The Elinor Ostrom Fellowship is a one-year, competitive 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 this fellowship is to expose students to the themes of markets, culture, morality, and sociality within the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy and to provide them with the tools needed to utilize this framework in academic research that explore these themes. Elinor Ostrom Fellows spend three weekends during the academic year participating in colloquia on these three 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 Elinor Ostrom Fellowship.
To apply to the Elinor Ostrom Fellowship, click the "Apply" button above or below, and complete the online application, including:
A 1-2 page cover letter explainingL
your graduate school career to date,
your research interests and current projects, and
how your research and current projects would benefit from a greater understanding of the themes of markets, culture, morality, and sociality within the Austrian, Virginia and Bloomington schools of political economy
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.
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 participation in the program are strongly encouraged to apply.
Yes. PhD students from any discipline who have a research or teaching interest in the themes of markets, culture, morality, and sociality and who 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 abroad, is eligible to apply for the Elinor Ostrom 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 Elinor Ostrom Fellowship Program.
Elinor Ostrom fellows are required to remain enrolled as a degree-seeking doctoral student throughout their participation in the Elinor Ostrom Fellowship Program, attend and actively participate in all aspects of the scheduled program of events (i.e., three weekend colloquia) including meals and organized social activities, arrive on time and prepared for each colloquia session having carefully read the assigned reading in advance, and be honest, responsible, fair, and civil in all activities of the Elinor Ostrom Fellowship Program.
The terms of the Elinor Ostrom Fellowship carry with them the expectation that fellows will be substantially involved in the entirety of the formal colloquium schedule as well as the activities, including meals and hospitality, that are scheduled as part of the conference program. This expectation exists because conversations about the readings and the discussions in the colloquium sessions invariably continue beyond the time allotted by the program schedule. We also strongly encourage the fellows to interact with each other and faculty participants about their own and each other’s academic work and how it relates to the themes discussed in sessions. Consequently, in order to ensure that every fellow gets the most out of the experience, all fellows are required to lodge at the conference site and to be present for the entirety of the scheduled program.
Colloquium dates are subject to some variability. Exact dates will be confirmed during the summer preceding participation in the program.
For weekend colloquia, fellows should plan to arrive at the conference hotel prior to 5pm on the Thursday that commences the colloquium; fellows are free to leave at their convenience on Sunday morning when the colloquium adjourns.
Fellows are responsible for maintaining an up-to-date record with the program of a valid postal address to which packages can be shipped. Readings will be distributed both by email and by post 2 months in advance of each colloquium.
Fellows may submit for reimbursement any conventional expenses associated with academic travel. These expenses include cab fare and mileage incurred by the fellow to and from home and the conference site, parking, and hotel accommodation in the event of travel delays.
Yes.
Yes, fellowship recipients are eligible to re-apply to the Elinor Ostrom Fellowship each year of their studies. Doctoral students may also be eligible for the Adam Smith Fellowship, Oskar Morgenstern Fellowship, Frédéric Bastiat Fellowship, and Don Lavoie Fellowship.
Elinor Ostrom was a founder of the Bloomington school of political economy (also having developed the Institutional Analysis and Development framework) which explores the institutional arrangements or structures that enable communities to overcome their social dilemmas and problems on their own. Central to this school of thought are concepts of self-governance and polycentricity. E. Ostrom earned her PhD in political science from University of California, Los Angeles and was a co-recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 2009 for “for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons.” She co-founded what is now called the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University, Bloomington and was a Professor of Political Science at Indiana University from 1974 until her death in 2012.
Email [email protected] regarding general questions about the fellowship or questions about your application status or application materials.
