New Dan Herbatschek Fellowship will award 10 fellows $60,000 each and pair financial support with a rigorous 12-month program spanning mathematics, technology and business; applications for the inaugural 2027 cohort are now open
NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ramsey Theory Group today announced a $600,000 annual commitment to identify and support exceptional people whose abilities may not be fully reflected by conventional academic or career trajectories, launching the Dan Herbatschek Fellowship for its inaugural 2027 cohort.
The new fellowship will select just 10 fellows each year, providing each with a $60,000 allocation and a highly structured 12-month program combining rigorous study, individualized mentorship and practical work across mathematics, technology and business.
Applications are now open through January 15, 2027 at https://www.herbatschekfellowship.org/
The fellowship grew in part from founder Dan Herbatschek‘s own unconventional educational path. After some time away from formal study, Herbatschek returned to college at Columbia University, where he studied intellectual history, philosophy, and mathematics.
That experience shaped a central idea behind the program: an interrupted path can obscure ability without defining it.
“We are too quick to mistake continuity for merit and interruption for a lack of seriousness,” said Dan Herbatschek, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ramsey Theory Group. “A conventional résumé can reveal accomplishment, but it cannot measure every form of intelligence, discipline, courage, or promise. … There are extraordinarily capable people whose potential is hidden behind gaps, detours or circumstances that have little to do with their ability. This fellowship is designed to find them—and give them the time, resources, mentorship and intellectual challenge to show what they can actually do.”
Beyond a Scholarship: $60,000 Plus a Year of Rigorous Development
The Dan Herbatschek Fellowship is deliberately structured as more than a traditional financial award.
Each fellow will receive a $60,000 individual allocation while completing a 12-month intellectual and professional circuit that moves from foundational study in logic, probability, linear algebra, algorithms, writing and argument through models and code, applied practice in a business setting and an independent final contribution.
Fellows will also receive individualized plans, sustained mentorship, recurring progress reviews and exposure to practical problems. Each participant will be expected to complete substantial final work, including a capstone and presentation or defense, as well as a defined plan for the next stage of their academic or professional development.
“The distance between talent and opportunity is not theoretical. It is made of concrete things: tuition, time, housing, guidance, professional networks, practical experience, and the freedom to take an intellectual risk without placing the rest of one’s life at risk,” Herbatschek said. “Financial support is therefore essential. It buys time, stability, and the right to concentrate. But money alone cannot create direction, intellectual community, practical judgment, or the confidence that grows when serious people take your ideas seriously.”
Looking Beyond the Conventional Résumé
The fellowship is intended for candidates whose traditional academic or professional records may not fully capture their potential.
That may include students returning after an interruption; community-college and transfer students; immigrants and first-generation students; people balancing education with work or family responsibilities; self-taught programmers; and candidates moving between the humanities and computation.
But an unconventional path or personal difficulty alone will not qualify an applicant.
Candidates will be evaluated on intellectual ability, seriousness, initiative, fit with the program and the likely impact of substantial support. Fellows will be held to demanding standards of participation, intellectual honesty, professional integrity and completed work.
“We will not lower our expectations of fellows because their paths have been difficult,” Herbatschek said. “We will see their talent more accurately and give it the demanding support it deserves. Care and rigor are not opposites.”
The Idea Behind the Fellowship
Herbatschek’s own experience informs that approach.
Life circumstances did not enable Herbatschek to go straight to college. After taking a break for a few years, he attended Columbia University and pursued work spanning intellectual history, philosophy, logic and mathematics. His research examined mathematics, artificial languages and changing conceptions of time during the Scientific Revolution.
Herbatschek has said that people who believed in him before his record told the full story helped change the trajectory of his own life. “They did more than encourage me. They gave me time, guidance, opportunity, trust, and entry into intellectual worlds I could not have reached alone. They saw me and helped convert possibility into a path.”
“The Dan Herbatschek Fellowship at Ramsey Theory Group is an expression of my gratitude to them,” Herbatschek said.
He later founded Ramsey Theory Group, a technology holding company with an integrated operating platform that builds, owns, incubates, and scales businesses and intellectual property across the digital economy. The group’s portfolio spans technology services, enterprise AI, cybersecurity, quantitative analysis, entertainment marketing, proprietary software, and vertical SaaS. Ramsey Theory Group combines capital allocation, infrastructure, R&D, and strategic capabilities to create and compound long-term value.
The fellowship extends a similar philosophy to talent development: combining foundational knowledge and rigorous thinking with practical work.
“A résumé tells you where someone has been; it doesn’t necessarily tell you how far they can go,” Herbatschek said. “Some exceptional people simply need someone willing to look past the route they took and examine the quality of their thinking, the seriousness of their work and what they might accomplish if given a real opportunity.”
Herbatschek said he ultimately sees the fellowship not as a recognition of his own accomplishments, but as a vehicle for creating opportunities for others. “Although this fellowship bears my name, I do not want it to be a monument. I want it to be an instrument: a structure through which gratitude becomes opportunity and opportunity becomes work of lasting value. … I cannot give another person a linear past. But through this fellowship, we can help make possible a less constrained future.”
Applications Open for the 2027 Dan Herbatschek Fellowship
Applications for the inaugural 2027 Dan Herbatschek Fellowship are open now and close January 15, 2027.
At a glance:
- Annual commitment: $600,000
- Fellows selected: 10 per year
- Individual allocation: $60,000
- Program length: 12 months
- Focus: Mathematics, technology, business and applied work
- 2027 application deadline: January 15, 2027
Additional information and application details are available at https://www.herbatschekfellowship.org/
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Dan Herbatschek Fellowship?
The Dan Herbatschek Fellowship is a 12-month program created by Ramsey Theory Group for exceptional candidates whose potential may exceed what their conventional academic or professional records have allowed them to demonstrate. It combines substantial financial support with rigorous study, individualized mentorship and practical work.
How much does the Dan Herbatschek Fellowship provide?
Each fellow receives a $60,000 individual allocation. Ten fellows are selected annually, representing a $600,000 annual commitment in direct support.
Who can apply for the fellowship?
The program is intended for exceptional candidates whose paths may include educational interruptions, community college or transfer education, first-generation or immigrant experiences, work or family responsibilities, self-directed technical education or movement between the humanities and computation.
How are fellows selected?
Applicants are evaluated on intellectual ability, seriousness, initiative, fit with the program and the likely impact of substantial support. An unconventional path or personal difficulty alone is not a qualification.
What do fellows do during the program?
Fellows complete a 12-month circuit encompassing foundational study, models and code, applied practice and an independent final contribution, supported by individualized planning, mentorship and recurring progress reviews.
When is the deadline for the 2027 fellowship?
Applications for the inaugural cohort close January 15, 2027.
About the Dan Herbatschek Fellowship
The Dan Herbatschek Fellowship at Ramsey Theory Group is an annual 12-month program designed to identify and support exceptional people whose potential exceeds what circumstance has allowed them to demonstrate. Ten fellows are selected each year and receive a $60,000 individual allocation alongside rigorous study, individualized mentorship and practical work across mathematics, technology and business. Learn more at https://www.herbatschekfellowship.org/
About Ramsey Theory Group
Ramsey Theory Group is a New York-based technology holding and innovation firm that develops and operates software, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data-intensive systems. Its work combines mathematical and technical rigor with practical business execution. Learn more at https://www.ramseytheory.com/
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