Society of Fellows

Deadline for submitting applications: July 10, 2025

Apply here!

The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality relaunched its student program in the 2024–2025 academic year. Applications for the Center’s Society of Fellows are open to students in all fields who will be studying towards a research-based Master’s or PhD program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for both semesters of the 2025-2026 academic year.

Students in the Fellows program commit to spend all Sundays in the 2025-2026 academic year at the Center on the Edmond Safra campus, for a full day of activities (8:30 am-3:30pm), including participating in a specialized interdisciplinary course (more details below) in the mornings, joining a brown-bag lunch with Center members and guests, and attending the Center’s seminar series after lunch. (Students who have conflicting commitments on Sundays may not apply.)

In return, accepted students receive membership in an elite cohort of interdisciplinary scholars, a bonus fellowship of 2,500 NIS per month for one year on top of any other fellowships they are receiving (not constrained by the University’s usual fellowship maximums, though such exceptions are subject to the approval of the Rector’s office), access to shared office space at the Center with an invitation to work at the Center throughout the year (not just on Sundays), ample opportunities for interactions with Center members, and invitations to all Center events.

Prerequisites

Applicants to the Society of Fellows program should have background in mathematics including differential calculus, integral calculus, and linear algebra, and should also have taken an introductory course in statistics and probability. Students whose first degree was in a less-mathematical field and others who may have gaps in their background are invited to consult with the Center's Director of Graduate Studies before applying to the program.

Annual Retreat

Students in the Society of Fellows program must attend the Center’s annual retreat and give a lecture in the retreat either in that year or (if their research is not yet at an advanced stage) in the following year.

Course: Modeling and Measuring Social Phenomena

This course, required for all students of the Society of Fellows program, takes place at the Center on Sundays. It is be an intimate course run just for the Center’s elite cohort and features guest lecturers, mostly Center members, who review modeling and measurement approaches in their fields and present research vignettes. The course involves a substantial discussion component. Student deliverables include an interdisciplinary capstone research project. The 6 credit points (NZ) for the annual course cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements. Tuition for the course is waived by the university.

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Decision-making processes and rational explanations of social phenomena can be studied using a large variety of research tools from a wide range of disciplines. For example, concepts and tools from the field of mathematical game theory can be used to explore economic processes, biological evolution, and parliamentary legislation; experimental and theoretical techniques from the field of psychology can be used to explain errors in judgment; and methods from the field of statistics can be used to study processes of rational decision making.

The Center for the Study of Rationality is a multidisciplinary center whose members are concerned with these and related issues. Members of the Center come from the departments of Biology, Business Administration, Computer Science, Economics, Education, Law, Mathematics, Neurobiology, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Statistics and Data Science.

The Center has hosted graduate students in programs of various formats since 2006.

Program requirements:

• Completion of compulsory two-semester course, "Modeling and measurement of social phenomena" (6 credits).
• Mandatory attendance and participation in activities at the Center on Sundays (8:30-15:30).
• Submission of interdisciplinary research project.
• Participation in annual retreat.

Application process

To apply, please provide the following:

• Grade transcripts
• Two letters of recommendation (to be submitted directly by the persons writing); one of these should come from the student’s research supervisor, if the student has one, and should indicate the supervisor’s support for the student joining the Society of Fellows program.
• CV (English only)
• A one-page cover letter (English only) highlighting why you want to join the program, how your academic background prepares you for it, and what you hope to gain from it.

Please submit the application package using following this link.

If you experience any difficulties during the registration or login process, please contact the university’s IT support center using the details provided here.

For additional questions, you may also contact Keren Goldberg at: kerengoldb@savion.huji.ac.il

 

Deadline for submitting applications: July 10, 2025.