Frequently Asked Questions

Our tentative timeline for applications and the MATS Winter 2024-25 program is:

Application final deadline: October 6th

Neel Nanda stream applications: Due August 30

Program dates: Jan 6 - Mar 14. The Winter 2024-25 Program takes place in-person in Berkeley, California and has a time commitment of 40 hours per week.

Extension phase: Possible ongoing 2-4 month extensions for select scholars, potentially in Berkeley, California or London, UK.

Based on individual circumstances, we may be willing to alter the time commitment of the scholars program and allow scholars to leave or start early. Please tell us your availability when applying.

We want to be flexible for applicants who have summer exams or start school earlier. Based on individual circumstances, we may be willing to alter the time commitment of the scholars program and allow scholars to leave or start early. Please tell us your availability when applying.

The in-person scholars program can be 20 h/week for very promising applicants with concurrent responsibilities, although we expect a strong involvement in the program and participation in most organized events.

Applicants who will be 18 years or older on January 6th, 2025 are eligible to apply. Both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. All backgrounds and levels of experience are welcome.

Although MATS supports UC Berkeley-based mentors, MATS is an independent program and is not formally part of UC Berkeley. As such, MATS will not be providing student cards to our scholars.

MATS itself cannot provide any funding; however, AI Safety Support has offered to provide a stipend totaling USD 12k for completing the program. Scholars who additionally complete Neel Nanda’s 5-week Training Program are expected to receive the prorated amount of USD 4.8k for time spent. Scholars who are working <40 hr/wk and/or <10 wk will be prorated for their hours.

Separately from this stipend, MATS will provide scholars with travel to and from Berkeley, housing, office space, and lunch and dinner on weekdays.

Scholars who are rejected from Neel’s training phase will receive the USD 4.8k stipend from AI Safety Support for time spent. We encourage those who do not proceed to the main research phase to reapply in the next cohort.

MATS participants may have to pay taxes on their grants based on the rules of the countries in which they are a resident for tax purposes. The grants should be regarded as “private grants from a non-profit entity (AI Safety Support, not MATS) provided to individuals for the purpose of independent research and participation in a US-based educational seminar program.”

The Research Scholars Program will be in-person in Berkeley, CA, from January 6th through March 14th. For exceptional applicants, we may be willing to offer the program online.

MATS is a scientific and educational seminar and independent research program, and therefore scholars from outside the US can apply for B-1 visas (further information here). Scholars who come from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Designated Countries can instead apply to the VWP via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which is processed in three days. Scholars accepted into the VWP can stay up to 90 days in the US, while scholars who receive a B-1 visa can stay up to 180 days. Please note that B-1 visa approval times can be significantly longer than ESTA approval times, depending on your country of origin.

General applications and mentor-specific applications will be reviewed concurrently after the application deadline has passed. Applicants should have all stream applications submitted by the deadline.

There is an option to apply with your own research proposals. This option is likely to be more selective than applying under a mentor; however, we are willing to accept outstanding applicants.

During the scholars’ program, you should expect to meet with your mentor for at least one hour per week, with more frequent communication via Slack. The extent of mentor support will vary depending on the project and the mentor.

Scholars will also receive support from MATS’ Research Management team, who support mentors by tracking scholar research progress, unblocking scholar research, and assisting with grant applications and deadlines.

You can apply to as many mentors as you would be interested in working with; there is no cap. The process is comparable to applying to PhD supervisors.

In the past, we have offered applicants who were successful under multiple mentors the choice of who to work with. In the case that an applicant is borderline accepted with one mentor and much more preferred by another, we will take this into account when considering the applicant's preferences.

Scholars develop as researchers by working with an experienced research mentor, interacting with fellow scholars, and receiving support from our Research Management team. Research managers meet weekly with most scholars and mentors and help with research strategy, research unblocking, and project coordination.

Other forms of training include workshops on different parts of the research process and seminars on a variety of AI technical safety and governance research.

Throughout the program, you will work on a mentored research project, which may result in a paper submission or blog post. You are additionally required to submit a Research Plan midway through the program and give a brief presentation on your research at the Scholar Symposium at the end of the program.

Additionally, scholars interested in the extension program will be required to submit a grant application midway through the program in order to finance housing, daily expenses, office space, etc. after the research phase.

To get into the extension program, you need endorsement from the MATS executive and external funding. The MATS executive (and likely funders) will request an endorsement from your mentor(s) and usually defer to their judgment.

MATS will be holding workshops and seminars to assist scholars submitting grant applications.

Yes. However, you will still need to secure your own funding to cover wages and compute unless otherwise determined by the MATS executive.

MATS will help coordinate funding for scholars for the extension program as scholars will need to secure funding in order to cover daily living expenses, housing, and office rent. MATS will coordinate office space and support staff for scholars, but otherwise scholars will be accountable for their research progress to external funders.

Please feel free to send the MATS executive team (Ryan, Christian) any feedback (including anonymous) regarding the MATS program!