You can apply to become a Fellow if you meet the following minimum requirements:
All Blended Fellows are required by the United States Government to apply for a J-1 exchange visitor visa for the U.S.-based component of the Fellowship. Candidates are eligible to participate in the Atlas Corps Fellowship if they are a legal resident and/or citizen of a country that has a currently active U.S. diplomatic post that is issuing J-1 visas.
Atlas Corps will determine whether a candidate is able to obtain a J-1 visa in their country by following the information provided by U.S. Embassies on their respective websites and our State Department partners. Some embassies and consulates have long wait times for visa appointments, while in other countries the U.S. has not had an active U.S. diplomatic post for several years. Since the operating status of many embassies and consulates changes quickly, we still encourage you to apply to the Atlas Corps Fellowship. During each placement cycle where we match semi-finalists with Host Organizations, we will only consider semi-finalists who have an active U.S. embassy issuing J1 visas during that specific timeframe.
U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents are NOT eligible for the Fellowship.
Atlas Corps is dedicated to providing rising social change leaders with opportunities to obtain additional skills those leaders will require to have an even greater impact. Atlas Corps does not want to take highly experienced senior-level directors away from the important work they are doing and does not want to recruit students to participate in this program since they may not have enough relevant experience to share with organizations.
The Atlas Corps Fellowship is designed for mission-driven individuals seeking social change. Competitive applicants will have 2-10 years of experience, and most tend to be in the nonprofit/NGO sector. However, the Atlas Corps Fellowship also includes individuals in business, technology, media, government, and other sectors. Those who are not in the nonprofit/NGO sector should provide examples of how they have integrated their desire for social change into their career. For example, a candidate in the business sector may be using information and communication technology to achieve social missions, bringing entrepreneurship programs to marginalized communities, or doing volunteer work.
Our average Fellow is 29 years old and has 2-10 years of full-time work experience. Although we have admitted Fellows as young as 22 years of age before, these individuals demonstrated extraordinary dedication to mission-driven work through various volunteer and service opportunities. If you have had similar experiences, we encourage you to apply. Otherwise, the Fellowship is designed to be of greatest benefit to those with at least two years of full-time work experience. If you choose not to apply for this round of applications, we do hope you will consider doing so in the near future.
Applicants must be age 35 or younger at the beginning of the Fellowship (Fellows can turn 36 during the Fellowship). Our general age range has been from 23-35 with an average age of 29 years old. Our research and experience indicate that the Fellowship is best suited for young, rising, skilled professionals as opposed to professionals older than 35 years old. The reason for this is that our host organization placements are more appropriate for someone with some experience, but generally not 12+ years of experience. In addition, by having a maximum age limit of 35 we are able to tailor our training program to a more specific age group and skill set. The compensation, the network, and the training are all geared more towards individuals who are approximately 23-35 years old, not older than 35.
We require all our Fellows to have a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent. We say “equivalent” because education systems vary between different countries and the degree may be called different names. In the U.S., a Bachelor’s degree is a diploma awarded for successful completion of 4 years of a higher education (post-secondary school). In many countries, the equivalent degree is higher education of 3-5 years, depending on the educational system. At any rate, applicants must have a higher educational degree beyond the compulsory secondary school education.
Yes, please apply to be considered for the Fellowship. Atlas Corps places a high value on inclusivity across multiple dimensions․ We encourage candidates of all abilities to apply. On the application’s question about accommodations, please describe the accommodations you may need to serve full-time in an office environment if selected to be a Fellow. Your answer will not affect your eligibility for the program․ Atlas Corps will work with selected Fellows to develop a strategy on a case-by-case basis. Please note that the travel insurance plan that the Atlas Corps Fellowship provides only covers new injuries and new illnesses that arise during the Fellowship, not pre-existing conditions, so Fellows are responsible for any costs related to the treatment of those conditions, including doctor visits and prescriptions.
As of May 2023, adult foreign national travelers arriving in the U.S. no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine. That said, many of our Host Organizations still require their staff to be fully vaccinated. Therefore, Atlas Corps will still request information about the vaccination status of candidates who reach the Semi-Finalist stage, in order to determine whether those Semi-Finalists are eligible for Host Organizations that have this requirement. Atlas Corps encourages, but does not require, Fellows to be vaccinated if it is not a requirement of the Host Organization.