Apply Now for the 2025–26 Woodhouse Public Policy Fellowship: Shaping Conservative Leadership in Public Policy
Applications are actually open for the 2025–26 Woodhouse Public Policy Fellowship, an intensive year-long skilled and educational improvement program designed to domesticate the subsequent technology of leaders in conservative public coverage. Organized by The Fund for American Studies (TFAS), the Fellowship offers younger professionals working in Washington, D.C., with a novel platform to discover foundational concepts, have interaction in substantive debate, and construct lasting relationships with friends and mentors who share a dedication to the ideas of restricted authorities and ordered liberty.
The Fellowship will run from September 2025 to May 2026, with functions due by June 15, 2025.
A Legacy of Leadership
The Woodhouse Public Policy Fellowship was beforehand often known as the TFAS Public Policy Fellowship, which, for over 15 years, has helped form greater than 250 rising coverage leaders throughout the United States. In 2024, a landmark $1 million endowment from philanthropist Marilyn Woodhouse renamed the program in honor of her household’s legacy and made potential the continued progress and enlargement of the initiative.
This beneficiant reward underscores TFAS’s long-standing dedication to making ready professionals to thoughtfully and successfully have interaction with the enduring questions at the coronary heart of American governance.
2025–26 Curriculum Theme: “What is Conservatism?”
Each yr, the Fellowship facilities round a key mental theme. For the 2025–26 cycle, Fellows will delve into the query: “What is conservatism?” Participants will discover how main conservative thinkers of the post-war period—resembling F.A. Hayek, Russell Kirk, Frank Meyer, William F. Buckley Jr., and Wilhelm Röpke—tried to reconcile the tensions between freedom and order in shaping American public coverage.
The curriculum locations a particular give attention to fusionism, the mental custom that seeks to mix classical liberalism and conventional conservatism, significantly because it pertains to America’s founding ideas and up to date challenges.
Program Components
The Fellowship blends educational enrichment, networking, and experiential studying to foster each skilled and private progress. Key parts embrace:
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Monthly Speaker Sessions
Fellows attend night discussions with teachers, coverage consultants, and political leaders. Topics vary from Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty to Röpke’s A Humane Economy and Buckley’s imaginative and prescient of political journalism. -
Fall Retreat at the Russell Kirk Center
In October, Fellows will journey to Mecosta, Michigan, to discover Russell Kirk’s seminal work, The Roots of American Order. These discussions happen in the home of one among conservatism’s most influential thinkers and are grounded in debates round order, advantage, and custom in American society. -
Spring Retreat in Philadelphia
In early 2026, Fellows will collect in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution, to interact in a deep studying of The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers and their modern-day relevance in American republicanism. -
Opening and Closing Events
The Fellowship begins with a Welcome Reception on September 18, 2025, and a high-profile Opening Speaker Event on September 19, setting the tone for the yr forward. The program concludes with a Closing Dinner in May 2026. -
Ongoing Engagement
In addition to the structured educational periods, Fellows construct peer-to-peer relationships via casual gatherings, alumni networking occasions, {and professional} mentorship.
Eligibility Criteria
The Fellowship is extremely aggressive and is designed for younger professionals with as much as ten years of expertise. Graduate college students might apply, however desire is given to candidates presently working in public coverage in the Washington, D.C., space.
Applicants should:
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Be primarily based in Washington, D.C., and work in a public policy-related area
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Demonstrate a dedication to restricted authorities, particular person liberty, and constitutional ideas
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Be obtainable to attend month-to-month night periods (Tuesdays, 6:30–8:30 p.m.)
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Participate in each the fall and spring weekend retreats
Application and Contact Information
Interested candidates should submit their application by June 15, 2025.
For questions or additional info, contact:
Hannah Florence
Program Manager, Continuing Education
hflorence@tfas.org
For extra info, go to The Fund for American Studies web site.
Why Apply?
The Woodhouse Public Policy Fellowship isn’t just an academic alternative—it’s an opportunity to form the way forward for public coverage by grounding your work in enduring ideas and fascinating with a neighborhood of like-minded leaders. As American political discourse continues to evolve, the Fellowship gives an area to critically study conservative concepts, strengthen private convictions, and equip your self with the mental instruments essential to handle trendy governance challenges.
Whether you might be navigating the legislative course of, shaping coverage in a assume tank, working in federal companies, or contributing to media and academia, the Woodhouse Fellowship will deepen your understanding of political philosophy and sharpen your affect in the public sq..
For extra particulars on different management alternatives, go to Opportunities for Youth.
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Apply Now for the 2025–26 Woodhouse Public Policy Fellowship: Shaping Conservative Leadership in Public Policy