OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

Apply for Obama Foundation Scholars Program 2021/22

The Obama Foundation Scholars Program seeks to support dynamic, collaborative, rising leaders from the United States and around the world in an innovative one-year academic and leadership experience.

The Obama Foundation Scholars Program will give rising leaders from the United States and around the world who are already making a difference in their communities the opportunity to take their work to the next level through an immersive curriculum that brings together academic, skills-based, and hands-on learning.

The Scholars Program empowers individuals with a proven commitment to service with the tools they need to make their efforts more effective, to identify innovative solutions to complex global problems, and promote change through values-based leadership.

The program will build lasting relationships among emerging leaders who are committed to working together to solve the most pressing challenges of our time, thereby creating a global network that reaches across issues and borders.

Obama Foundation Scholars at Columbia University will participate in Columbia World Projects, an initiative that mobilizes the university’s researchers and scholars to work with governments, organizations, businesses, and communities to create tangible solutions to real-world issues.

The program will also take advantage of the unique opportunities for engagement that come with being at one of the world’s most important centers of research and residing in New York City.

Scholars participate in an immersive program that brings together academic, skills-based, and experiential learning, designed by Columbia University in consultation with the Obama Foundation.

In addition to the activities taking place on the Columbia campus, the Obama Foundation offers a robust curriculum of leadership development, hands-on training, networking activities, and mentorship throughout the academic year to help the Obama Scholars gain the real-world skills, tools, and experiences they need to expand the impact of their work when they return home.

ABOUT PROGRAM

The program will also take advantage of the unique opportunities for engagement that come with being at one of the world’s most important centers of research and residing in New York City.

Scholars participate in an immersive program that brings together academic, skills-based, and experiential learning, designed by Columbia University in consultation with the Obama Foundation.

ELIGIBILITY

The Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University seeks rising leaders from around the world who meet the following criteria:

Are emerging leaders who have made meaningful contributions to their field and are now at a “breakthrough moment” in their careers
Have a proven commitment to service and leadership within a community, region, or country, coupled with a demonstrated commitment to return to these communities following their completion of the program and apply their enhanced training, skills, and connections on a long-term basis for the benefit of these communities
Are fluent in English (verbal, written, and spoken)
Have the ability and inclination to positively shape the future of their community
Have a demonstrated commitment to humility, integrity, inclusivity, stewardship, fearlessness, imagination, and teamwork.

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

A Weekly Seminar that runs the length of the academic year, exploring questions in tandem with key global trends.

Personal and Professional Development Workshops designed to strengthen practical skills to enhance Scholars’ ability to lead. See Also Applications open for Future of Work Africa accelerator programme.

An Experiential Learning component that engages Scholars in the work of Columbia World Projects.

Audited Coursework provides Scholars with the flexibility to select and enroll in up to two graduate-level courses each semester at Columbia.

A Thought Leadership Speaker Series that introduces Scholars to seasoned practitioners from the NGO community, and philanthropic, governmental, and international organizations to expand Scholars’ networks and perspectives to help advance their work.

Partnership with a Columbia faculty adviser selected for their subject matter expertise to provide Scholars with new insights and perspectives to inform Scholars’ work.

Meaningful opportunities for Scholars to contribute to the intellectual life of the campus and gain exposure to different perspectives by engaging with the Columbia University community.

BENEFITS