The Bradley Graduate and Post-Graduate Fellowship Program is a dedicated part of the Foundation’s grant program that strengthens America’s “intellectual infrastructure” by supporting highly talented graduate students at colleges and universities across the nation. Established in 1986, the program helps to fulfill key prerequisites for liberal education, including to encourage good teaching and to advance quality curricula, while giving students the opportunity to study with excellent professors.

The Foundation invites colleges and universities to participate in the program. They select the students to receive support upon the recommendation of one or more distinguished professors in the humanities and social sciences, and those students are designated Bradley Fellows.

In providing useful assistance to young scholars during a critical phase in their education, Bradley Fellowships make it possible for Fellows to complete their studies, prepare manuscripts for publication, conduct research, and enhance their competitiveness in the job market. Of the thousands of past Bradley Fellows, hundreds are pursuing careers teaching at colleges and universities, with an equal number working at research institutes, and in public service.