The Madison Fellowship is a ten-month long educational program for serious professionals who want both a deeper understanding of our current political predicament and a sharper view of what is needed to revitalize our American republic.
Madison Fellows meet about once a month in off-the-record evening salons at our D.C. campus for frank discussion and study of the central threats confronting the country. The setting is relaxed and convivial; the discussions are intense and thought-provoking. It’s a welcome step back from the daily fire drill—and willful ignorance—that is too often professional life in our nation’s capital.
Having completed the ten-month long program, the new Madison Fellows will join the extensive and growing network of Hillsdale program alumni actively committed to restoring American self-government.
If you have a passion for returning America to its constitutional roots and desire to learn more about this unique intellectual community, we invite you to complete an application. Applications for the Fellowship open each spring.
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After an initial weekend of fellowship and discussion focused on an assessment of the current American regime, in light of the principle and practice of the Founders’ republic, Fellows will meet throughout the year for ten sessions focusing on core issues and challenges to the American regime. These core issues and challenges include identity politics, immigration, marriage and family, free speech, the rule of law, political economy, and the aims of American foreign policy.
The discussions will be led by Hillsdale faculty and distinguished friends. For each session, Fellows will receive key primary documents and contemporary readings (roughly 30 pages of reading) along with discussion questions, and additional suggested readings for further consideration.
All sessions will be private and off-the-record. Regular sessions will occur the second Wednesday of the every month in the evening starting with hospitality at 6:30 pm in the library of the Hillsdale College Washington D.C. campus facility.
“Like everything Hillsdale College does, the Madison Fellowship enriched my understanding of American history and how it can inform policymaking today.”
— Paul Teller, White House Staff
“The Madison Fellows Program is a great opportunity to sit back and think about the big picture.”
— Will Dunham, Policy Director for Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
“There is nothing else like the James Madison Fellows Program in Washington, D.C. I'm so grateful for the discussions and relationships the program has provided me over the years.”
— Rachel Barkley, Congressional Committee Staff