Horizon Fellowship Applicant FAQs

Eligible fellows are early-to-mid career individuals with demonstrated subject-matter expertise, interest, and relevant background in AI, biotechnology, and related emerging technology areas. Historically, Horizon has supported individuals with varying levels of work and educational experiences.

Demonstrated subject-matter expertise does not need to be a PhD-level specialization; it may be a paper, internship, work project, relevant undergrad degree, or coursework. Beyond credentials, during the application process, we will assess your subject-matter expertise. We expect competitive applicants to be able to explain concepts in their subject area to a non-technical expert.

We are unfortunately not able to sponsor visas for fellows; applicants must have pre-existing work authorization not dependent on employer sponsorship to be eligible for the program. One potential exception is special visas available to citizens from Australia (E-3), Canada (TN), and Mexico (TN), for which initial research indicates that we may be able to accommodate individuals on these visas. We will need to investigate eligibility further with each individual on a case-by-case basis.

Permanent residents (green card holders) are eligible for the fellowship, but may not be able to work in the executive branch due to citizenship and/or security clearance requirements. 

We may be able to support individuals on F-1 visas during their first year of post-graduation OPT (think tank placements only). We cannot support individuals on a STEM OPT extension. 

If you have further questions, please contact us at admin@horizonpublicservice.org.

No. Security clearances may be required for some executive branch placements, but will generally not be necessary for Congressional or think tank placements. 

Only US citizens are eligible to receive a US security clearance, with some rare exceptions for citizens of close US allies. For more information on security clearances, see this primer. You can also look through SF-86, the form used to apply for security clearances.

If you are selected for the fellowship and require a security clearance for your position, we will provide you with access to a specialist attorney to help you navigate the process. 

Work experience is not required for the think tank junior fellow track. You may apply while you are still finishing college. For example, for the applications due in fall 2024, we welcome applications from spring 2025 graduates as long as they are available to start their fellowship placement in summer 2025. 

All other tracks require multiple years of work experience or graduate-level academic training (e.g. PhD, JD, MD). We care more about attitude and aptitudes than formal credentials, so if you are unsure whether you are eligible, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Horizon has no specific degree requirements for the fellowship. We consider an application holistically, and evaluate an applicant based on their background, knowledge, and motivation rather than educational credentials.

For the purposes of this program, relevant subject-matter expertise can be demonstrated through a wide variety of activities, including academic or professional accomplishments such as a relevant degree, publications or self-study projects, short-term fellowships, or work experience. Due to the lack of people with technical training or on-the-ground experience related to emerging technology in the policy world, even relatively modest familiarity can be of significant value. For junior fellows, for example, we are happy to consider candidates with a relevant undergraduate minor or internship. 

We believe a wide range of backgrounds are relevant to emerging technology policy. For example, relevant areas for AI include not just machine learning but also other computing fields and applied data science or product experience, and relevant areas for biotechnology include biosecurity as well as public health and many other STEM fields. We also welcome applicants — and have historically accepted several fellows — with non-technical backgrounds such as lawyers and journalists, as long as they have developed some level of subject-matter expertise. 

We care more about attitude and aptitudes than about formal credentials, so if you are in doubt about whether you have sufficient credentials, we encourage you to apply.

No. This program is designed to accommodate people without prior experience in policy, though individuals with policy experience are welcome to apply. 

We are especially likely to support people who would use this fellowship to broaden their areas of expertise. For example, we’re likely to be more excited to support someone who is an expert in another policy area to pivot to working on AI than to support someone who has already worked in AI policy and who wants to continue doing so. 

However, we will evaluate each case individually, so we encourage all interested persons to apply.

We have two main internal tracks (AI and biotechnology) and we expect most fellows to be literate in one of the two. However, the program is not restricted to these two fields alone; when considering applications and placement options, we can account for other interests that align with Horizon’s priorities, which could include other technologies and scientific fields. Please elaborate on these in your application. Because most policy problems are complex and cross-cutting, many of our fellows work not only on AI/biotechnology but also on other technology and policy areas during their placements.

If you have relevant experience and/or interest in both AI and biotechnology, please feel free to indicate this in your application. We will likely ask you to select one of these as your primary track during the interview process, for the purpose of a subject-matter interview, but it is often possible to work on both areas simultaneously during fellowship placements.

No, all fellows must reside in the Washington, DC area. Individuals must be available to work full-time in the DC area by August of their placement year to be eligible (e.g. by August 2025 for individuals applying in summer 2024). 

The main fellowship page lists characteristics that make strong applicants for each of our tracks, for example, research and writing experience for think tank fellows. While some details vary by track, common themes include: demonstrated subject-matter expertise and interest, interpersonal skills, communication and writing skills, ability to think through difficult policy trade-offs created by current and emerging technological capabilities, willingness to learn about broad sets of issues, and public service motivation.

We’d encourage you to do some research and reflect on which fellowship track you’re interested in (i.e. think tank, Congress, executive branch), and to start reading about potential host organization(s) of interest. You may want to familiarize yourself with current emerging technology policy debates or key issues related to your area of focus. During the application process, we will screen for prospective fit for policy work, so familiarizing yourself with policy documents, debates, and institutions may be most helpful.

Technical reading is also welcome, especially if you have limited pre-existing technical background in your application area, but we expect fellows to be able to acquire most necessary technical knowledge or advice during the fellowship. Our application process will focus primarily (though not exclusively) on policy knowledge.

The following answer refers to our Fall 2024 application cycle. We expect this answer to be representative of future application cycles, though details may change.

We plan to make most offers by the end of November 2024. Below is a rough timeline of our process. Additional steps may be added to the process to allow us to best evaluate applicants.

To reduce any bias in the process, we blind-grade work samples, contract with subject matter experts for technical interviews, and have an external specialist, who is also involved in selection for several other tech policy fellowships, participate in our final round interviews.

We’re making a few adjustments to our application and vetting process in light of the election:

1. We ask candidates about their interest in serving in each potential administration in our application form.

2. We will provide information to candidates of examples of people who have served in previous recent Democratic or Republican administrations so they understand the implications of election outcomes on their potential placement. 

3. Finalists will have the opportunity to wait to accept their offer to join the 2025 fellowship cohort until after the election (Tuesday, November 5, 2024). 

In 2025, we plan to actively support executive branch fellows in case their office is impacted after an administration change (which may be the case for some, but not all, of our fellows). Horizon may also offer flexibility to fellows about switching between tracks once accepted into the fellowship (e.g. switching from the executive branch to a think tank or Congress). 

If you’re interested in the Horizon Fellowship conditional on certain election outcomes, we encourage you to apply and note those conditions in your application.

Applications may be reviewed on a staggered, rolling basis. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as you are ready. The selection process will include work sample tasks, so the earlier you apply, the more flexibility you will have in completing those steps. 

Waiting to submit your application until the due date will not harm your chances of moving on to the next stage.

Applicants are allowed to indicate interest in multiple tracks (executive branch, Congress, and think tank). There is no advantage or disadvantage to applying to one or multiple tracks; please apply to whichever fellowship track(s) you are most interested in. If you are potentially interested in multiple, indicate multiple. 

Regardless of whether you apply to one or multiple fellowship tracks, you should briefly explain what type(s) of host organization you’d prefer, and why you think you would be a good fit for them.

Most think tank applicants with less than 3 years of full-time work experience or without a PhD will be best suited for the "junior fellow" track, but these determinations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you are open to both the fellow and junior fellow track, you can indicate this in your application.

The second (technical) interview will focus on the subject area you have selected (AI or biotechnology). This interview will assess your understanding of the subject area and your ability to explain technical concepts to a non-technical audience.

In addition, this interview may ask follow-up questions about your work sample and policy areas of interest.

We do not have an exact target for the number of fellows, either in general or for specific fellowship tracks. Cohort size will depend on the composition and quality of our applicant pool, on the level of interest of host organizations, and on our fellowship team’s capacity to support specific individuals. You can look at past cohorts' size and composition on our Meet our Fellows page. 

Application materials will be shared with Horizon program staff and select outside evaluators. In your initial application form, you may choose to give us permission to share relevant information from your application with other organizations in our network. Horizon's mission is to promote public service writ large, and we occasionally refer willing applicants to related opportunities (fellowships, jobs, etc.) if we think they might be a good fit. 

If selected for the fellowship program, we will not share your application materials with potential host organizations without an opportunity for you to edit any materials shared.

The fellowship is a talent development program. We hope that fellows will gain skills and experiences through their participation that enable them to contribute to policy in the future. This could be in DC (both inside and outside of government) or elsewhere (e.g. at technology companies). Our main goal is for fellows to continue pursuing public service, broadly defined.

The fellowship program has no specific policy agenda, and immediate policy impact is not a goal; this program is primarily an effort to broaden the pipeline of talent able to work at the intersection of policy and emerging technology, which we hope will, over the long run, improve the quality of decision-making both inside and outside of government.

