Scholars, practitioners, journalists, and public intellectuals are eligible for its flagship Research Fellowship Program. Fellows conduct research and write in their areas of interest, while interacting with policymakers in Washington and other fellows.

The Center accepts policy-relevant, nonpartisan fellowship proposals that address key foreign policy challenges confronting the United States and the world. Projects must focus on at least one of the following scholarship pillars of the Wilson Center: strategic competition, economic statecraft, technology and innovation, and regional scholarship.