The Mercatus Center is committed to developing classical liberal talent. That means we support people who bring intellectual firepower to policy debate, public discourse, academic inquiry, and economic analysis. We want brilliant people doing brilliant work, and we want to help them break through.
That is why we’ve created several programs and fellowships aimed at doing just that.
Emerging Scholars Program
Our flagship program is for aspiring public intellectuals, academic researchers, and policy thinkers. Emerging Scholars gain mentorship, training, and a cohort of peers who are serious about ideas and impact.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with the next cohort set to begin in September 2026—early interest is encouraged.
The 1991 Fellowship
This initiative is a year-long fellowship
designed to equip talented students and early-career professionals based in India with the tools needed to engage productively in policy and public discourse. The program is grounded in political economy and classical liberal ideas. Applications close February 28, 2026.
Ideas at Work: A Summer Internship Program
To be honest, I’ve long found internships to be less than thrilling. But Devin Scanlon and Veronique de Rugy have turned me around. They created our internship program for undergraduate and graduate students to get hands-on experience working alongside Mercatus scholars and staff on research, policy, and communications projects grounded in the real world. Applications for summer internships are competitive and must be submitted by April 1, 2026.
Student and Doctoral Fellowships
Mercatus also runs a broad portfolio of fellowships
for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. Some programs introduce participants to political economy and prepare them for deeper engagement; others provide selective, career-shaping support for students already advancing serious research or policy work. These include programs such as the Don Lavoie, Adam Smith, Carl Menger, Elinor Ostrom, Graduate Scholars fellowships and many others. Application deadlines vary by fellowship, with most closing in early 2026. If you aren’t sure which fellowship is right for you, take
this survey.
Hardly any institutions teach the ideas that we teach. We are the pre-eminent institution for advancing the study of mainline economics.
If you know someone who should be part of the next generation of serious thinkers, please pass this newsletter along. If that person is you, we encourage you to apply. We are always looking for people ready to step up their game.
Ben Brophy Vice President, Strategic Engagement
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Topics & Issues
In The Pursuit of Liberalism, Revana Sharfuddin calls us to evaluate policies on their merits rather than on the basis of the political tribe advancing them.
In “Laffer Curves are Flat,” Jack Salmon highlights a new research warning that higher tax rates for top earners are a weak substitute for real spending restraint in tackling debt.
Josh Rowley reminds us of another 250th anniversary: Adam Smith’s publication of The Wealth of Nations. Here’s how he’ll be celebrating it.
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