About the Fellowship
The Cambridge ERA:AI Fellowship is an 8 week research programme hosted in Cambridge, UK, with our winter fellowship starting on 2nd February 2026.
What we provide
Full funding: Fellows receive a salary equivalent to £34,125 per year, which will be prorated to the duration of the Fellowship. On top of this, our fellows receive complimentary accommodation, meal provisions during working hours, visa support, and travel expense coverage.
Expert mentorship: Fellows will work closely with a mentor on their research agenda for the fellowship. See our Mentors page to learn about previous mentors (but note that ERA mentors differ for each cohort as we match fellows with mentors once they are accepted).
Research Support: Many of our alumni have gone on to publish their research in top journals and conferences such as NeurIPS. We provide dedicated research management support to help our fellows become strong researchers / policymakers in the field.
Community: Fellows are immersed in a living-learning environment. They will have a dedicated desk space at our office in Cambridge and are housed together. There are regular social events and community activities throughout the fellowship.
Networking and learning opportunities: We assist fellows in developing the necessary skills, expertise, and networks to thrive in an AI safety or policy career. We can facilitate introductions to many organisations in the field. In special cases, we also provide extra financial assistance to support impactful career transitions.
Application Process
Applications for Winter 2026 are now open. The deadline for submitting written applications is October 30th, 2025.
For updates on ERA, please sign up to our mailing list.
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The first stage of the application process primarily consists of short essay questions (and should take you about 2 hours).
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We will then invite the top ~20% of the candidates for stage 1 interview. Dates to be confirmed.
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The applicants that we are most excited about will then be invited to a short, 15min round 2 interview. When we invite you for this interview, we will also reach out to your references.
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After the final acceptance offers have been made, we will work closely with the cohort of ERA ’26 fellows to develop your project ideas and match you with mentors.
Carson Ezell, Summer Research Fellow 2024
“This programme allowed me to openly and autonomously explore my ideas while providing significant support, minimising bureaucracy and limitations, and creating a conducive environment for research. I do not think an opportunity like this exists elsewhere.”
Who can apply?
Anyone! We are a talent-first programme and care about much more than just credentials. In fact, we are excited to support fellows from a wide range of subject areas who are committed to our mission. There are no formal eligibility restrictions beyond being 18 or older.
The Cambridge ERA:AI Fellowship is especially (though not exclusively!) valuable for:
PhD students looking to align their research with AI safety,
Professionals from adjacent fields (technical or policy) seeking to transition into AI governance/safety,
Early-career researchers looking to deepen their expertise in technical and/or governance research, and
Individuals with unique perspectives that can improve our understanding of AI risks.
Our Research
During the 8-week Fellowship, ERA fellows develop and complete a research project on technical and/or governance measures to mitigate the risks posed by frontier AI systems. They have the support of ERA’s research managers, mentors, and wider institutional network. For examples of previous projects, see our Previous Research Projects page.
For 2026, we are especially excited about the following repositories of potential project proposals for our three streams: