21 June – 11 July
We are excited to share that this year’s DISI will take place at a new location: Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York’s beautiful Finger Lakes region.
The idea behind DISI is simple. We bring together promising early-career scholars (graduate students, postdocs, and faculty) for several weeks of serious interdisciplinary exploration. If you are interested in the origins, nature, and future of intelligences—regardless of discipline—please apply!
Our program engages three broad themes:
- Recognizing intelligences (i.e., the study of biological but non-human minds)
- Shaping human intelligences (i.e., how development, culture, ideas, technology, etc., shape human capacities)
- Programming intelligences (i.e., artificial intelligence and its broader implications)
Each year’s DISI has a special thematic focus, which is reflected in additional faculty emphasis and a working group. The 2026 focus is Broader Implications of Diverse Intelligences; in other words, what implications does the Diverse Intelligences perspective have for philosophy, society, the humanities, etc. If your work connects with this focus, please let us know! However, most participants will not connect with the annual focus, so please don’t let the topic deter you from applying. We welcome applications from scholars working on any and all aspects of mind, cognition, and intelligence; indeed, they will make up the majority of admitted participants.
To enrich the conversation, we also recruit several “storytellers” (artists, writers, filmmakers, etc.) who participate in the intellectual life of the institute while pursuing related creative projects.
We’re looking for open-minded participants who want to take intellectual risks and break down disciplinary barriers in the spirit of dialogue and discovery. We hope that this creative community will work together to develop new ways of engaging with big questions about mind, cognition, and intelligences.
Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we will cover most of the cost of participation in the institute (including lodging, breakfasts, and dinners). We ask admitted participants to seek travel funding from their home institutions or employers; a limited number of travel scholarships will be available. Upon completion of DISI, participants will join our growing network of past faculty and alumni, with lifetime access to dedicated resources (e.g., funding opportunities for future projects and fellowships).
Review of applications will begin on Monday, March 23 and will continue until all spots are filled. The application can be found at: https://disi.org/apply/.
Be sure to share this opportunity with any talented folks who might be interested in this opportunity. Thank you for helping us grow our DISI community!