Fellowships & Scholar Development
Give brilliant people
room to discover.
Consequential research takes time, support, and a place to belong. I AM is building funded pathways for faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and students who bring rigorous methods to questions that matter.
Proposed inaugural programs · Development toward 2028 · Expressions of interest welcome
The I AM Discovery Fellowships
Fund the scholar. Strengthen the science.Bring the evidence into public life.
An investment in people
Potential deserves
real infrastructure.
Our fellowship vision combines sustained financial support with mentorship, research resources, and a public platform. Disparities, racism, and institutional conditions remain central questions across our interdisciplinary work.
01 / Time
Make inquiry possible.
Support packages are being designed around protected research time, living support, and the practical costs of doing the work.
02 / Craft
Make the work stronger.
Scholars develop questions, measures, analysis, and writing through methods support and substantive feedback.
03 / Reach
Give evidence a public life.
Fellows will have pathways to scholarly review, public presentations, and research-grounded storytelling.
The work behind discovery
Look closer.
Ask harder.
Build something
that holds.
Five pathways / One intellectual community
Enter at your stage.
Build beyond it.
Each pathway has its own support model, supervision, and scholarly expectations. Awards will open when their funding, terms, and selection processes are established.
01 / Faculty
Discovery Faculty Fellows
A proposed multiyear fellowship for an ambitious research agenda, with flexible support, protected time arrangements, methods resources, and a public platform.
Faculty and established scholars
- Develop a substantial scholarly project.
- Participate in writing retreats and research exchange.
- Mentor emerging scholars within an agreed scope.
02 / Postdoctoral
Postdoctoral Discovery Fellows
Proposed funded appointments supporting independent inquiry and the transition toward a sustained research career.
Scholars who have completed a doctorate
- Salary and benefits appropriate to the appointment.
- Research resources and structured mentorship.
- Support for manuscripts and funding proposals.
03 / Graduate
Graduate Discovery Fellows
A proposed stipend-based pathway supporting thesis or dissertation research, methods development, and scholarly writing.
Research master’s and doctoral students
- Research allowance and mentor guidance.
- Institutional tuition arrangements where negotiated.
- Participation compatible with degree requirements.
04 / Professional
Professional Discovery Fellows
Proposed funded summer, semester, or research-year experiences connecting professional questions to disciplined investigation.
Students in medicine, law, public health, nursing, business, and related fields
- Applied studies, evaluations, or policy analysis.
- Supervision aligned with the project and training stage.
- Research support and public communication practice.
05 / Undergraduate
Emerging Discovery Fellows
A proposed paid pathway into research through supervised summer or academic-year projects.
Undergraduate students
- Foundational methods and responsible data practice.
- Mentorship, research portfolios, and presentations.
- Participation support suited to the experience.
Award amounts, cohort sizes, duration, eligibility, and institutional arrangements will be published with funded opportunities. I AM Discovery Fellowships are independent programs; references to national fellowship models do not indicate NSF or MacArthur affiliation.
Research pillars
Five territories.
Deeper questions.
Our proposed pillars connect technological, environmental, health, institutional, and cultural questions. Fellows may work across pillars when the research demands it.
01 / AI & innovation
Intelligence & Human Futures
AI, algorithmic accountability, digital systems, and human decision-making.
Clinical algorithm audits · AI in education and work · Validated public-interest tools02 / Energy & environment
Power & Planet
Energy access, climate, infrastructure, and the conditions that shape community resilience.
Energy insecurity · Extreme heat · Environmental exposure03 / Healthcare & security
Health & Human Security
Healthcare access, mental health, chronic disease, care systems, and preparedness.
Medical listening · Institutional trust · Continuity of care04 / Racism & institutions
Justice & Institutional Life
Racism, law, education, policy, and the decisions through which institutions distribute opportunity and harm.
Institutional processes · Disparities measurement · Intervention evaluation05 / Arts & justice
Culture, Story & Public Evidence
Documentary, oral history, social media, and cultural production as subjects of research and forms of public knowledge.
Research-grounded films · Digital narratives · Audience understandingMethods & Evidence Core
A shared foundation across every pillar: research design, measurement, qualitative inquiry, statistical analysis, data stewardship, reproducibility, and honest interpretation.
Scholar development / The craft of inquiry
Brilliance brings
the question.
Practice builds
the work.
Our development model pairs individual guidance with a community of scholars. The People’s Lab introduces public inquiry and methods; fellowships provide sustained support for deeper projects.
Methods studios
Develop questions, measures, analysis plans, and reproducible research habits.
Writing retreats
Protected sessions for manuscripts, book development, feedback, and revision.
Mentor exchange
Guidance tailored to training stage, discipline, and the project’s demands.
Public evidence
Translate findings into talks, briefs, documentaries, and accessible explanations.
The faculty fellowship / Proposed scholarly milestones
Ambitious work.
Serious review.
For suitable book-based faculty projects, the proposed fellowship supports one book manuscript submitted for independent peer review, two to three article submissions, and participation in at least two institute summits over the fellowship term.
Develop the agenda
Agree on the research question, methods, resources, and a realistic scholarly plan.
Build the evidence
Conduct the work with appropriate protocols, documented decisions, and methods support.
Submit & revise
Prepare manuscripts for independent review. Other disciplines may use an equivalent agreed research portfolio.
Bring it to the summit
Share substantive research through methods demonstrations, conversation, and compelling public presentation.
These milestones apply to the proposed structured faculty track, not to every student or postdoctoral award. Editorial acceptance remains independent and is never guaranteed. A future Distinguished Freedom Award would be separately funded and designed around intellectual independence without prescribed publication outputs.
Scholarship with a public life
Give rigorous work
a commanding platform.
Research deserves an audience that can understand the method, question the evidence, and carry the conversation forward.
Founding investment / $2 million campaign toward 2028
Fund the conditions
for discovery.
A complete fellowship supports the person and the infrastructure behind their work. We are developing costed opportunities around funded terms and realistic commitments.
Invest in a person
A Discovery Fellowship
Support a scholar’s funded term and agreed development package.
- Living or appointment support
- Research and methods resources
- Mentorship, writing, and exchange
Invest in a community
A Scholar Cohort
Support a group of students or scholars learning and producing research together.
- Paid participation
- Structured supervision
- Shared learning and presentations
Invest in capacity
The Research Foundation
Strengthen the shared resources that every fellow needs.
- Methods & Evidence Core
- Writing retreats and summit access
- Data and public production resources
Funding proposals will specify full costs, duration, deliverables, and reporting. Recognition accompanies support; sponsors do not select fellows, control findings, or guarantee publication.
Can I apply now?
We welcome expressions of interest while programs are being built. Applications, nomination routes, eligibility, award amounts, and dates will be published for funded opportunities.
Can I remain at my university?
Some future fellowships may support scholars at their home institutions. Participation, protected time, tuition, supervision, and appointment arrangements will depend on the award and institutional agreements.
Does The People’s Lab award university credit?
Credit-bearing participation would require an agreement with an accredited college or university. I AM does not currently promise academic credit for the immersion.
How will fellows be selected?
The proposed process uses independent scholarly review, transparent eligibility, documented criteria, and conflict-of-interest management. Selection will assess the project’s rigor, significance, feasibility, and the support appropriate to the scholar.
Build the first generation
Your question could
shape what comes next.
Tell us your career stage, research interests, institutional home, and the support that would help you do consequential work.
