Eagleton Institute of Politics

What Eagleton Institute of Politics does

The Eagleton Institute of Politics is a non-commercial academic research institute at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, founded in 1956 and headquartered at 191 Ryders Lane in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It operates as a constituent unit of Rutgers and is governed under the state university system rather than as an independent corporate entity; the institute celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2026. Its mission is promoting responsible leadership in civic and governmental affairs through research, education, and public service.

The institute delivers a multi-vertical portfolio of seven research and education centers and programs, including the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), the Eagleton Center on the American Governor (ECAG), the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (home of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll — the oldest university-based statewide survey research center in the United States), the Center for Youth Political Participation (CYPP), the Eagleton Science and Politics Program (ESPP), the Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience, and the Rutgers Democracy Lab. Educational offerings include the Undergraduate Associates Program (a selective three-semester certificate for Rutgers juniors) and the Graduate Fellowship Program in Politics and Government. Public engagement channels include the "This Moment in Democracy" podcast, the Eagleton E-Newsletter, Cafe Democracy events, the RU Voting civic mobilization program, the Ready to Run campaign training program for women, and the Teach a Girl to Lead national education initiative. Research outputs include the Young Elected Leaders Project (YELP), which tracks demographic composition of U.S. state legislatures.

The institute does not operate a commercial revenue model. Programs are funded through Rutgers University allocations, external grants, and donations managed through the Rutgers University development office. There is no public pricing, no enterprise customer base, and no disclosed revenue or budget figure. End-user reach is distributed across Rutgers students, young elected officials, women in politics, New Jersey state government audiences, educators, and the broader public. Distribution is leveraged through Rutgers communications, owned social and podcast channels, and earned media coverage in outlets including the New York Times, Axios, NJ Spotlight News, Daily Targum, and NJ.com.

Name

Eagleton Institute of Politics

Legal name

Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers—New Brunswick

Website

https://eagleton.rutgers.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Eagleton Institute of Politics is a non-commercial academic research institute at Rutgers University, founded in 1956, operating multiple centers on women's political leadership, public opinion polling, youth participation, governors, science policy, policing, and democracy. It serves Rutgers students, public officials, educators, and the general public through research, certificate programs, and civic engagement initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Research and Civic Education

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Civic Education & Community Engagement (Voting, Local Government) (EDAAAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ), Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA), Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

Keywords

• Civic education programs
• Political research institute
• Public opinion polling
• Women political leadership
• Youth civic engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

New Brunswick

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Eagleton Institute of Politics is an academic research and civic education institute at Rutgers University that operates a portfolio of specialized centers and programs. Its core offerings include the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll (the oldest university-based statewide survey research center in the U.S.), the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), the Center for Youth Political Participation, the Eagleton Center on the American Governor, the Rutgers Democracy Lab, and curricular certificate programs for undergraduate and graduate students. It also delivers public engagement through Cafe Democracy events and a podcast, and provides training programs for women candidates.

