MSU Political Science professor selected as Andrew Carnegie Fellow

June 4, 2025 - Karessa Weir

Dr. Matt Grossmann, professor of Political Science and director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, is one of 26 researchers to be chosen as the 2025 Class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows.  

The fellowship comes with a stipend of $200,000 to continue research seeking to understand how and why our society has become so polarized and how we can strengthen the forces of cohesion to fortify our democracy. 

"I am honored to be included alongside such a great group of scholars as a 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellow," said Grossmann. "This fellowship will support my research on enabling policymaking in an age of party polarization & parity." 

Grossmann’s project, a book tentatively titled "Policymaking for Realists: Bipartisan Progress in a Polarized Age", will argue that the way through our intense polarization is recognizing that our institutions require bipartisanship — not just occasional working coalitions but a broader acknowledgment that both sides are here to stay and have something to offer. 

“This award is wonderful recognition of the contribution Prof. Grossmann has made—and continues to make—to our understanding of some of the most important questions in the study of US politics today,” said Dr. Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, Chair of MSU Department of Political Science. 

Grossmann received a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College, a master’s degree in political science in 2002, and a doctorate in 2007 from the University of California, Berkeley.  

He is the author of numerous books on political science, including “Polarized by Degrees: How the Diploma Divide and the Culture War Transformed American Politics” (2024), “How Social Science Got Better: Overcoming Bias with More Evidence, Diversity, and Self-Reflection" (2021), “Red State Blues: How the Conservative Revolution Stalled in the States” (2019), “Asymmetric Politics: Ideological Republicans and Group Interest Democrats” (2016), “Artists of the Possible: Governing Networks and American Policy Change Since 1945” (2014), and “The Not-So-Special Interests: Interest Groups, Public Representation, and American Governance” (2012). He is coauthor of “Campaigns and Elections”, the leading elections textbook from W.W. Norton. 

 Grossmann is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center in Washington, D.C., and host of The Science of Politics podcast. He has published op-eds in The New York Times and The Washington Post.