graduated from their doctoral programs. The aim of this fellowship is to encourage early-career scholars to critically engage ideas in the political economy of Adam Smith and the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy. In addition, James Buchanan Fellows will be introduced to contemporary applications of these ideas to questions in social sciences dealing with the dynamics and institutional underpinnings of economic, political, and social coordination.

James Buchanan Fellows spend three weekends in residence at George Mason University (Fairfax, VA) during the academic year participating in discussions on mainline political economy. Each colloquium is structured around a set of readings and includes discussion sessions, lectures, formal meals, and hospitality. Hayek Program scholars, affiliated scholars, and alumni of our James Buchanan Fellowship serve as discussion leaders and participants during the colloquia. Fellows will join a network of Mercatus students, alumni, and scholars who are conducting and engaging with cutting-edge research in contemporary political economy and are eligible to apply for conference and research funding.

Qualifications

In order to be accepted into the James Buchanan Fellowship program, you must:

• Have graduated within the last six years from a doctoral program 
• Have an academic position at an accredited university and/or a research position with an organization dedicated to in-depth research in social sciences and other sciences

Benefits

The total award of up to $8,000 includes: 

• A stipend
• All required reading materials
• Travel and lodging to attend colloquia hosted by the Mercatus Center

How to Apply

complete the online application, including:

• A 1-2 page cover letter explaining:
  • your graduate school career to date,
  • your academic career goals,
  • your research interests and current projects,
  • your familiarity with the thinkers associated with the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy, and
  • what you hope to get out of the program.
• A current resume/CV
• A list of resent academic publications, if any
• A few short answer questions