Working Groups

The MIT Center for International Studies (CIS) provides working group grants for advancing interdisciplinary collaborations in the field of international studies.

These small grants of up to $1,000 per semester and $2,000 per academic year are provided as "seed" funds for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows seeking to address scholarly problems of common interest and to meet on a regular basis. Funds can be used to cover the costs of food and nonalcoholic drinks or modest honoraria for an occasional outside speaker. Groups may be initiated by graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, but must have a faculty chair, and preference will be given to those groups in which faculty actively participate.  

We welcome proposals on a wide range of topics and support various activities, from presenting work in progress to addressing specific international policy issues in innovative ways. Priority will be given to proposals that advance the study of foreign countries and regions, such as China, Africa, and Latin America; security studies, international negotiations, and crisis management; as well as frontier topics in international studies, such as AI, climate change, water, and health.

Proposals should include:

  • Name of group
  • Duration of activity: fall term, spring term, or both
  • Leadership and participants: MIT coordinators and their year, prospective members and their affiliations
  • Faculty support (name of the faculty member)
  • Goals and proposed activities
  • Budget
  • Output: We expect grant recipients to share the outcomes of their activities in some manner. Please let us know which of the following best suits your working group: a summary of presentations, a panel or roundtable discussion, an interactive webinar, a policy brief on the theme discussed, or another form of output.

Proposals will be considered on a rolling basis and should be sent to cis@mit.edu. The review process will begin on September 18, 2024, for the fall term. Submissions received before this date will have the best chance of securing fall funds. If you have any questions, please contact CIS director of research, Mihaela Papa, at mpapa@mit.edu.