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The 2026–28 Civic Science Fellows cohort will launch in September 2026. As 2026–28 host partners open applications for Fellows, we will share them here and in our monthly newsletter (see below to sign up). Envisioned as a Civic Science Lab, Fellows and partners carry out pioneering work to co-create pilots, partnerships, knowledge, models, and new ways of working that can help seed collaborations between science and society. All Fellows will engage as a cohort in a learning program and community, developed in collaboration with the network and an interdisciplinary committee of advisors.

The Center for Black Excellence and Culture and the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are seeking a 2026-2028 Civic Science Fellow to co-develop civically oriented scholarship focused on understanding and improving the flourishing and well-being of Black members of the Greater Madison, Wisconsin area. The Fellow will work to strengthen relationships between academic research communities and the broader Black communities locally; increase creating and dissemination of community led research; and develop and test community-informed, culturally grounded wellbeing practices within the Madison Black community. Learn more and apply here.

The Open Environmental Data Project is inviting applications for a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to help test small, local AI based on the idea that AI without place-based knowledge is incomplete, and that local knowledge should be a starting point for our work. The Fellow will explore how community values and participation requirements can be translated into technical specifications and governance rules for AI systems; what patterns of consent, licensing, and data stewardship should govern community-contributed training data; and how small, locally governed models can support community data sovereignty while remaining useful for environmental monitoring and decision-making. Learn more and apply here.

The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University is seeking a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to help integrate strategy into science communication practice while maintaining commitments to ethical, equity-oriented, reciprocal, and respectful engagement. Working alongside interdisciplinary experts, experienced trainers, researchers, and an extensive national and global network of collaborators, the Fellow will operate at the intersection of research and practice to help advance infrastructure, culture, and shared tools for science communication and civic science. Learn more and apply here.

The University of Chicago Office of Research is seeking a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to lead and collaborate on projects central to the University of Chicago’s mission related to community engaged research and participate in a nationwide cohort for shared learning, professional growth, and network-building. Among other projects, the Fellow will review the existing practices of community engaged research and its impact across private and public universities; establish community engaged research metrics of impact across an academic discipline, community partners, and policy-makers; and develop a cross-disciplinary Impact Blueprint that maps how University of Chicago’s research, data assets, civic partnerships, and policy touchpoints can align toward improved chronic health and social outcomes across the southside of Chicago. Learn more and apply here. 

The American Physical Society (APS) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) are inviting applications for a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to help build and strengthen a network of professional scientific societies committed to advancing civic science and evidence-based public engagement. The Fellow will help APS and AAS identify, convene, and coordinate a growing network of professional scientific societies to share knowledge, identify gaps and opportunities, and develop practical frameworks that help scientists engage more meaningfully with communities, policymakers, educators, and publics. Learn more and apply here.

The Interdisciplinary Rural Health Equity Hub at Duke University invites applications for a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to help strengthen connections between scientific research and rural communities by supporting collaborative learning, community engagement, partnership development, and knowledge translation activities across the Hub. Working closely with academic and community partners, the Fellow will help identify priorities, facilitate collaboration, and contribute to the co-development of solutions that address rural health challenges. Learn more and apply here. 

Media Impact Funders is seeking a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to help grantmakers better understand how audiences now receive, process and trust information—particularly relating to science and health, translating such understanding into stronger philanthropic strategy. The Fellow will actively support and draw upon MIF’s newly launched Science and Health Media Funders Network which comprises grantmakers with different funding approaches to public service media work who have come together to support stronger science and health outcomes. Learn more and apply here. 

The Evidence Project, part of the Philadelphia and Scientific Advancement portfolio at The Pew Charitable Trusts, is seeking a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to support work to expand and strengthen research capacities and infrastructure for public impact, especially through a council of university presidents and chancellors. The Fellow will drive outreach and engagement across higher education institutions, research funders, and other research organizations around implementation strategies for enhancing public impact developed by the Evidence Project and the council.  Learn more and apply here. 

The American Museum of Natural History is seeking a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to contribute to the Museum’s efforts to develop content, programming, and evaluation about civic science engagement. As part of the Research and Evaluation department, the Fellow will collaboratively design and carry out a project which may include a landscape analysis, communication plan, community engagement guidelines, exhibition, or a public program. Learn more and apply here.

The American Institute of Physics is seeking a 2026-2028 Civic Science Fellow to co-develop an initiative to explore how scientific communities identify, support, and advance ideas with the potential to transform the physical sciences. The Fellow will engage scientists, scientific societies, funders, entrepreneurs, historians, policymakers, and other stakeholders in better understanding how discovery in the physical sciences happens and how institutions can better support it. Learn more and apply here. 

The Center for Conflict and Cooperation at New York University is inviting applications for a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to join a team of scientists worldwide and across disciplines to understand the social dynamics of intergroup conflict and cooperation—including polarization, intergroup discrimination, civic engagement, cross-divide collaboration, and belonging—and their interconnectedness with topics like misinformation, democracy, A.I. technology, and social media. The Fellow will co-design a project—tailored to the Fellow’s unique expertise and interests—with the Center Director and may include:  investigating how AI systems can unintentionally amplify extreme beliefs and affective polarization; designing of AI-powered civic tools that increase civic knowledge and reduce bias; studying how AI sycophancy shapes public trust in information, institutions, and science, with implications for democratic deliberation; conducting field experiments or intervention tournaments targeting civic engagement among youth or historically underrepresented communities; and others. Learn more and apply here. 

The Rockefeller University invites applications for a 2026-28 Rockefeller University Stavros Niarchos Foundation Institute for Global Infectious Disease Research (SNFiRU) Civic Science Fellow to lead a community-engaged project focused on improving communication and trust around hepatitis B healthcare among Chinese and Chinese American communities in NYC. The SNFiRU Civic Science Fellow will work at the intersection of community engagement, science communication, and media production, collaborating with community members and local organizations to co-create new approaches to health communication. Learn more and apply here. 

The Science Policy Collaborative of the George Mason University and University of California, Riverside is seeking a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to play a central role in supporting and growing the Collaborative’s national network. The Fellow will conduct needs assessments across the network, build partnerships to address the highest-priority deliverables, and connect U.S. science policy programs with one another and with international experts on use of research evidence (URE) and evidence-informed policymaking. Learn more and apply here.

The American Brain Coalition invites candidates to apply for a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to help refine, improve, and pilot the next generation of the ABC Community Engagement Platform including its Voices in Science Training and accompanying AI-powered Customizer. The Fellow will focus on building training and education tools that connect scientific research, community-lived experience, and public decision-making. Learn more and apply here. 

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences invites applications for a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow position in the Academy’s Science, Engineering, and Technology program area to contribute to a proposed initiative on how institutions govern moments of publicly visible scientific revision. The Fellow will lead a defined research workstream and participate in the case-selection process and advisory structure of As the Facts Change, a multi-year initiative studying how institutions respond when scientific understanding, guidance, or policy-relevant evidence changes in public view. Learn more and apply here. 

The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania is seeking a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow to develop civically oriented research projects focused on topics like climate and health communication, civic engagement and climate action, and social connection and resilience. The Fellow will work with the Center’s Climate Communication Division and with the University’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships. Learn more and apply here. 

Supported by the Civic Science Fellows program funding partners, with funding from (list in formation): Rita Allen Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Civic Science Funders Collaborative, Dana Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation, Feld Family Initiative for Civic Science Communication at the Boston University College of Communication, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, Morgridge Institute for Research, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Kavli Foundation, and William T. Grant Foundation.