Applied Research Fellowship
Take your PhD somewhere it has never been.
The Decision Lab’s Applied Research Fellowship places exceptional late-stage PhD students inside a working behavioral science practice - running studies, building with AI, and shaping decisions at organizations like the Gates Foundation and the World Bank.
Apply for the fellowship01
The work
Fellows do not shadow. From week one you carry real research inside live engagements, splitting your time between deep analytical work and getting that work into the hands of people who act on it.
60%
Research and analysis
Literature reviews, experimental design, and behavioral diagnostics that feed working papers, policy briefs, and the research behind our client work.
40%
Applied translation
Projects with public- and private-sector partners - turning findings into recommendations, deliverables, and decisions that hold up outside the lab.
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Why it’s different
Real stakes
Your work ships to partners like the Gates Foundation and the World Bank, not to a supervisor's inbox. Deadlines are real and so is the impact.
AI-native by default
You will build with tools like Claude and Cursor as part of daily practice - not as a novelty, but as how modern research gets done.
Mentorship that compounds
You work directly alongside TDL's research leads on problems they care about, with feedback loops measured in days, not semesters.
A publishing engine
TDL runs one of the most widely read behavioral science publications in the world. Strong work here gets seen.
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Who we’re looking for
Fellows are late-stage PhD students in psychology, economics, cognitive science, public policy, AI, data science, or an adjacent field - people who are rigorous by training and restless by temperament.
- Strong analytical and critical thinking
- Clear written communication in English
- Curiosity about AI and a tinkering mindset
- Comfort working independently and in teams
- An interest in research careers beyond academia
The fellowship is unpaid and designed for students with external funding from a university or academic program. We do not accept candidates who want to work for free - you must indicate your funding source when you apply.
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How to apply
1
Apply
Send a 1-2 page CV and a statement of interest, up to 200 words, covering your academic focus, your interest in applied behavioral science, and your funding source.
2
Interview
Shortlisted candidates join a brief conversation about research interests and project alignment.
3
Start
Fellows join in September, with flexibility around academic schedules, and are matched to live projects from day one.
4
Submit
The work ships. Fellows post a literature review publicly in their first weeks, then run one or two studies that each end in a submitted paper.
Bring your research somewhere it counts.
Apply for the fellowshipGET IN TOUCH
Speak to our team.
Fill in the form and a member of our team will reach out.
info@thedecisionlab.com