The Visiting Fellows program provides an opportunity for professionals working on our focus areas to connect with leading researchers, exchange ideas, and find collaborators while continuing their work from our offices in Berkeley, CA.
Constellation brings together individuals and teams from nonprofit organizations, universities, AI companies, think tanks, and governments. Visiting Fellows join Constellation's workspace for 3–6 months, with travel, housing, meals, and office space included.
We plan to accept a new cohort of Visiting Fellows each quarter and have opened applications for our fall and winter cohorts.
Applicants should be working full-time on one of our focus areas or something closely related. If you are uncertain about your fit or availability, we encourage you to err on the side of applying.
We’ll provide opportunities to connect and share ideas with over 100 researchers and staff working on the focus areas. We reimburse travel to and from Berkeley and provide or pay for housing for the duration of the program. Fellows will have 24/7 access to Constellation’s shared workspace. Lunch and dinner are provided at the workspace each weekday.
We are accepting applications for our winter and spring cohorts. Our winter cohort begins January 6th.
“Having research chats with people I met at Constellation has given rise to new research directions I hadn't previously considered, like model organisms. Talking with people at Constellation is how I decided that existential risk from AI is non-trivial, after having many back and forth conversations with people in the office. These updates have had large ramifications for how I’ve done my research, and significantly increased the impact of my research.”
"As a researcher with a non-safety background, the program provided an amazing opportunity for me to get started with safety research. I had the chance to work with leading researchers from the field and found interesting research directions that I could continue working on after the program."
"Speaking with AI safety researchers in Constellation was an essential part of how I formed my views on AI threat models and AI safety research prioritization. It also gave me access to a researcher network that I've found very valuable for my career.”
"My time at Constellation led to a few important new research directions for my organization: forecasting to inform evaluations of dangerous AI capabilities (with partners at Constellation); AI “scenario”-oriented forecasting; and helping to organize an “AI for epistemics” workshop. Also, the environment substantially improved my productivity: the lively lunch conversations, comfortable office space, and excellent food all contributed to higher-quality work time."
We host talks from some of the leading researchers and thinkers in the field.
If your question isn't answered here, please reach out to programs@constellation.org
The Visiting Fellows program offers extended visits to the Constellation workspace lasting 3–6 months, with travel, housing, and office space included. The Constellation Residency is a paid position lasting one year.
Yes.
Anyone. If you are unsure about your fit, please err on the side of applying. We especially encourage women and underrepresented minorities to apply. Additionally, we welcome applications from individuals who are not US citizens or permanent residents.
We expect most Visiting Fellows will be working on projects within one of our focus areas. However, we encourage you to apply even if your work does not fall under one of these areas or if you are unsure whether your work is a fit for the Visiting Fellows program.
The Visiting Fellows program is designed to be flexible. Participants who can only work from Constellation for three days per week are still encouraged to apply. There are no mandatory activities.
We will provide housing in Berkeley for the duration of the program. Participants will have access to the shared Constellation workspace. Lunch and dinner will be provided each weekday, which is a good opportunity to discuss research with other visitors as well as people in Constellation. There will also be regular talks from leading experts and opportunities to connect with others in your field.
While we prefer that fellows are present for the full duration of the program, we can accommodate later start dates and earlier end dates as long as you are able to join for the majority of the program.
Constellation does not compensate Visiting Fellows for their participation in this program. If receiving funding is a significant consideration for your participation, there is a place to indicate that on your application. We would like to ensure that lack of funding does not deter potential fellows from visiting and conducting useful work, and may create a 3–6 month paid residency or help people find funding on a case-by-case basis.
Through the Visiting Fellow program, we hope to help Visiting Fellows make intellectual progress toward safely navigating the development of transformative AI. We also hope to build a strong extended network with this shared mission.
See for more about our goals here.
Yes—please email programs@constellation.org with their name, email (if you’d like us to reach out to them), and a short sentence on why you think they’d be a good fit.
No. Visiting Fellows are invited to work out of the Constellation workspace in Berkeley, CA with the general expectation that they will be at the workspace ≥3 days/week on average. We believe that in-person collaboration with over 100 researchers and staff working on the focus areas is one of the main benefits of the Visiting Fellows program.
If you are unable to participate in-person, you can express interest in attending a workshop.
Constellation limits Visiting Fellows program participation to 6 months within any 2-year period.