The Decision Lab is recruiting late-stage PhD students for the January 2027 cohort of its Applied Research Fellow Program. Fellows spend 16 weeks developing their own research on behavioral science and AI with support from our senior researchers, then apply it on live client projects. The fellowship is based in Montreal, and remote participation is possible for strong candidates.

Please read this first: the fellowship is unpaid. It is open only to PhD students who are already funded, either by their home program or through programs at their institution such as graduate internship fellowships, doctoral internship programs or mobility awards. We don't accept candidates who would be working for free, because that favors people who can afford to. Please name your funding source in your statement.

About The Decision Lab

The Decision Lab is an applied research and innovation firm. We use behavioral science and AI to help organizations make better decisions, and we run one of the largest publications in applied behavioral science. Past clients include the Gates Foundation and the World Bank.

What you'll work on

Many of our current projects sit where behavioral science meets AI, including human-AI interaction and responsible AI. We're also building Artificial Populations, a platform that uses synthetic participants to run surveys and interviews in hours rather than weeks.

Research and analysis (about 70% of your time)

- Structured literature reviews and evidence syntheses
- Experimental design, measurement strategies and analysis plans
- Behavioral diagnostics and research frameworks
- Research notes, working papers, policy briefs and public-facing outputs

Client work (about 30% of your time)

- Supporting applied projects with public- and private-sector partners
- Turning research findings into recommendations, reports and client decks
- Seeing how academic research gets adapted for policy and product settings
- Sharing your work with TDL's research leads, with feedback in days rather than semesters

What past fellows have done

Hilary Sweatman (PhD,



Neuroscience, McGill) worked with a large nonprofit foundation to build a framework for evaluating digital support tools in higher education. Catalina Eneström (PhD, Experimental Psychology, McGill) studied how sensory experiences shape consumer behavior for a global beauty company and contributed to a journal article on sustainable beauty habits.

Who we're looking for

Must-haves

- Late-stage PhD student in psychology, economics, cognitive science, behavioral science, AI, public policy, data science or a related field
- Familiarity with behavioral science methods such as experimental design, causal inference or decision-making research
- Curiosity about AI, and a willingness to use tools like Claude Code or Cursor to speed up your writing and analysis
- Strong analytical skills and clear written English
- Ability to work independently on scoped tasks while collaborating with a research team

Nice to have

- Familiarity with AI topics such as human-AI interaction or misinformation (technical expertise is not required)
- Exposure to policy analysis or consulting work, or an interest in research careers outside academia

You don't need to meet every criterion to be a strong fit. Research shows that women and people from marginalized backgrounds are more likely to hold back from applying when they can't tick every box, so we're saying it directly.

How to apply

Please submit:

- A CV of 1-2 pages
- A statement of interest of up to 200 words covering your academic focus, your interest in applied behavioral science, how the fellowship fits your training and your funding source
- 2 to 3 samples of your work

Shortlisted candidates will have a short conversation with us about their research interests and fit with current projects. The January 2027 cohort starts in mid-January. If that timing doesn't work for you, we're open to considering you for our next cohort, so please mention your preferred start date in your statement. We're happy to work around your academic schedule.

Learn more about the fellowship: https://thedecisionlab.com/fellow-program The Decision Lab is an equal-prospect employer.

📌 Applied Research Fellow (Montreal)
🏢 The Decision Lab
📍 Montreal