MIT Political Science Luksic Fellowship

About the Program

Applications for the 2024-2025 academic year are closed. Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year will open in October 2024. For more information on the application requirements, please visit the MIT Political Science Admissions website.

Access the 2023 information session 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 or, in the event that no Chilean candidate is accepted, from one of the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, or Panama. In 2020, the Luksic Scholars Foundation became 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 2024-2025 academic year are closed. Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year will open in October 2024. For more information on the application requirements, please visit the MIT Political Science Admissions website.

> Information session: An information session was organized between the Luksic Scholars Foundation and the Department of Political Science at MIT that took place on August 23rd, 2022. It included a presentation from MIT, as well as a conversation with two Luksic Scholars regarding the application process and their program experience. You can find the event recording here.