Obama Foundation Scholars Program 2019/2020 for Masters Study at Columbia University

Applications for the Obama Foundation Scholars Program 2019-2020 at Columbia University are now open! The Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University brings together rising leaders from around the world who have demonstrated a commitment to finding solutions to challenges in their communities, countries and regions.

Over the course of an academic year, the Obama Foundation Scholars will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and skills and to build new capacities and networks that will accelerate their impact in their home countries. Scholars participate in a required course, which will run for the length of the academic year, as well as additional courses offered by Columbia University that are relevant to their specific field or values-based leadership, or that fill in gaps in their previous studies. The program also takes advantage of the unique opportunities for engagement that come with being at one of the world’s most important centers of research and with being in the City of New York.

In addition, Scholars participate in one-of-a-kind experiences led by the Obama Foundation, including robust networking, mentorship, service activities and values-based leadership development, offering them a chance to learn from some of the world’s most innovative leaders and to build connections with the Obama Foundation and with Obama Foundation Scholars at the University of Chicago.

Obama Foundation Scholars at Columbia are part of Columbia World Projects, a new initiative that aims to systematically bring university research out into the world in the form of projects that will have a significant and lasting positive impact on people’s lives and will help guide the way to solutions to intractable problems, while additionally enriching research and scholarship.

Upon completion of the program, Obama Foundation Scholars, empowered by their experience, are expected to return to the regions where they have been working and continue along a path of service, either through their full-time job or volunteer opportunities. The purpose of the program is to help Obama Foundation Scholars take the connections and skills they acquire during the program and apply them for the benefit of their communities, countries, and regions. It is our expectation that Obama Foundation Scholars will remain engaged with the Obama Foundation after the conclusion of the program.

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About the Obama Foundation Scholars Program

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

The Obama Foundation Scholars Program will give rising young leaders around the world who are already making a difference in their communities the opportunity to take their work to the next level through a newly designed 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 Obama Foundation Scholars program gives rising young leaders around the world who are already making a difference in their communities the opportunity to take their work to the next level through a newly designed curriculum that brings together academic, skills-based, and hands-on learning at the University of Chicago and Columbia University.

The program will build lasting relationships among emerging leaders who are committed to working together to solve the most pressing challenges of our time, creating a global network that reaches across issues and borders. After completing the program, Obama Foundation Scholars will return to their communities and continue the important work they started in the program by implementing their own personalized action plan. They will also have an opportunity to play a role in the Obama Foundation’s efforts to inspire, train, and connect rising leaders from around the globe.

Obama Foundation Scholars Program Eligibility

The Obama Foundation Scholars Program seeks a diverse cohort who represent a cross section of backgrounds including those working in government, the private sector, and NGOs and civil society organizations. Leaders may apply to both the Columbia University and the University of Chicago Scholars programs.

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

Have a proven commitment to service and leadership within a community, region, or country outside the United States, 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 going forward.
Are emerging leaders who have made meaningful contributions to their field and are now at a “tipping point” in their careers.
Are fluent in English (verbal and written).
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.