Below is a list of our 2025-26 Working Groups. For general information on requirements and the application process for Working Group grants, please visit here.
China Group on Climate Change and Sustainability
This group aims to build a community of Chinese climate scholars and provide a platform for enhanced communication and collaboration on climate change research. Founded by postdoctoral and graduate researchers from EAPS, CEE, and IDSS, it connects scholars across MIT who are seeking to advance international collaboration and develop careers in the field of climate change. The group offers a welcoming space and peer academic network for new Chinese climate researchers at MIT, organizes workshops to improve communication strategies for making climate science more accessible and impactful, and hosts roundtable discussions that offer practical career advice.
Chinese Politics Research Workshop
The Chinese Politics Research Workshop was established by graduate students from MIT, Harvard, and Boston University in 2010. The workshop aims to serve as a forum for: (1) sharing and receiving feedback on China-related research at all stages of development; (2) discussing practical and methodological issues and challenges associated with conducting research in and on China; (3) building a stronger academic community among graduate students, research fellows, and faculty members in Cambridge who study Chinese politics; and (4) most importantly, stimulating additional activities among participants of the workshop.
Comparative Politics and Economy Workshop (COPE)
This working group provides a platform for advanced, in-depth presentations of research projects on a wide range of international topics. Workshop participants are expected to read the material in advance and contribute constructively to the discussion. Founded by political science students, the group is open to the broader MIT community interested in this area of research. We will produce blog entries summarizing the main findings presented in the workshop, with key input from the authors.
Graduate Student Work-In-Progress (GSWIP) Group
This group provides a forum for graduate students in the Department of Political Science and related departments to present their work in a structured and collaborative setting, connect with peers, and receive critiques from diverse perspectives. It aims to help students practice formal presentations, respond to questions from a knowledgeable audience, and build confidence for participation in scholarly events. The group also promotes the exchange of research ideas across subfields. Presenters are expected to share a paper or an abstract in advance. Both dissertation-stage students and graduate students working on major projects are welcome to present.
International Political Economy of Finance and Economic Development
This working group is focused on how the global financial system shapes national projects of economic development, in particular through industrial policy. We work to establish a shared understanding of the politics and legal basis of international financial and monetary systems, review different international approaches to industrial policy, and identify key parameters that link these two topics through open-ended discussions. The group connects MIT students from several departments as well as invited guest speakers through a series of lecture, reading, and discussion sessions.
Image Credit: Feng Yang, Getty Images via the Atlantic
Image Credit: Feng Yang, Getty Images via the Atlantic
Latin America
The goal of this working group is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for faculty and students from across the Institute and beyond, focused on issues related to Latin America. Our meetings cover a wide range of topics, including discussions on current events, presentations by leading scholars and graduate students, lectures by external speakers, and book talks on key regional issues. Participants come from various disciplines, including political science, business, and public policy, representing both academic and policy-oriented perspectives. Established in 2013, the group has maintained regular meetings and continues to operate in a hybrid format.
MITSPR Science Policy Roundtable
We plan to organize five sessions of the Science Policy Roundtable in the coming academic year to discuss key developments in the international science and technology ecosystem, bridging policy discussions between technical experts and the general public. Each roundtable will feature at least one MIT affiliate and two invited experts with technical expertise and experience in one of five technology areas: AI, healthcare, climate change, space and security, and the scientific enterprise. The roundtables will be hosted as moderated lunchtime discussions.
Security Studies and International Relations Working Group (IR/SSWG)
This group provides graduate students and visitors with a forum for presenting their research on international relations (IR) and security studies (SS) and receiving feedback. Presenters discuss their dissertation proposals and chapters, articles, or grant proposals. The IR subgroup covers topics such as the causes of international conflict and cooperation, the role of institutions in international politics, and international economic relations. The SS subgroup includes topics related to coercion and violent political conflict, including actors’ strategies to use force and the variety of conditions that influence strategic effectiveness, including civil-military relations, alliances, and regime type.
Wargaming
The group is MIT’s primary forum for advancing the use of wargaming as a method of social inquiry, including research on emerging technologies, great power competition, crisis dynamics, and attribution. In our meetings, we play, test, and discuss wargames and wargaming methodologies, learn about military capabilities and operational dynamics, evaluate games as a method to address political science and international relations research questions, design and implement wargaming and simulation exercises in our own research, and connect with external practitioners and academics who employ wargaming or simulation methodologies.
