The 2025 Frédéric Bastiat Fellows and Mercatus Center Scholars. Brandon is spotted in the front row, gray suit.
Tucked inside George Mason University, the Mercatus Center is more than an academic research center; the Center’s mission is to “advance classical liberal ideas and cultivate the talent to apply them,” equipping scholars who can translate rigorous economic thinking into institutional change.
At Rice, I studied in the Master of Energy Economics program, which is intended to develop students for careers in leadership, technical, and management positions within the energy sector. By participating in the Mercatus Center Bastiat fellowship, I intended to supplement my learning of applied microeconomics from Rice with the focus of the mainline political economy schools.
Mercatus has spent more than four decades recruiting and training students who go on to careers in academia, government, and the wider policy world. Its fellowship menu for students outside of George Mason is intentionally broad, including:
- Ph.D. students: Adam Smith, Carl Menger, Elinor Ostrom, and Oskar Morgenstern Fellowships
- Graduate students (Master, J.D., Ph.D.): Frédéric Bastiat and Ronald Coase Fellowships
- Undergraduate students and recent graduates: Don Lavoie Fellowships
- High School: Exploring Complex Solutions
- Post-doctoral students and leaders: James Buchanan and John Stuart Mill Fellowships
The common thread: intensive reading in political economy, small-group colloquia, and a professional network that endures long after the fellowship is over. Through the Bastiat Fellowship, I made a strong network of peers not only across the United States but from other countries as well.
In my case, I like to think of the Bastiat Fellowship as Mercatus’s gateway for policy-minded graduate students. Key facts:
- One-year commitment open to master’s, J.D., and Ph.D. students in any discipline worldwide.
- Award worth up to $5,000, which includes a stipend, all required readings, plus paid travel & lodging for colloquia.
- Four intensive weekend colloquia in Arlington, VA, and online, where fellows debate the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools and apply them to live issues such as regulation, entrepreneurship, immigration, and disaster response. This was my favorite part of the program, as discussions are intense and rich from a wide range of perspectives, guided but not imposed by Mercatus Scholars.
- Networking dividend: fellows join a 2,000-plus alumni community that includes professors, Capitol Hill staffers, think-tank analysts, and private-sector leaders
Mercatus deliberately mixes disciplines, which means your discussion group might include an economist modeling ride-share surge pricing, a law student dissecting occupational-licensing rules, and a public-health Ph.D. candidate studying pandemic preparedness.
I recommend applying for three main reasons. Firstly, the Intellectual Breadth. You get a course in three complementary traditions of political economy that come from Adam Smith’s Mainline Economics, which rarely appear together in a standard graduate curriculum. Even if you don’t come from an economics background, the fellowships are designed for you to engage fully in the discussions. I had some peers who were in J.D. programs or public administration. Secondly, Professional Leverage. The stipend keeps your conference fund intact, while the Mercatus brand opens doors in Washington, D.C., and academia alike. And finally, the Feedback Loop. Small cohorts and faculty mentors (often themselves Bastiat alumni) give line-by-line comments on your research pitches.
After spending two years at Mercatus, first as a Don Lavoie fellow and then as a Frédéric Bastiat fellow, I am impressed by how strong the network of fellows is. I am now working at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and it seems like there is always someone that stayed at least a year at The Center.
I recommend that any Rice student, not only in economics or political science, apply to one of The Mercatus Center fellowships. It is a great opportunity to supplement your learnings from Rice and explore the political economy from a different perspective.
Applications for the 2026-2027 academic year will open this fall. If you want to chat about the program, I am always happy to talk to Rice Students (and outside prospective fellows as well) about my experience. Please contact me at brandon1010gp@hotmail.com
About the author:
Brandon Garcia, from Mexico is a Post Baccalaureate Researcher in the State and Local Governance Initiative at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is a Master of Energy Economics graduate at Rice. Read more.
Further Reading:
To my Fellow Future Fulbrighters
Getting an Internship as a PhD student – Experience and tips