Deadline: March 1, 2026
Applications are open for the GovAI DC Summer Fellowship 2026. The DC Summer Fellowship is a three-month bipartisan opportunity designed to launch or accelerate impactful careers in American AI governance and policy. Participants deepen their understanding of the field, connect with a network of experts, and build their skills and professional profile, all while conducting a research project of their choice under expert guidance.
The program emphasizes bipartisan engagement, rigorous analysis, and practical policy relevance, with a focus on how AI policy is shaped within the US political system. They welcome a wide range of applicants, from early-career individuals interested in entering the US AI policy field, to more experienced professionals looking to transition into emerging tech policy from adjacent fields.
Benefits
- Fellows will join for three months in Washington, DC, from June 8 to August 28, 2026. Fellows will receive a stipend of $21,000, plus support for traveling to DC. This is an in-person role. While in DC, they provide fellows with lunch on weekdays and a desk in their DC office. Only candidates who have the right to work in the US are eligible to apply; they do not sponsor visas for this fellowship.
Eligibility
- They are interested in candidates from a broad set of professional backgrounds, including those with experience in government, academia, industry, or civil society.
- They are especially excited about candidates with relevant professional experience, research experience, or graduate study in areas of expertise relevant to US AI policy, which include – but are by no means limited to – public policy, political science, engineering, computer science, economics, biosecurity, cybersecurity, China studies, and risk management (e.g. assurance and auditing). However, there are no specific requirements for the role; they also welcome applications from promising undergraduates.
Assessment Criteria
When assessing applications, they will be looking for candidates who have the following strengths or show positive signs of being able to develop them:
- Quality of work: The ability to produce clearly written, insightful, and even-handed research or policy advice. They are particularly excited about strong reasoning ability and clear and concise writing.
- Relevant expertise: Skills or knowledge that are likely to be helpful for working on topics relevant to AI policy. They think that relevant expertise can take many different forms. Note that they also do not have any strict degree requirements.
- Judgement: The ability to prioritize between different research or policy directions, and good intuitions about the feasibility of different directions.
- Team fit: Openness to feedback, commitment to intellectual honesty and rigor, comfort in expressing uncertainty, and a serious interest in using your career to contribute to successfully navigating the transition to a world with advanced AI.
Application
The selection process has four stages:
- Written application
- An abstract reasoning assessment
- Interviews and reference checks
For more information, visit GovAI DC Summer Fellowship.
