MIT Political Science Luksic Fellowship

About the Program

Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year are closed and will re-open in October 2025 for the 2026-2027 academic year. Please visit the MIT Political Science Admissions website for information on the application requirements.

Access our information session recording via YouTube. 

In 2010, following a donation from Andrónico Luksic Craig to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the endowed “Andrónico Luksic Fellowship” was established. This Fund contributes to the comprehensive funding package that MIT offers all candidates on the Doctorate of Political Sciences program at the Department of Political Science. The Fellowship is granted to one candidate from Chile each year. The Luksic Foundation is now the coordinating entity on behalf of the donor.

The merit-based funding package includes 6 consecutive years of full tuition and health insurance coverage, plus a 12-month stipend in years 1-5 and a 9-month stipend in year 6, provided students remain in good academic standing. Funding consists of a combination of fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships.

The doctoral students at MIT explore the empirical phenomena that produce new scholarly insights—insights that MIT believes improve the way governments and societies function. More specifically, the program requires preparation in two of the following major fields: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Models and Methods, Political Economy, or Security Studies.

Program characteristics:

• Duration: 12 semesters (approx. 6 years).
• Required classes include statistics, empirical research methods, political philosophy, and a second-year paper workshop.
• General exams in two subfields (one combined oral and two written) and a doctoral thesis.

Documentation needed to apply:

• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores
• TOEFL iBT or IELTS scores (if English is a second language)
• Statement of Objectives
• Personal statement
• Resume
• Writing sample
• Academic transcripts
• Letters of recommendation

Application timeline: Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year are closed and will re-open in October 2025 for the 2026-2027 academic year. Please visit the MIT Political Science Admissions website for information on the application requirements.