The application period for the 2026-2027 Faculty Grant Opportunity has closed.
Award announcements will be made in May or June.
Read about recipients from past years:
About the CPE Faculty Grants
The Center for Political Economy annually offers one-year grants to support research and network building within the broad field of political economy.
Topics
The grants will support work that aligns with the Center’s five Idea Labs or the cross-cutting theme of Political Economy and Democracy.
- Work and Labor focuses on the empirical study of labor and labor markets, including collective worker action and the future of domestic and international labor movements.
- Firms and Industrial Policy seeks to strengthen the knowledge base for smart industrial policy through explorations of firm behavior, drivers of innovation and technology adoption, conceptual issues in the design of industrial policies, and practical issues faced in implementation.
- Money and Finance explores the relation of money and finance both in theoretical terms and in institutional configurations, including the design of financial intermediaries and their relation to central banks and financial market regulators.
- Political Economy of Climate focuses on fostering synergies around climate fairness and environmental justice, international collaboration or lack thereof, interests shaping the effectiveness of energy transition, and political constraints on environmental (especially climate) policies.
- International Political Economy analyzes the intersection of international economics and international politics, including the politics of international money, finance, trade, and migration, and the interaction of international economics and geopolitics.
- Political Economy and Democracy examines challenges emanating from the relationship between economic structures and democratic politics, such as economic and political inequalities and polarization and challenges to democratic institutions and processes.
In evaluating proposals, Center faculty reviewers will prioritize collaborative and multidisciplinary initiatives with the potential to break new ground in understanding the intersections of economics and political and social processes in the US and elsewhere and advancing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological innovation. The Center is interested in supporting work by early-career faculty, and projects involving collaboration across schools and departments.
Awards ranging from $10,000 to $60,000 will be offered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, full-time faculty from all Columbia University schools and affiliates are invited to apply.
Research scientists of any rank are not eligible to apply as principal investigators. They may serve as collaborators to one or more applications, however.
Collaborators may include other faculty members, research scientists, and external partners such as organizations and individuals from the nonprofit, higher education, public, or private sector.
Full-time, assistant and associate professors who have received their highest academic degree within the last 10 years. While applications from early-career faculty are encouraged, all full-time CU faculty are eligible for CPE faculty grants.
Yes, individual faculty members may apply; however, CPE is principally interested in supporting projects that are interdisciplinary and involve applicants from multiple departments and schools. Please note: each proposal must have an identified Principal Investigator (PI). The full administrative and fiscal responsibility and management of the project resides with the Principal Investigator named in the award.
The application cycle opens on Dec. 10, 2025, and closes on March 23, 2026, at 5 p.m. EST. Grantees will be notified in May 2026.
No, you may return to the application as many times as needed until the application deadline. Once your application is submitted, no additional changes can be made.
The Center will prioritize proposals with the potential to break new ground in understanding the intersection of economies and political and social processes in the US. However, projects may be domestic, international, or comparative in focus.
Idea labs are organizing units within the Center for Political Economy that aim to advance new thinking, affect graduate training and serve as intellectual and policy incubators. Each idea lab explores a distinct theme and acts as a key mobilizer and network node of Columbia faculty and students engaged with its topical focus.
The executive summary must be limited to 350 words. The proposal narrative is limited to 3,000 words, excluding references. All proposals must be submitted via CPE’s submission platform.
Grants will support research and convening activities. The funds will cover a wide range of expenses. For example, they might be utilized to:
- Purchase data or computing resources
- Hire student research assistants and consultants
- Cover honoraria and logistical costs for workshops and conferences
- Cover domestic and/or international travel
- Purchase supplies and equipment
- Enable subcontracts with external organizations for research activities
Funds cannot be used to support a portion of Columbia University faculty salaries.
Grant funds must be used completely during the 12-month award period. The next award period will run from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027.
Each grantee is expected to actively engage with the Center. This may include producing publications, presenting project outcomes at conferences and workshops, and working with Center staff and postdoctoral research scholars on related engagements.
In reviewing proposals, a grant selection committee will prioritize collaborative and multidisciplinary initiatives with the potential to break new ground in understanding the intersection of economies and political and social processes in the U.S. and elsewhere and advancing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological innovation. The Center will have discretion on the final grant amounts awarded.
Please send us an email with your question.