This program is similar to other fellowships in that it is intended to enable people with technical expertise to quickly acclimate to the policy world. It mainly differs in its focus on people interested in specific technology areas which Horizon considers to be especially high priorities, as well as certain design features, such as being able to switch institutional tracks in the second year of the program. We highly encourage people interested in a Horizon fellowship to also consider other programs such as TechCongress and AAAS STPF. 

The following answer refers to our fall 2024 application cycle. 

Fellows receive a stipend of $110,000/year and junior fellows receive $75,000/year equivalent, plus $15,000 in health care support (e.g. to purchase private insurance on the DC Health Exchange). In addition, all fellows and junior fellows are provided up to $3,000 for relocation to DC (if needed) and up to $3,000 each year for professional development activities (e.g. attending professional conferences or skills classes). Need-based financial assistance is available by application.

Timing of the stipend pay-out varies across fellowship tracks. Congressional fellows are expected to move to DC and be available full-time for their training and matching periods, so they will be compensated from their training period onward. In contrast, executive branch and think tank fellows will have remote and part-time training and matching periods, allowing them to continue working or studying while completing their training and matching. For executive branch and think tank fellows, the stipend will begin only once they start their fellowship placement. See here for an overview of relevant dates.

We recognize the unique challenges that people from underrepresented backgrounds face in fields such as technology. We strongly encourage individuals from these groups to apply, and we will work hard to ensure that fellows from these groups match with suitable host organizations and receive tailored mentorship and support that will enable them to succeed in their fellowships. We are also committed to using evidence-based best practices in our application and review process to promote diversity within our talent pool, such as blind-grading application materials and compensating applicants for their time spent on work tests.

The Horizon training focuses on (a) practicing policy skills such as writing and communication, (b) developing institutional knowledge relevant to your fellowship track, and (c) tailored one-on-one sessions. Sessions include interactive applied exercises (e.g. in writing and pitching) and conversations with senior policy experts. The training is designed to set fellows up for success in matching with a host organization.

Executive branch and think tank fellows will be expected to spend around 8 hours per week for the duration of their 10-week Horizon training program (January through March). Congressional fellows will have a 3-week full-time training period, starting in either January or June. Congressional fellows who start in June will also be expected to participate in the Horizon training program. 

We expect participants to start their fellowship placements in spring or summer, and will make exceptions only under extreme circumstances. In past cohorts, most fellows have started their placements between early June and late August, although earlier placements may be possible.

This depends on the fellowship track and may vary on a case-by-case basis. Executive branch fellows will be hired as employees or contractors by Horizon, in compliance with requirements set by federal agency hiring rules. We expect most Congressional and think tank fellows to be paid via a scholarship grant, in which case they will not be official employees of either the host organization or Horizon.

We do not restrict fellows’ options to a limited set of host organizations; we can work with any host organization that is willing and able to host a fellow. Applicants and fellows are encouraged to identify specific host organizations that they would like to work for, and we will work with you to compose a tailored list of organizations where you would likely be a good fit (in terms of interests, skills, etc.). We are in regular contact with many potential host organizations that are active in AI and biotechnology policy. The host organizations of our past fellows illustrate some of the options you would have as a fellow.

Fellows’ work activities will vary depending on their host organization, but we intend all placements to be relevant in some way to AI, biotechnology or other priority technology areas. Fellows’ work will ultimately be directed by their host organization, so we will seek to match fellows with hosts which have meaningful demand for the fellow’s particular skills and interests. Congressional fellows are likely to have broader portfolios that change over time based on political and societal developments, as will some executive branch fellows, whereas think tank fellows can often develop longer-term focused agendas.

All fellows have the possibility of renewing for another term (6 months for junior fellows, 12 months for everyone else). Renewals will be conditional on interest from both a host organization and the fellow. While we cannot guarantee renewals, we expect to approve renewals for any fellow who performed well during their first term, who contributed positively to our fellowship community, and who remains interested in pursuing a policy career. Thus far, we have granted renewals for 100% of fellows who have requested it. 

Fellows may spend the second term of their fellowship at the same host organization, but they may also switch host organizations or even fellowship tracks (junior think tank fellows may only renew at think tanks). For example, a fellow who did a think tank placement in their first year could do a congressional placement in their second year. Fellows are ultimately responsible for securing a second-year placement. Unlike in the first year, there is no formal matching round for a second-year placement, but Horizon staff will support fellows through introductions and advice.