Winter 2027 applications are now open
The Winter cohort will connect fellows with mentors from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Redwood Research, ARC, and more on research and field-building efforts to reduce frontier AI risk. MATS provides fellows with support in the form of funding, compute, housing & meals, research management, and a driven community, so fellows can focus fully on doing impactful work.
Applications to the Neel Nanda stream close separately on September 4th and can be found here.
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Program benefits
- $19.2k stipend and $24k compute
- Free housing, with free food
- Travel covered and J1 visa covered if needed
- Learn more on the program page
MATS general application process
MATS supports researchers and field-builders across seven tracks: Empirical, Theory, Strategy & Forecasting, Policy & Governance, Systems Security, Founding & Field-Building, and Biosecurity. You can apply to one or more of these tracks in the Stage 1 application.
Stage 1: General application (open until September 6th)
The general application asks for:
- Your background
- Short responses (some general, some track specific)
- Contact details for two references (we won't reach out to them until later in the process)
Returning applicants from previous 2026 application rounds can sign in to pre-fill their application.
For more on what we and mentors are looking for, see getting into MATS.
Stage 2: Central evaluations (September)
If you advance past Stage 1, you’ll complete additional evaluations before your application is reviewed by mentors. The process differs by track.
For Empirical, Stage 2 has two phases:
- Empirical assessments: You’ll complete one or two standardized assessments evaluating research taste and technical implementation skills.
- Stream selection: If you advance, you’ll apply to and rank the specific research streams you’d like to join.
For all other tracks, you’ll proceed directly to stream selection.
Each track contains multiple streams, each led by one or more mentors with a shared research agenda. When applying to streams, you’ll answer stream-specific questions. These are usually short responses, though some streams may ask for a longer research proposal.
Stage 3: Mentor review (October to early November)
Mentors review applications to their streams and rank the applicants they’d like to work with. Mentors often invite applicants to complete interviews and work tests during this stage.
A final matching process uses both mentor and applicant rankings to determine offers.
Offers (Early to mid-November)
Final offers are sent in early to mid-November. The program begins January 19, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I hear about my application status?
We will contact all applicants who get into stage 2 with details on how to use the applicant dashboard, which you can use to check the status of your application.
When will my references be contacted?
We contact references only for select candidates in Stage 2. You'll provide your referees' names when you apply, but they won't receive anything from us unless your application progresses.
What do the assessments involve, and how long will the application take?
Plan to set aside a few hours for the initial application — more if you're applying to several tracks. You can expect two long-form answers (about 200-600 words each) and a 20-minute reasoning test, plus one to three track-specific questions for tracks requiring question responses. The reasoning test covers numerical literacy, probabilistic reasoning, and spatial reasoning; no specialized preparation is needed.
If you advance to the empirical work test, the coding assessment takes 3–5 hours. Stage 3 interviews and work tests from mentors vary by stream.
If I'm not accepted, can I reapply to a future cohort?
Yes, and we encourage it. Applying to a previous cohort doesn't count against you, and we routinely have candidates who are accepted after applying numerous times.
