FAS AI Safety Policy Entrepreneurship Fellowship: Deadline, Stipend & How to Apply

This is a genuine, fully funded opportunity, and the deadline is close enough that it's worth acting on quickly if it's relevant to you. But it's also the kind of listing that gets reposted across dozens of generic scholarship-aggregator sites without anyone checking the parts that actually matter for someone applying from India — specifically, whether you can realistically attend two mandatory events in the United States. That's the gap this guide fills.

What Is the AI Safety Policy Entrepreneurship Fellowship?

It's run by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a Washington DC-based non-profit science and technology policy organisation, as part of its Day One Project. Fellows work part-time as FAS affiliates to take one specific AI safety, security, or governance idea and develop it into an implementation-ready policy proposal — identifying the right decision-makers, building coalitions, and finding a realistic path for that idea to actually influence policy, rather than writing a purely academic paper.

Key Dates

Can Indian Applicants Actually Apply?

This is the question most listings skip, and it's the one that matters most before you spend hours on an application. FAS's own posting does not state a citizenship or permanent-residency requirement — but it also doesn't explicitly confirm that international applicants are eligible. What it does say clearly: the fellowship requires attending two mandatory in-person events in the United States, a California retreat (4–7 November 2026) and a Washington DC capstone (week of 22 February 2027), and FAS provides "an additional travel stipend to cover select expenses" for these — not a guarantee of full airfare or visa costs.

• For an Indian applicant, this means factoring in two rounds of US visa logistics (almost certainly a B-1/B-2 visitor visa process, since this is a part-time stipend fellowship rather than employment), international airfare beyond whatever "select expenses" the travel stipend covers, and the time needed to secure a US visa appointment and approval before each trip.
• Before applying, email FAS directly at dayoneproject@fas.org and ask two specific questions: whether international applicants (specifically from India) are eligible, and what exactly the travel stipend covers for applicants outside the US. Get this in writing before you invest the application time.
• If you can't confirm eligibility before the 7 September deadline, apply anyway and ask the question in parallel — but go in aware that visa timing for the November retreat is tight if an offer comes through late.

Who Should Apply

FAS is explicit that this targets early- to mid-career professionals with limited direct policy experience, not policy veterans. It welcomes people from technical AI research, academia, law, cybersecurity, national security, industry, civil society, or think tanks — the common thread FAS asks for is a specific, well-understood AI safety or governance problem and a concrete idea for addressing it, not a particular degree or job title.

• You have hands-on exposure to a specific AI safety, security, or governance challenge — through research, technical work, legal practice, or policy-adjacent work — and a concrete idea for addressing it.
• You understand, or are willing to learn quickly, who the relevant decision-makers and institutions are for your specific policy idea.
• You can commit roughly 5 hours a week for 5 months, including the two mandatory US trips.
• You're realistic about the eligibility and travel questions above, and you've either confirmed them with FAS or are comfortable applying while that's still unresolved.

What's Funded

• A $5,000 stipend for the 5-month fellowship.
• A competitive $1,000 merit award for the Fellow with the most specific and actionable policy memo and advocacy plan — not automatic, and only one (or a small number) of fellows will receive it.
• An additional travel stipend covering select expenses for the California retreat and DC capstone.
• Professional editing support for written work produced during the fellowship.
• Policy-engagement training from FAS staff, monthly mentorship, and access to FAS's expert network.

How to Apply

Applications go through FAS's own platform, not email or a generic form — you'll need to create an account first. FAS's posting doesn't lay out a multi-stage interview process the way some fellowships do; it describes a single application submission ahead of the deadline. Given that, your application materials — likely including a description of your policy idea — are effectively your one shot, so treat the writing with the same care you'd give a competitive scholarship essay.

The $1,000 merit award specifically rewards "the most specific and actionable policy memo and advocacy plan" — which means vague, general writing about wanting to "work on AI safety" won't stand out even if your application is accepted. The discipline that helps here is the same one that helps in any competitive personal statement: name the specific problem, name the specific stakeholders, and describe a specific, realistic sequence of steps rather than a general ambition.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming international eligibility without confirming it with FAS first — this is genuinely unstated, not a minor detail.
• Underestimating US visa timelines for the November retreat, especially if an offer decision comes close to the fellowship's late-September start.
• Writing generally about AI safety instead of naming one specific policy problem and a specific, realistic advocacy plan.
• Treating the $1,000 merit award as guaranteed rather than genuinely competitive among accepted fellows.

Is This Something IMA Can Help With?

Directly, no. This is a US policy fellowship, not a degree programme — it doesn't need IELTS or PTE, and the travel involved isn't a student visa IMA would process. We're covering it because it's a real, time-sensitive opportunity with a genuine information gap (the international-eligibility question) that most reposted listings don't address. The one honest overlap is the writing discipline behind a strong policy memo, which is the same discipline IMA's counsellors work on with students for university Statements of Purpose. If you're separately exploring a US degree route, that's a different, more IMA-relevant conversation.