MIT’s Center for International Studies (CIS) is a community of faculty, researchers, practitioners, and students who advance innovative, policy-relevant scholarship that addresses critical global challenges, including on topics of climate adaptation, global governance, democratic development, and international security. We share this knowledge via events, seminar series, analysis, publications, and dialogue with partners.
CIS invites proposals from MIT faculty and research scientists with PI status interested in developing new research projects and/or research communities around a critical international issue. Selected projects will be eligible for up to $100,000 and other forms of support over a two- to three-year period. CIS has previously hosted projects on the future of Jerusalem, Human Rights and Technology, and international migration; and currently hosts projects and labs on the BRICS, Global Diversity and, within the Security Studies Program, Wargaming.
Collaborative and interdisciplinary projects are welcome, and may include faculty and students from Boston-area colleges and universities. Awarded investigators will receive CIS affiliate status during the funding period.
We are particularly interested in proposals that focus on one or more of the following themes (these may include a focus on the United States, but must also relate to at least one other country), but we welcome proposals on any topic with a clear international dimension:
- International migration
- Climate adaptation and loss and damage
- Global public health and pandemic threats
- US foreign and development policy, including policy toward the Global South and new directions in foreign assistance
- International trade
- Global governance of artificial intelligence, outer space, and oceans
- Human rights and technology
- Democratic backsliding
- Themes at the intersection of security and development
Project funding may be used for one or more of the following types of activities:
- Hosting events, including lab meetings, research workshops or conferences, and hosting public seminars for the MIT community
- Development of public-use datasets or databases
- Travel to attend workshops or conferences
- Convening policymakers
- Hosting UROPs or MISTI internships
- Graduate student summer research support
- Policy workshops or hackathons
- Development of podcasts or other public resources
- Hosting visitors for short-term stays
- Other activities as appropriate
Funding may not be used to cover faculty or staff salaries or EB.
Funding provided will be scaled according to the ambitions of the project. For instance, a proposal focusing on organizing a research workshop might receive $15,000, while a more comprehensive proposal featuring a range of activities might receive up to $100,000.
Priority will be given to projects that seek to advance knowledge and disseminate it to the wider community and policymakers. We encourage proposals from junior faculty who would like to develop their research within CIS.
Selected projects will also benefit from other forms of support from CIS, including being hosted on our website, assistance with communications, and potentially the ability to recruit temporary visitors.
Application and selection process
Interested PIs are asked to submit a letter of intent (500 words maximum) by March 30, 2026 that describes the main question to be addressed, and how you propose to tackle it with a set of core activities and collaborators. Letters should also specify a target budget amount and time-frame for the proposal. The LOI should be sent to cis-info@mit.edu.
