Anthropic has relaunched the Claude Campus Ambassador program, dividing it into three tracks based on educational level: the undergraduate Claude Builder Club, the master's Claude Campus Conversations, and the doctoral and postdoctoral Claude Science. Selected participants will each receive a cash stipend of $3,600, with the program running from September 2026 to June 2027.

The application window opens on September 1 and closes on September 12 at 23:59 Pacific Time, with rolling reviews. Students over 18 with work permits in their country of study can apply; the pilot phase for graduate and doctoral tracks will initially select from a smaller pool of schools. The official page states that the program is hosted by Anthropic, with external organizations providing execution support. Students can provide feedback on features and ideas to the product team.

The undergraduate track requires the establishment of an AI Builders Club on campus, organizing technical and non-technical workshops, inviting Anthropic guests, hosting hackathons and demo nights, and distributing updates, tips, and API credits to members. The master's track is aimed at STEM or humanities master's students, organizing discussions on AI, education, and social issues, showcasing projects created by students using Claude, and providing access to Anthropic's office and the global ambassador network.

The doctoral and postdoctoral track targets those advancing research with AI, building a research community on campus, hosting Claude for Science workshops, participating in math and science team presentations, and engaging directly with company scientists. The company is also offering Team plan discounts to eligible research groups: free standard seats and $15 per month for premium seats, for a duration of 12 months.

The previous version primarily featured a 10-week, pre-tax $1,750 ambassador or Builder dual track, focused on promotional activities. This time, the stipend has doubled, the duration extended to an academic year, and the doctoral research track has been separated, extending its reach from club posters into laboratories. Additionally, there are community ambassadors on the city side, with the company covering event expenses, materials, and promotions, running parallel to the campus track.

In terms of market mechanisms, the program buys access to the next generation of developers, course adopters, and research workflow entry points in universities, while selling advertising-style campus promotions. Funding enters student organizers through stipends and API credits, embedding Claude into assignments, hackathons, and research pipelines. The beneficiaries are Anthropic, which needs to counter ChatGPT's default status on campuses; the pressured parties are the same group of students whose attention has already been captured by OpenAI, Google, and open-source models in laboratories. The graduate and doctoral slots are initially narrowed to specific schools, indicating a strategy to capture research-oriented universities.

Note: Some applicants have reported that the application form interface is biased towards U.S. universities; the official statement still claims global eligibility, with pilot selection rights held by the company.

Source: Public Information