GNSPI Fellowship

2027 GNSPI Deterrence Fellowship

Call for Applications

Application Window: 1-31 October 2026

The Global & National Security Policy Institute (GNSPI) at the University of New Mexico (UNM) announces its 2026-2027 GNSPI Fellowship, organized around the theme of “Practical Deterrence and Global Stability during Strategic Transition.”

The Fellowship is made possible by generous funding from the Center for National Security and International Studies (CNSIS) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

About GNSPI. GNSPI’s mission is to contribute to improving global and national security by educating security professionals and pre-professionals and contributing to debates about pressing security issues in four categories: Critical & Emerging Technology Policy, National Security Policy and Strategy, Intelligence Analysis, and Transnational Security Policy. GNSPI takes advantage of the important national security nexus of Albuquerque, building partnerships with local and regional security institutions, such as Los Alamos National Lab, Sandia National Laboratories, the Air Force Research Lab, and other units at Kirtland Air Force Base. Our Professional Master of Science in Global & National Security and graduate certificate educate emerging leaders in national security, while the Fellowship program advances interdisciplinary policy analysis skills for students from any GNSPI-affiliated department or major. Non-Resident Fellows with practitioner experience will play an important role in the professional development of student-fellows.

The Fellowship Concept. The Fellows will include a cohort of 24 fellows across three levels—Non-Resident Research Fellows (12), Graduate Fellows (5), and Junior Fellows (7)—who will workshop their research, engage in mentoring/coaching, and work throughout the year (with initial strategy meetings in late 2026) on a theme relevant to national security priorities. The work produced will form the basis of the Global & National Security Symposium in late August, after which the Fellows will finalize their work for publication in an anthology (aka edited volume). Each year, the theme will be different, covering substantive issues of high importance. For the 2027 GNSPI Research Fellowship, the theme will be “Practical Deterrence and Global Stability during Strategic Transition.” See Research Abstract below. 

Non-Resident Research Fellows. We will select twelve Non-Resident Research Fellows who are a) current or former practitioners with scholarly profiles or 2) scholars seeking to translate their expertise for practitioners working on or wishing to work on the annual theme of Practical Deterrence and Global Stability during Strategic Transition. In addition to producing original research, the Research Fellows will provide mentorship and practitioner-focused feedback to the Graduate and Junior Fellows’ projects. The Research Fellows will present their work at the Global & National Security Symposium in late August 2027. We encourage both local and non-local applicants. The Research Fellows will have an obligation to meet (roughly) monthly for Progress Workshops and at least one additional Writing Workshop meeting to either provide professional development content to student-fellows or serve as a reviewer for a student’s or group’s research progress.

The Research Fellowship is voluntary but comes with several professional and personal benefits. Research Fellows have the opportunity to contribute to research meant to have a direct, practical impact on practitioners in the deterrence space, and will get authorship credit for their contribution. The research is collaborative and includes multiple iterations of peer feedback to improve the product and skills of the Fellows. If funding allows, GNSPI will pay for Research Fellows to travel to the Global & National Security Symposium and fellows workshop in August 2027. Research Fellows will network with professionals in Albuquerque’s corner of the national security space and get the opportunity to mentor and provide professional development to future or emerging leaders, expanding their network. Research Fellows can use the GNSPI Research Fellow title, and will receive support for logistics, editing for publication, and connections for interviews. Research Fellows can attend all GNSPI events locally or online.

Apply Here for the Non-Resident Fellowship

Graduate & Junior Fellows. GNSPI will select five Graduate Fellows and seven Junior (undergraduate) Fellows from any major or unit will apply their disciplinary or interdisciplinary research skills to the annual theme to produce a rigorous policy-focused research project. Graduate Fellows serve as a bridge between the Non-Resident Research Fellows both providing and receiving mentorship. Junior Fellows will be in their third or fourth year, having completed at least one research methods course with a declared intent to return to UNM in the fall. Graduate and Junior Fellows will meet weekly in Spring 2027 for an evening course, titled The GNSPI Fellowship, which they can elect to take for credit or not, depending on their circumstances. They must also be available for additional preparatory or wrap-up meetings outside of spring 2027 as deemed necessary (e.g., one preparatory meeting in December and 1-2 summer editing sessions). The selected Student-Fellows will receive a $500 award, payable at the successful completion of the fellowship in August 2027.

Apply Here for the Student-Fellowship 

More Information on Fellowship Activities

Monthly Progress Workshops. The full cohort will gather monthly between December and August 2027 in virtual sessions to discuss their progress, workshop their challenges, and provide group accountability. The full cohort will also meet in person following the Symposium for a final workshop to discuss publication details.

Weekly Writing Workshops. The student portion of the cohort will gather weekly for writing workshops in Spring 2027, organized in a classroom seminar taken for academic credit. The sessions will include instruction on research and writing, the space to workshop their research with their peers and mentors, and occasional professional development content from Research Fellows. Fellows will be broken into smaller groups to provide each other with feedback and advance each project on a set timeline.

Field Studies: The student portion of the cohort (and local Research Fellows if schedules allow) will travel to local organizations in the security sector (e.g., Los Alamos National Lab, Sandia National Laboratories, the Trinity Site, or other relevant units in the region) to learn how they contribute to global and/or national security. The destinations allow students to see the practical side of their academic journeys and by visiting organizations to broaden their mindset to see how (or whether) the pieces of the security apparatus fit or work together.

