What is the MacArthur Fellows Program?

The MacArthur Foundation announced the recipients of the 2022 MacArthur Fellows grant on its website on Wednesday, October 12. A total of 25 names were announced for the grant which is coveted as one of the most prestigious awards in arts, sciences and academia.

The website said that the 25 MacArthur fellows will receive a “no strings attached” amount of $800,000 each, as an “investment in their potential”. Among the 2022 awardees are an ornithologist, a cellist, a computer scientist and a human rights activist.

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What is the MacArthur Fellows Program?

The MacArthur Fellows Program is commonly referred to as the “Genius Grant” and is awarded every year to 20 to 30 individuals who have shown “extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.”

The grant is awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and only US citizens are eligible for it. The foundation does not follow an application-based approach for the awards and the pool of individuals selected every year is a tightly-held secret till the announcements are made.

The MacArthur Foundation website explicitly states that “the fellowship is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential.”

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However, it further states that the judgment of the potential of an individual is made based on “a track record” of significant past accomplishments.

The grant is being awarded by the foundation every year starting in 1981. It seeks confidential nominations from anonymous sources which are then reviewed by an anonymous selection committee consisting of 12 people. The recipients are directly informed of their election via a phone call. 

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When the program started, the youngest MacArthurs fellows were awarded $120,000 while the oldest received $300,000. However, from 2000 onwards, the amount was made uniform for recipients of all ages.

The amount also underwent several revisions over the years, rising to $625,000 in 2017. The latest revision raised it to $800,000.