Call for Applications – SNF Agora Visiting Fellows Program 2025-26
Our Visiting Fellows Program supports the institute’s mission of strengthening global democracy by enabling us to integrate a broader range of people into our work. The program recruits a cohort of fellows from diverse sectors, disciplines, backgrounds, and ideologies to join the institute to work with our permanent faculty, researchers, and students. We welcome applicants from civil society, government, industry, media, academia, the arts, and other fields.
We ask fellowship candidates to propose specific fellowship projects they want to pursue. These projects may be undertaken at any time within the fellowship year (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026).
While this is a non-residential fellowship, to support a vibrant and collaborative community, SNF Agora Visiting Fellows are expected to come to JHU’s campuses in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to meet the terms of their project. Visiting Fellows also participate – in person to the extent possible – in regular workshops, seminars, and other programs at the institute, in the larger Johns Hopkins community, and beyond.
For this 2025-26 cycle, in addition to our general call for proposals, we invite proposals in three focus areas: (1) AI for the public good, (2) modernizing civics education at the university level, and (3) examining America’s and China’s role in global development.
We also invite proposals for projects on other topics; for these we strongly recommend identifying a connection to ongoing areas of scholarship at the institute (learn more about our scholarly projects here).
Focus Area 1: AI for the public good
As AI rapidly develops, cities need to make sure that its promise to drive better governance and inclusive economic growth is realized. The institute seeks fellows aiming to harness AI’s transformative technology to strengthen urban communities, government and the economy, including in the City of Baltimore. Potential fellows may be start-up founders, business leaders, labor organizers, technologists, or others interested in using AI for the public good in an urban context.
Focus Area 2: Modernizing civics education at the university level
The economic, technological, political, and socio-demographic shifts of the 21st century necessitate a citizenry with new skills and capabilities, and a commitment to the public good. Civics education is where these skills and orientations are developed. The institute seeks fellows aiming to support our discovery, design, and implementation of strategic efforts to enhance the civic education of Johns Hopkins students and university students in general. Potential fellows may be civic educators, civic practitioners from the public and non-profit sectors, artists, and researchers.
Focus Area 3: Examining America’s and China’s Role in Global Development
Historically, the United States has been the dominant force in shaping global development, while also ranking among the world’s largest providers of foreign assistance. Yet this role has recently been disrupted. At the same time, China’s influence on global development is expanding, and its relationship with the Global South is still evolving. The institute is seeking fellows with expertise in U.S. policymaking on China, or in the roles of the U.S. and China in global development, to contribute to research, dialogue, and teaching initiatives related to these issues. Visiting fellows in this cluster will collaborate with Agora faculty member Yuen Yuen Ang.
General Call: Collaborations with institute faculty
The institute welcomes applications from practitioners whose work would benefit from collaboration with our faculty – advancing their scholarly projects and/or our mission. In your fellowship proposal, please indicate which faculty member(s) you would like to work with and elaborate on the project.
Visiting Fellows’ projects could include, but are not limited to:
- Partnering with SNF Agora Institute faculty on research related to the focus areas.
- Developing and hosting a community of practice around one of the focus areas (examples of institute-supported communities of practice are here).
- Designing and developing a symposium, performance, or other public engagement.
- Developing other content or strategic opportunities for the institute – either related to the focus areas or related to the institute’s mission.
- Teaching a course or other training to students, the wider JHU community, or other publics.
- Providing other forms of teaching or training to students within the SNF Agora Minor in Civic Life, the SNF Agora Academy, the greater JHU community, and/or other publics related to the focus areas.
Benefits
SNF Agora Visiting Fellows are invited to fully participate in the life of the SNF Agora Institute. The fellowship includes dedicated programming for Visiting Fellows, such as workshops and social gatherings, convenings with SNF Agora faculty and senior fellows, and inclusion in all invitation-only SNF Agora programming. Visiting Fellows also have the opportunity to meet with senior university leadership and faculty in disciplines related to their area of inquiry. And they have access to the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries and associated electronic resources available to the university for their research. Become a visiting fellow also means joining a growing community of practitioners and scholars committed to strengthening democracy.
The SNF Agora Institute provides Visiting Fellows with a modest stipend to help defray the costs of their time with the institute. The stipend is pro-rated depending on the amount of time the fellow spends with the institute, the extent to which the fellow has housing needs in Baltimore, and other factors, and only rarely gets as high as $25,000 in a given academic year. (Please note this is a limited–term position that does not carry benefits.) Fellows who have their own funding that would enable them to extend their time with SNF Agora should reach out to us. The institute provides all fellows with shared office space, some administrative and marketing support, and research support from students where possible. The institute also provides assistance with locating short-term housing, where applicable.
Eligibility
Applicants from a variety of backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Prospective visiting fellows should have a clear idea of what they would like to contribute to the institute and the JHU community during their fellowship. They should be prepared to engage in their proposed project(s) for a pre-determined period during the academic year. The specific time commitment and expected workload will be discussed in detail before an official offer is made. Please see our FAQ for more information.
The institute is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and reiterates its full support of Johns Hopkins’s policies and statements in this regard. We add to these policies our own commitment to selecting visiting fellows without regard for political preference or educational background.
Selection Criteria
In general, SNF Agora Visiting Fellow applicants will be considered for participation in the program based on the following criteria:
Relevance of Project to SNF Agora: The applicant’s proposed project must be related to and/or complement the work of SNF Agora and its stated fellowship focus areas. Ideal visiting fellows will be able to draw a clear line from their application proposal to the SNF Agora mission.
Capacity: The applicant must have the capacity within their schedule to organize and lead the range of activities they propose for their time with the institute, and participate in institute programs organized for them. An agenda of commitments will be pre-determined before the visiting fellow’s start; however, they should indicate their availability and willingness to commit to a variety of engagements throughout their fellowship.
Collaboration: The applicant should be willing to collaborate with other SNF Agora fellows, faculty, staff, students, and the greater JHU community. As communication and open dialogue are integral to the mission of our institute, these principles are also strong components of our programming.
Cohort Coherence: In selecting each cohort, we also pay special attention to the balance of expertise, backgrounds, and interests among our visiting fellows. Each year, we seek to select a group of fellows whose work will complement each other, as well as the work of the institute and its thematic focus area, when offered.
To learn about the current SNF Agora Visiting Fellows cohort, visit the faculty and fellows page on our website.
About the SNF Agora Institute
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, founded in 2017, is a multi-disciplinary academic and public forum dedicated to strengthening global democracy by improving and expanding civic engagement and inclusive dialogue, and supporting inquiry that leads to real-world change. By building integrated partnerships with scholars, practitioners, students, and the public, we use research to identify and sharpen strategic choices that members of the public and civic and political stakeholders around the world can make to realize the promise of democracy.
The institute is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and reiterates its full support of
the JHU Office of Diversity and Inclusion. We add to these policies our own commitment to select Visiting Fellows without regard for political preference or educational background.