Research Dissemination and Publication. Fellows will present their work at the Global & National Security Symposium in late August, with Non-Resident Research Fellows and Graduate Fellows serving as panelists and speakers, while Junior Fellows present their work in a poster session. Following the Symposium, the GNSPI Director will work with all the Fellows to ensure the work is of publishable quality and publish the research in an anthology/edited volume (book with different authors for separate chapters).

Research Abstract - “Practical Deterrence and Global Stability During Strategic Transition.” The GNSPI Fellowship builds a multi-generational (undergraduate, graduate, and professional) and multidisciplinary cohort focused on professional and academic development for students and the production of policy-relevant research around a specific theme. The 2026-2027 Deterrence Research Fellows will brainstorm, research, and write a book that teaches deterrence, escalation, and strategic stability to help practitioners implement policy based on sound and empirically validated theory. Theory on deterrence suggests a delicate balance between the defender's credible deterrent threats to the challenger, reassurances to the ally that they won't be abandoned (in extended deterrence relationships), and assurances for the adversary to mitigate the potential for a security dilemma. The central goal of this research is to translate and validate theory for practitioners to ensure the implementation of deterrence policy that takes all three pillars seriously at the strategic, theater, or operational level, though the theory we apply need not be limited to these aspects. This collaborative research project will evolve once the Fellows are selected and contribute to a group strategy session for the volume—thus, the project is not set in stone based on this abstract. Nonetheless, the final research publication will a) connect theory to planning and operations, b) validate the theoretical concepts and approach in historical case studies, and 3) apply the lessons to current challenges. The scope of the research is broad and can include nuclear, conventional, and extended deterrence as well as the nuclear escalation consequences of operational choices during armed conflict with nuclear adversaries, each with the goal to arm practitioners with the conceptual, theoretical, and practical knowledge to implement robust deterrence policies for US national security and global stability.

Application Instructions. Rather than a traditional letter of interest, applicants will address their qualifications and proposed contributions through a Google Form [GNSPI Non-Resident Fellowship Application or the GNSPI Student Fellowship Application] and submit the accompanying documents to gnspi@unm.edu.

To prepare your responses before you apply, the fields in the GNSPI Non-Resident Fellowship Application are listed here:

1. First Name
2. Last Name
3. Professional Title
4. Email Address
5. Text entry: Please address how your background (professional and/or academic) will help you contribute to the research project. For instance, does your background include work or academic expertise related to deterrence, nuclear/theater strategy and planning, a specific region, a relevant technology, etc. or a combination of these items?
6. Text entry: What professional development topic(s) or mentoring would you be willing to offer to student-fellows. Feel free to list several topics, but there is no expectation to provide more than one during duration of the Fellowship.
7. Text entry: Do you have any additional comments, questions, or concerns? Do you have ideas for how to improve the project at this stage? Is there anything else we should know that could influence the selection?
8. Check box: I have the availability to commit entirely to the program, including monthly meetings on Monday nights, time to work independently on my chapter between meetings, and see the project to fruition.
9. Check box: I understand that the fellowship is voluntary and I have no expectation of payment.
10. Check box: I have emailed my Resume or CV to gnspi@unm.edu.
11. Check box: I have emailed a writing sample to gnspi@unm.edu. Note: the writing sample need not be on deterrence, but it may be helpful to assess the applicant’s suitability.

To prepare your responses before you apply, the fields in the GNSPI Student-Fellows Application are listed here:

1. First Name
2. Last Name
3. Email Address
4. Academic Level
   1. Undergraduate (Juniors or Seniors with intent to return for class in fall 2027 preferred)
   2. Masters
   3. PhD 
5. Major or Graduate Program name
6. Text entry: Please address how the classes you have taken or independent research will contribute to work on deterrence, national security, or global security (broadly defined). Include courses that have taught research methods (in any field) or other relevant skills and/or courses that taught specific areas of knowledge that are useful.
7. Text entry: Please address how previous projects you have completed for class or elsewhere have prepared you to complete a long-term research project. 
8. Text entry: What career(s) are you considering? And what skills or knowledge would you like to see the Fellowship  develop include to help you prepare for those careers?
9. Text entry: Please list the name and email address for one academic reference (a professor who can confirm you are qualified for the fellowship). Note: Please ask this person ahead of time if they are willing to be listed.
10. Text entry: Do you have any additional comments, questions, or concerns? Do you have ideas for how to improve the project at this stage? Is there anything else we should know that could influence the selection.
11. Check box: I have the availability to commit entirely to the program, including weekly meetings on Monday nights, time to work independently on my research between meetings, and see the project to fruition.
12. Check box: I understand that the fellowship award ($500) is payable upon completion of the fellowship in August 2027.
13. Check box: I have emailed my Resume or CV to gnspi@unm.edu.
14. Check box: I have emailed my transcripts (unofficial are okay) to gnspi@unm.edu.
15. Check box: I have emailed a writing sample to gnspi@unm.edu. Note: the writing sample can come from any class where you are the sole author. It does not have to be on the subject of the fellowship. 

Email Phil Hultquist (philhult@unm.edu) to set up a Zoom meeting if you have questions or want to discuss your potential contributions before you apply.

Preliminary Timeline.

Please send any questions to Philip Hultquist (philhult@unm.edu).