CBAI Summer Research Fellowship in AI Safety 2026: Fully Funded Opportunity
The CBAI Summer Research Fellowship in AI Safety 2026 offers a fully funded chance for researchers to tackle big risks from advanced AI. This nine-week program runs from June 8 to August 10 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With a deadline of April 12, 2026, it draws students and recent grads passionate about making AI safer.
Program Overview
The Cambridge Boston Alignment Initiative (CBAI) hosts this intensive fellowship. It focuses on key areas like AI interpretability, multi-agent safety, formal verification, and risk management. Fellows pair with mentors from top spots such as Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern. They also join weekly workshops, speaker events, and networking in the local AI safety scene. Past participants landed jobs at labs like Goodfire and Redwood, presented at conferences such as NeurIPS and ICLR, and advised policymakers.
Research Tracks
Fellows pick from four main tracks to match their interests.
Technical AI Safety
This track targets ways to cut catastrophic risks from powerful AI. Work covers alignment strategies, interpretability, robustness, formal verification, multi-agent safety, and scalable oversight. Researchers build tools to understand and control AI behavior.
AI Governance
Here, the focus is on rules for developing and using AI. Topics include policy frameworks, regulations, global teamwork, and groups to handle AI risks. Fellows study how to guide AI deployment safely.
Technical Governance
This blends tech and policy. It looks at compute governance, model evaluations, standards, and systems to ensure safe AI. The goal is practical steps for safe advanced systems.
Economics of Transformative AI
Researchers explore AI’s economic effects. They use data and models on growth, jobs, productivity, and policy issues like market power and AI strategy. This track aids decisions on AI’s broad impact.
Key Benefits
The program provides strong support for nine weeks. Fellows get a $10,000 stipend. Free lunches and dinners come every weekday, plus office snacks. Housing is covered for those from outside Cambridge. Enjoy 24/7 office access near Harvard Square. Mentorship lasts 1-2 hours weekly from experts at MIT, Harvard, and groups like RAND. In-house managers guide projects in alignment and policy. Networking links to labs at Northeastern, MIT, and Harvard. Up to $10,000 in compute credits helps experiments. Conference funds boost presentations. An extension option offers up to six more months of funding.
Who Can Apply
Open to those 18 and older committed to AI safety. This includes undergrads, Master’s students, PhDs, postdocs, and recent grads shifting to AI safety. International students on OPT or CPT in the US qualify. No visa sponsorship available. Passion for AI risks drives ideal candidates.
How to Apply
The process has four steps. Start with the general form. Next comes a 15-minute CBAI interview. Technical applicants may face a mentor task or code screen. Finish with a mentor interview. Apply via this form. Check CBAI’s page for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CBAI Summer Research Fellowship?
It’s a nine-week fully funded program from June 8 to August 10, 2026, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for researchers to work on AI safety risks with mentors from top schools like Harvard and MIT.
What is the application deadline?
The deadline to apply is April 12, 2026.
Who can apply for the fellowship?
Anyone 18 or older committed to AI safety can apply, including undergrads, grad students, postdocs, and recent grads. International students on OPT or CPT in the US qualify, but there is no visa sponsorship.
What benefits do fellows receive?
Fellows get a $10,000 stipend, free weekday lunches and dinners, housing support, mentorship, compute credits up to $10,000, and networking opportunities.