Apply to the 2026-2027 Fellowship
Emerging technologies are reshaping international security, economic competition, and global governance. NFS is designed to identify and develop students who can contribute meaningfully to these debates. Join the 2026-2027 fellowship cohort to develop the research skills, practical judgment, and professional network needed to tackle some of today’s toughest challenges.
Important Dates
Application Deadline September 9th, 2026
Decision Notification September 18th, 2026
Program Start September 21st, 2026
Contact Admissions
ON THIS PAGE | Application Process | Eligibility | Selection Criteria | FAQ
Application Process
The NFS Fellowship application process consists of an application form and up to two rounds of interviews. The application form consists of the following materials in addition to basic questions about you and your academic qualifications:
A CV or Resume, which we understand may vary in length and format depending on your field, stage of career, and home institution.
A recent unofficial transcript
A one-page project proposal to evidence your ability to conceptualize a rigorous project. You will not be held to this project if your application is successful.
A one-page personal statement explaining your motivation for applying to NFS, the career objectives it will advance, and your qualifications to succeed in a rigorous, self-directed research project.
A single author writing sample
Applications close at midnight PDT (GMT-7) on September 9th. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and applicants should expect up to two interviews to discuss their application materials with staff and faculty from NFS and partner institutions. All applicants will be notified of their admissions decision in early September. Following this, admitted applicants will have the opportunity to accept or decline their admissions offer.
Eligibility
NFS welcomes applications from graduate and undergraduate students, regardless of field of study, from our partner institutions:
Yale University
Leland Stanford Junior University
The University of California, Berkeley
The University of Oxford
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
The Massachussetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University
The NFS Fellowship is a substantial commitment of time and effort. Fellows must commit to a year-long project, producing a major written deliverable as part of a team, three mandatory in-person events, and regular engagements with their research team and NFS mentors. Fellows should expect to engage with senior leaders in policy and academia and should anticipate periods of increased workload prior to these engagements.
Selection
We invest considerable time in evaluating applications. This allows us to rely less on quantitative metrics (like grades, though successful applicants typically have high marks in coursework) and more on a holistic assessment of the fit of a student’s stated goals with the program and a student’s ability to meet their stated goals. Applications are reviewed holistically by a working group of delegates from NFS and partner institutions.
Selected applicants may be invited to participate in up to two rounds of interviews. We evaluate applicants based on intellectual curiosity, academic excellence, demonstrated initiative, collaborative potential, and interest in issues related to international affairs and emerging technology. Given advances in generative AI tools, we rely heavily on interviews and expect applicants to expand on their application materials throughout the interview process.
NFS explicitly welcomes applicants from a variety of majors or concentrations from all backgrounds. Though many successful applicants have backgrounds in public policy, law, political science, or computer science, many others have backgrounds in the natural sciences, area studies, or fine arts. The program welcomes both competitive and cooperative approaches to international affairs topics.
FAQ
The Program
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We define international affairs broadly to include topics related to international relations, national and international security, international law, and global governance. In practice, many NFS projects sit at the intersection of these fields and emerging technologies.
We welcome both qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as interdisciplinary work drawing from fields such as computer science, engineering, economics, history, and the natural sciences. The most successful projects combine rigorous analysis with clear relevance to contemporary policy questions.
NFS welcomes both competitive and cooperative approaches to policy-relevant questions, ranging from traditional “hard” national security topics to challenges such as global climate coordination.
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Fellows work in small teams at their university to conduct original research on real-world policy challenges, culminating in a major written project, an academic presentation, and policy briefings to experts and policymakers. Many students choose to produce shorter public policy writings like op-eds or essays based on their research.
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Yes, fellows typically participate alongside coursework or graduate research, but the program is a significant commitment requiring consistent effort.
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NFS serves as a finishing research experience and does not offer academic credit. In some cases at some partner institutions, fellows may organize credit through an independent study program based on their contributions to their NFS project and addendum of original work.
Admissions and Application
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Yes. We value perspectives and approaches from a variety of fields and academic disciplines. We are looking for intellectually curious students who are excited to engage with questions at the intersection of emerging technology and international affairs, regardless of their primary field of study.
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No, though admission is competitive and successful applicants typically receive high marks in coursework. We are aware that grading norms may vary between fields and institutions and consider this as part of holistic review.
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Yes, NFS welcomes students at all stages of their degree program.
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At this time, NFS is only open to students affiliated with our partner institutions. Because the program is built around close-knit, university-based teams and sustained in-person collaboration, we are not currently able to support participation beyond those institutions.
If you are interested in an institutional partnership with NFS or exploring informal collaboration, please reach out to admin@nextfrontierseminar.org. -
We ask this for two purely logistical reasons.
The first is that participation in the program requires travel to the United States and may support travel to the United Kingdom, and it is helpful for us to know whether you hold a passport to inform our event planning.
The second is for access to facilities and information which may be controlled on the basis of nationality. While NFS will not consider your citizenship in making an admissions decision, it is important for us to know which citizenships you may hold in the event you are interested in a topic where stakeholders will require certain citizenship to brief or engage with them. If this becomes relevant for your project, we will work with you to facilitate a successful fellowship experience.
Ready to Apply?
NFS is designed for students who are eager to tackle difficult problems, learn from peers and mentors across institutions, and contribute meaningfully to debates at the intersection of technology and international affairs. If that sounds like you, we encourage you to apply.