Nuclear Scholars Initiative

The Nuclear Scholars Initiative aims to provide top graduate students and young professionals from around the country with a unique venue to interact and dialogue with senior experts on nuclear weapons issues. Those accepted into the program are hosted once per month over the course of six months at CSIS in Washington, DC where they participate in two-day workshops.

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About Nuclear Scholars Initiative

The Nuclear Scholars Initiative aims to provide top graduate students and young professionals from around the country with a unique venue to interact and dialogue with senior experts on nuclear weapons issues. Candidates with less than seven years of professional experience are welcome to apply. PONI encourages those with more than seven years of professional experience to apply to the Mid-Career Cadre.

Application Information 

Applications for the 2025 Nuclear Scholars cohort will open in the fall of 2024.

Benefits/Opportunities

Addressing an increasingly complex array of nuclear weapons challenges in the future will require talented next generation professionals with the necessary technical, operational, and policy expertise. To help develop this expertise and connect rising nuclear experts, PONI runs an annual Nuclear Scholars Initiative (NSI) for a group of select graduate students and young professionals from diverse and inclusive backgrounds and perspectives. NSI provides these individuals with a unique venue to interact, dialogue, and gain in-depth knowledge on nuclear weapons, arms control, nonproliferation, and other related challenges. Those accepted into the program are hosted once per month from January to June at CSIS in Washington, DC where they participate in two-day workshops that include discussions with senior experts, professional development seminars, break-out discussions, debates, simulations, and table-top exercises. Topics include deterrence, regional analysis, arms control, nonproliferation, nuclear security, and emerging technology.

Developing your research, writing, and analytic skills are critical components of the Nuclear Scholars Initiative. Scholars are expected to prepare a research product during their time as a scholar. Options include writing an article for the annual PONI journal, a short analysis piece for the Next Generation Nuclear Network (NGNN) website, or a collaborative research project. Scholars will have opportunities to present your research at a PONI conference. During the six months, scholars will be given the opportunity to hone their research product through reviews with their peers, members of the Mid-Career Cadre, and senior experts.

PONI can cover travel costs for select participants located outside of the Washington, DC. PONI is pleased to offer a limited number of spots to non-U.S. citizens for the 2024 cohort. A virtual attendance option will be provided if accepted participants are unable to travel.

Reach out to Lachlan MacKenzie (lmackenzie@csis.org) for more information.