CISAC Fellowship Program

CISAC fellows (predoctoral, postdoctoral, and junior faculty) may focus on a variety of security topics, including: nuclear weapons policy and nonproliferation; nuclear energy; digital security (cyber, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems); biosecurity and global health; insurgency, terrorism and civil conflict; national security strategies; and global governance.

We welcome other research proposals, and we will consider applicants from the U.S. and abroad. CISAC welcomes applications from women, minorities, and without regard to citizenship. Applicants will be considered for all fellowships for which they are deemed eligible.

Fellowship Opportunities by Research Area 

Artificial Intelligence and Laws of Armed Conflict Fellowship

The Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) invites applications for a one-year, project-specific postdoctoral policy fellowship on AI and the Laws of Armed Conflict. The fellow will work under the supervision of Tom Dannenbaum, Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security, Professor of Law, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Scott Sagan, Caroline S. G. Munro Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Jacquelyn Schneider, Director of the Hoover Institution Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative and CISAC affiliated faculty.

The research project asks whether the human or the machine is more likely to follow laws of armed conflict (LOAC) during war, addressing unresolved questions about human-specific failure modes (fatigue, vengeance), AI-specific vulnerabilities (uncertainty, lack of compassion), the relative importance of model choice versus context, and whether human-AI integration improves or degrades compliance through cognitive offloading.  

Work may include developing LOAC scenarios and surveys; designing and facilitating experiential wargames; working with multiple AI agents and designing LLM prompts and running surveys and games through the models; and analyzing quantitative data. The fellow will play an essential role in developing, writing, and publishing work from this project in close collaboration with faculty and researchers from the team. The ideal candidate will hold a JD or LLM and/or a PhD in a relevant discipline, have experience with experiments and/or behavioral data analysis, and be familiar with AI agent prompt development and analyzing large-n data generated by AI agents.

Artificial Intelligence in Strategic Stability and Military Competition Fellowship

The Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) invites applications for a one-year, project-specific postdoctoral policy fellowship on AI in strategic stability and military competition. The fellow will work under the supervision of Prof. Colin Kahl, Faculty Director of the Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance (GTG) and Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and with Rose Gottemoeller, Social Science Research Scholar at CISAC and Hoover Institution Research Fellow; Herbert Lin, Senior Research Fellow at CISAC and Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and Jacquelyn Schneider, Director of the Hoover Institution Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative and CISAC Affiliate.

The research is examining AI functionality in nuclear command and control and other nuclear force posture elements, to develop a dataset to be used in generating nuclear wargaming scenarios under various conditions. It further involves developing discourse between experts on artificial intelligence and nuclear policy experts, to gather opinion on when and how the inclusion of AI may influence the effectiveness of nuclear deterrence. The expert opinion will inform a series of tabletop exercises to explore the linkage. It will also inform continuing wargaming work under the project.

Work may include examining and cataloguing budget documents; designing and facilitating experimental wargames; analyzing quantitative data; and preparing and summarizing expert interviews. The fellow will play an essential role in developing, writing, and publishing work from this project in close collaboration with faculty and researchers from GTG. The ideal candidate will hold a PhD in a relevant discipline, have experience with experiments and/or behavioral data analysis, and have an intuition for what AI can and can’t do for different kinds of problems.

Geopolitics of Artificial Intelligence Fellowship

The Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) invites applications for a one-year, project-specific postdoctoral fellowship in policy on the geopolitics of AI. The fellow will work under the supervision of Prof. Colin Kahl, Faculty Director of the Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance (GTG) and Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and Andrew Grotto, Director of the Program on Geopolitics Technology and Governance and William J. Perry International Security Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

The United States and its allies are competing with China for global leadership across the “AI stack.” This competition will shape not only economic returns, but also geopolitical influence and the ability to set global AI norms, standards, and regulatory frameworks. First-mover advantages make speed a strategic imperative. 

But the push to “go to market fast” increasingly conflicts with the need to “go to market safe,” as powerful AI systems introduce new risks (e.g., loss of control) and amplify existing ones (e.g., cybersecurity threats). This initiative will examine how the United States and its allies can reconcile these competing imperatives amid debates over AI sovereignty, export controls, and friendshoring. Through original research, high-level convenings, and educational programs, it will develop policy-relevant strategies for competing effectively while managing risk. 

Work may include analyzing strategies and ecosystems for AI diffusion and development among middle-powers and emerging economies; identifying and assessing policy instruments for promoting trustworthy technology innovation, diffusion, and export; and designing pathways for implementation in executive, legislative, regulatory, and international contexts. The fellow will play an essential role in developing, writing, and publishing work from this project in close collaboration with faculty and researchers from GTG. The ideal candidate will hold a PhD in a relevant discipline or JD and demonstrate the ability to work across social science, law, and technology policy domains.

India-U.S. Security Studies Fellowship

The India-U.S. security studies fellowships at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford are designed to support early career scholars (pre-doctoral, post-doctoral and junior faculty) whose research focuses on topics such as Indian foreign and defense policy, U.S-India-China security relations, nontraditional or sub-conventional security threats affecting South Asia,  security threats in the Indo-Pacific  region, or the India-U.S. strategic partnership. These fellowships offer engineers, scientists, historians and social scientists the opportunity to focus on issues related to Indian and U.S. security issues in collaboration with other scholars in our dynamic academic community. Alongside their scholarly work, fellows are expected to produce directly policy-relevant work, such as a media appearance, a published article on a reputable website, or a written briefing for a government or international organization. The fellowships provide one year of support for research at Stanford and opportunities for collaborative research in the United States and India. The fellowships are sponsored by the Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation.

Natural Sciences or Engineering International Security Fellowship

Fellows with backgrounds in the natural sciences and in engineering may use their technical expertise from the public and private sectors, the national laboratories, and the military to: pursue research projects on the intersection of hard science, policymaking, and international security; and to hone their science communication skills. 

Nuclear Security Fellowship

The CISAC Fellowships are intended to promote training and policy-relevant scholarship in three interrelated areas: nuclear weapons policy in a changing global context; nuclear terrorism and transnational flows of materials and knowledge; and nuclear energy and nonproliferation challenges. They are designed to aid in the development of the next generation of thought leaders in nuclear security by supporting research that will advance policy-relevant understanding of nuclear-related issues. They offer engineers, scientists, and social scientists the opportunity to focus on issues related to nuclear security. Alongside their scholarly work, fellows are expected to produce directly policy-relevant work, such as a media appearance, a published article on a reputable website, or a written briefing for a government or international organization. 

International Security Fellowship

CISAC fellows (predoctoral, postdoctoral, junior faculty, and professional) may focus on a variety of security topics, including: nuclear weapons policy and nonproliferation; nuclear energy; cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, and the future of the Internet; biosecurity and global health; implications of geostrategic shifts; insurgency, terrorism, and homeland security; war and civil conflict; consolidating peace after conflict; as well as global governance, migration, and transnational flows, from norms to criminal trafficking. This fellowship is co-sponsored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Questions? Contact us at CISACfellowship@stanford.edu.