Deadline: September 26, 2025
Applications are open for the Constellation Astra Fellowship 2026. Astra is Constellation’s flagship fellowship, built to accelerate AI safety research and talent. AI is advancing faster than any technology in history, and they think it’s worth preparing for some of its most concerning risks. Astra helps close this gap by bringing exceptional people into the field and connecting them with leading mentors and research opportunities.
Astra is a fully funded, 3-6 month, in-person program at Constellation’s Berkeley research center. Fellows advance frontier AI safety projects with guidance from expert mentors and dedicated research management and career support from Constellation’s team.
Over 80% of Astra’s first cohort are now working full-time in AI safety roles in organizations such as Redwood Research, METR, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, and the UK AI Security Institute. This round, they want to go further: placing even more people into the highest-impact roles and helping fellows launch new initiatives to tackle urgent but neglected problems.
Benefits
They provide the resources and support needed for fellows to pursue full-time research:
- Stipend: Competitive financial support for the duration of the program.
- Research Budget: ~$15K per fellow per month for compute.
- Visa support: For international applicants, we will help with visas.
- Workspace & Community: Ongoing collaboration at Constellation’s Berkeley research center, where you’ll have access to ~150 network participants and ongoing AI safety focused convenings (e.g., shared daily meals, seminars, workshops, table-top-exercises, conferences).
- Mentorship & Research Management: Weekly mentorship from senior experts and research management support from Constellation’s team (via 1:1s, small group meetings, office hours, Slack collaboration).
- Placement Services: Many fellows are expected to join organizations that are participating in Astra. Others are actively connected to opportunities across our network.
- Incubation Services: They also provide advisory services for fellows launching new projects and organizations (e.g., business operations, communication, hiring, fundraising & more).
Eligibility
They are looking for talented people that are excited to pursue new ideas and projects that advance safe AI.
You may be a strong fit if you:
- Are motivated to reduce catastrophic risks from advanced AI
- Bring technical or domain-specific experience relevant to the focus areas (e.g., technical research, security, governance, policy, strategy, field-building)
- Would like to transition into a full-time AI safety role or start your own AI safety focused organization
Prior AI safety experience is not required. Many of their most impactful fellows entered from adjacent fields and quickly made significant contributions.
Application
If you’re interested but not sure you meet every qualification, you can still go ahead to apply.
For more information, visit Constellation Astra Fellowship.
