MacArthur Fellows Program

MacArthur Fellows Program, grant program administered by the MacArthur Foundation in which money is awarded to talented individuals from a broad range of fields. Recipients of the stipends, which are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and are unofficially known as “genius grants,” are free to spend them as they please. Only U.S. citizens or residents are eligible for the grants, which are announced annually.

The MacArthur Fellows Program differs from most philanthropic foundation grant programs in that prospective beneficiaries do not submit an application. Instead, a large group of invited nominators proposes worthy individuals to a selection committee that makes the final choice, subject to approval by the foundation’s board of directors. The nominators’ and selectors’ names are kept secret during their terms of service, and new fellows are typically unaware that they are being considered until they are notified of their selection. Between 20 and 30 new fellows are chosen in a typical year. Recipients do not get a lump sum but instead receive periodic payments over a five-year term.

The fellows program was created at the MacArthur Foundation largely at the instigation of J. Roderick MacArthur, son of the cofounders. Credit for organizing the program has been given to F. Champion Ward, an educator who served as consultant to the foundation from 1978 to 1981. The program was created not to reward innovators for their past work, but to foster continued innovation by removing financial impediments. In the early years of the program, older fellows got larger grants than younger recipients, on the assumption that more money was needed to make a difference in an older person’s life. In 1981, the first year of the program, the youngest fellows received $120,000 (over five years), while the oldest was given $300,000. As of 2000, the amount of the grant was made uniform for recipients of any age. In 2022 it amounted to $800,000.