Stanford Internet Observatory Fellows will pursue research on policy and technical issues related to Stanford’s research into the misuse of new technologies to cause harm to individuals and societies. Research focus areas may include studying current geopolitical events driven by information operations against elections, researching the use of communication platforms to cause harm to at-risk groups, designing strategies to mitigate the harm of new technologies, and developing regulatory and governance frameworks for tech companies and governments. Fellows will be housed at the Cyber Policy Center and will be a part of the larger fellowship program at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. All SIO fellows are expected to participate in Cyber Policy Center research seminars and produce policy-relevant work, which could include media appearances, published articles, or briefings to or workshops for government or international organization officials, ideally in collaboration with researchers from other disciplines. Fellows with backgrounds in the natural sciences, engineering, data science, social sciences, history, and law are encouraged to apply. All fellows are expected to be in the final stages of or have recently completed a terminal degree in their discipline, ideally a Ph.D.
Application Details
Submission of a formal application is required for all individuals who wish to be in residence as visiting fellows, whether they need funding or have independent support. Applications are run in partnership with the CISAC Fellowship Program.
All application materials, including recommendations, must be in English. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all materials, including letters of reference, are submitted by the deadline stated above. Please do not submit supplemental materials such as books, lengthy manuscripts, or more than the required number of recommendations.
Online submission of application must include:
- Completed online application form
- Resume/CV
- Graduate school transcript (Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. All pre- and postdoctoral applicants must include a transcript. Junior faculty and professionals may include a transcript, but are not required to do so.)
- Research project prospectus or description of dissertation (1,500 words max, not including footnotes/endnotes)
- Research abstract (200 words max)
- Writing sample (50 pages max)
- Three confidential letters of recommendation. Please note that recommendation letter services, such as Interfolio, may not use our online recommendation letter submission system. Please advise your recommenders to upload their letters directly to the SlideRoom system.
Online Application Instructions
- Access application portal by selecting link below.
- Click "Sign up to get started" (at the bottom of the page). Input the requested information to create a username and password.
- Click "Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation Fellowship Program".
- Proceed through the application, entering information into all required fields.
- Submit your application.
We are not currently accepting applications. Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year will be due in December 2022.
(Undergraduate or Graduate, hourly 8-15 hrs/week)
SIO always welcomes applications from Stanford students interested in working on our research or tech teams. We do not have any active open positions but have new needs arise sporadically.
SIO Research RAs work on a variety of our projects related to trust and safety, platform policy, emerging technology, and information interference. Research
SIO Tech RAs work together to build out the technical infrastructure used by all SIO researchers. Working on sprint cycles, the RAs will learn to release code, seek feedback from researchers, and use their creativity to design and implement new tools.
Desired Skills:
- Strong analytic writing skills
- Online open source investigation experience
- Basic data science skills
- Familiarity with at least one foreign language
Skills specific to Tech RAs:
- Python
- R
- Experience with GCP