Product overview

The Eagleton Institute of Politics is an academic institute at Rutgers University that offers a multi-faceted portfolio of research centers, education programs, and public engagement initiatives focused on civic education and democratic participation. The core offerings include: the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), Eagleton Center on the American Governor, Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (home of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll), Center for Youth Political Participation, Eagleton Science and Politics Program, Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience, and Rutgers Democracy Lab. Educational programs include the Undergraduate Associates Program and Graduate Fellowship Program in Politics and Government. Public engagement is facilitated through event series like Cafe Democracy and the Eagleton Podcast, while research initiatives like the Young Elected Leaders Project (YELP) and RU Voting Program provide data and civic mobilization support. The institute serves students, educators, alumni, and the broader public through training programs (Ready to Run, Teach a Girl to Lead) and the Visiting Associates mentorship program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) The leading source of research and data about American women's political participation, working to enhance women's influence and leadership in public life through education and outreach programs. Serves researchers, journalists, women candidates, and the public.
• Eagleton Center on the American Governor Promotes research and discussion on the varied roles, powers, and legacies of governors in the United States to inform present and future state executive leadership. Serves researchers, policy makers, and the public interested in gubernatorial policy.
• Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (Rutgers-Eagleton Poll) Conducts scientifically rigorous statewide survey research through the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll for public consumption. Serves media, government, academic researchers, and the public seeking credible polling data.
• Center for Youth Political Participation (CYPP) Advances the political learning of young people and equips them to be active citizens and leaders, including those holding and running for office. Serves students, young elected officials, and youth civic organizers.
• Eagleton Science and Politics Program Program focused on the intersection of science and politics, examining how scientific expertise intersects with policy and governance. Serves researchers, journalists, and policy professionals.
• Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience Assists vulnerable communities, particularly communities of faith, to enhance their safety and relationships with law enforcement and government agencies. Serves community organizations, law enforcement agencies, and policy makers.
• Rutgers Democracy Lab Works to ensure future generations have access to tools and knowledge needed for strengthening democracy through multidisciplinary research and community engagement. Serves students, researchers, and community members.
• Undergraduate Associates Program A selective three-semester certificate program for Rutgers University juniors learning about real-world politics and government from practitioners and faculty. Available to Rutgers undergraduates from any school or major.
• Graduate Fellowship Program in Politics and Government An interdisciplinary certificate program for graduate students interested in American politics and government across all Rutgers schools and disciplines. Available to Rutgers graduate students from any program.
• Cafe Democracy A monthly event series bringing people together to discuss ideas and consider how to strengthen democracy through moderated group discussions. Open to the general public and NJ residents.
• Young Elected Leaders Project (YELP) Tracks the generational, gender, and ethnic composition of U.S. state legislatures. Provides demographic data products to researchers, journalists, and policy makers studying youth representation.
• RU Voting Program Supports voter registration and voter mobilization efforts on the Rutgers University-New Brunswick campus through student interns. Serves Rutgers students and the broader campus community.
• Ready to Run Campaign Training Bipartisan campaign training program for women to run for office at all levels. Delivered through CAWP.
• Teach a Girl to Lead National education and awareness campaign to inspire girls and young women to pursue public leadership roles. Delivered through CAWP.
• Visiting Associates Program Pairs undergraduate and graduate students with accomplished professionals in government, politics, and public service for mentorship. Available to Eagleton student program participants.

Quantifiable outcome

• Oldest university-based statewide survey research center in the United States

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution: Large, established Washington-based public policy research organization. Comparable to Eagleton in producing research and policy analysis, but with much broader scope, paid programs, and significantly larger endowment.
• Bipartisan Policy Center: Washington-based think tank focused on bipartisan policy solutions. Comparable to Eagleton in its civic engagement and governance focus (e.g., Holland Program on Ethics in Government), but operating at national scale with paid programs.
• Hoover Institution (Stanford): Stanford University-affiliated public policy research center producing scholarship across governance, economics, and politics. Comparable in being a university-based policy research organization but with substantially larger resources and ideological positioning.
• Wilson Center (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars): Federally chartered nonpartisan policy research center. Comparable to Eagleton in conducting scholarly research and public programming on governance and public policy, but with national and international scope.

Direct peers

• Public Agenda: Nonprofit organization focused on citizen engagement, deliberative democracy, and public opinion research. Comparable to Eagleton's Cafe Democracy and Rutgers Democracy Lab civic dialogue programming.
• CIRCLE (Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) at Tufts Tisch College: University-based research center focused specifically on youth civic engagement and voting. Directly comparable to Eagleton's Center for Youth Political Participation (CYPP) and its youth voter mobilization research.
• Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics: University-based political engagement and civic leadership center at Harvard Kennedy School. Most directly comparable to Eagleton in combining student fellowship programs, public events, polling-adjacent research, and practitioner-led civic education at a major U.S. university.
• Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics): Georgetown University-based institute offering student fellowships, civic engagement programming, and public events focused on politics and public service. Closely matches Eagleton's undergraduate/graduate certificate programs and public event programming model.
• University of Virginia Center for Politics: University-based political research center offering programs in civic education, election analysis, and youth engagement. Comparable to Eagleton in being a state-university-affiliated center providing civic research and education programming.

Regional players

• Marist Poll: University-based statewide polling operation at Marist College. Most comparable to the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll in being a university-hosted statewide survey research center with recurring public polling output, though serving New York rather than New Jersey.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Eagleton_RU
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/EagletonInstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/Eagleton.Institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/ru_eagletoninstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eagleton

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eagleton Institute of Politics