Common Questions

To determine if you would be a competitive candidate for the World Fellows Program, please take a look at the biographies of previous Fellows and the application information page. Admission to the program is extremely competitive; we receive several thousand applications for the limited number of fellowships awarded each year. Please do not email the program to ask if you are eligible or a competitive candidate as we cannot prescreen applicants and do not provide individual feedback.

The World Fellows Program does not require applicants to be a specific age. Please note, however, that the program is designed for aspiring leaders with a demonstrable track record of success. The youngest applicant ever accepted was 27 years old and the average age of a World Fellow is 39.

The program does not require TOEFL or IELTS test scores as part of the application process. Should an applicant progress to the final stages of selection, his/her English fluency will be assessed during an interview.

Yes, applicants must be fluent in English. Fellows must be able to read and understand complex academic texts, give oral presentations in front of small and large audiences, and build professional and personal relationships with colleagues and distinguished guests – in English.

The World Fellows Program does not accept full-time students or full-time academics. The fellowship is designed for non-academic practitioners. If your primary occupation is student or scholar and you are interested in spending time at Yale, please contact the academic department that aligns with your academic or research interests.

No, we do not offer any type of financial aid or scholarships to students wishing to enroll in a degree granting program at Yale. Questions regarding financial aid should be directed to the school at Yale to which you are applying for admission. Participants in the World Fellows Program receive a compensation package, which is outlined on our application page.

Yes, applicants who have applied to a previous year’s program may submit a new application for the current cycle. However, please note that every year our pool of candidates is increasingly competitive. If you choose to reapply to our program, be sure to highlight your additional achievements of the past year(s).

No. If you choose to reapply to the World Fellows Program, you must submit a new application with an updated résumé/CV, new letters of recommendation, and new personal statement.  No application materials can be transferred from previous years.

Final decisions will be sent to all applicants, both successful and unsuccessful, via email by the end of April. The program cannot release the status of your application on an individual basis before this time. Please be sure to keep your application up-to-date with your most recent email address.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide feedback on individual applications due to the large number of applications received.

Videos must be recorded in the application platform itself. Videos cannot be recorded separately and uploaded to your application. Please refer to the detailed instructions in the application (Video tab). If you are unhappy with the first recording, you are given the opportunity to re-record your video one additional time. After this second attempt, it is not possible to re-record your video again or delete/remove your video from your application.

We cannot accommodate requests to delete your video or re-record it. If you have a technical issue, it will not adversely affect your application.

Please note that you will need to record your video from a computer using either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Other browsers are not supported at this time. We cannot accept links to videos hosted on other platforms.

Within the online application there is a “Recommendations” section.  There you will enter and submit the names and email addresses of three references. Emails will automatically be generated and sent from our system to your recommenders, requesting that they submit letters of recommendation electronically on your behalf. You are responsible for ensuring that all three references have received this email and submit their letters of recommendation by the application deadline. Please allow your recommenders adequate time to compose and upload their letters.

Your recommenders will receive an automatically generated email requesting that they submit a letter on your behalf . The emails your references receive contain a link which will allow them to upload their letters of recommendation directly into your application.  You will receive a notification each time a letter of recommendation is received.

Letters of recommendation should be received by the application deadline. Letters of recommendation received after the application deadline will be accepted up until one week after the application deadline; however we cannot guarantee that they will be reviewed with your other application materials. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that references receive the email soliciting a letter of recommendation and submit their letters in a timely manner.

The typical length of letters of recommendation is one to two pages.

The Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellows Program only accepts letters of recommendation in English. Your recommenders may choose to write in any language and then use one of many free translation programs available. Please assure them that we only evaluate the substance of the recommendations, not the proficiency of their language skills.

Once you enter your recommender’s information (including email address) and select “Send to Recommender,” an email is automatically generated and sent to them. If your recommender does not receive the email, it is possible that their email provider is blocking the email. Make sure they check their junk/spam folders for an email that would have come from world.fellows@yale.edu or applicant.worldfellows@yale.edu

If necessary you can re-send the notification email to your recommenders by going to the recommendations page of your application: https://apply.worldfellows.yale.edu/apply/

If you have already submitted your application, you can still re-send the notification to your recommenders. Go to your application status page and click on the “re-visit the recommendations page” link:  https://apply.worldfellows.yale.edu/apply/status.

Then click “Edit”, and then click “Send Reminder”.

To correct an email address or enter a new email address for a recommender, go to the recommendations tab of your application: https://apply.worldfellows.yale.edu/apply/

If you have already submitted your application: go to your application status page and click on the “re-visit the recommendations page” link:  https://apply.worldfellows.yale.edu/apply/status.

Then click “Edit” next to the recommender’s name and then click “EXCLUDE.” Then click OK.

Then click “Add Recommender” and enter your recommender again with the correct/new email address.

No, for security reasons, the program will only accept letters of recommendation which are directly uploaded through the link provided in the email sent to your recommender.

You do not need be nominated in order to apply to the program. The program gives no preference to either nominated or self-applying applicants. Applicants interested in applying to the program should proceed directly to the online application.  Please do not nominate yourself. Multiple nominations do not increase your chances of being accepted.

Applicants are not required to have a “nominator.” Nominators bring to the attention of the Program qualified candidates who may not be aware of the Program. A nominator may be from any country, and does not need to have an affiliation with Yale University.

No. We do not accept self-nominations. Applicants interested in applying to the program should proceed directly to the online application.

Yes, however it does not improve one’s chances of being selected as a World Fellow.

Yes, your nominator may serve as one of your recommenders. You must enter his or her name and email address into your application as a recommender, and then he or she will receive an email soliciting a letter of recommendation. If your nominator has already submitted a letter of nomination for you and wishes to use this letter of nomination as a letter of recommendation, he or she must submit it a second time via the link provided to recommenders.

Family members may act as nominators and/or references. However, please note that references, in particular, should be people with whom you have interacted on a professional basis and who can keenly evaluate your career progression and potential.

No, the World Fellows Program does not offer admission to Yale University and does not award an academic diploma. The fellowship is not a master’s or Ph.D. program. Fellows do not receive academic credit or a transcript from Yale University.

The program begins in mid-August and runs through mid-December. Fellows are expected to remain in residence at Yale for the entire duration of the program.

The program is extremely demanding of Fellows’ time. Fellows are expected to participate in the Seminar, skill building sessions, and University classes during the day, and in presentations, dinners with distinguished speakers, meetings with students and networking events several evenings each week. In addition, Fellows may be scheduled to travel for several days at a time over the course of the fellowship.  It is a full-time commitment.

World Fellows do not pay tuition or fees of any kind to Yale University. Fellows do receive a living stipend, housing, travel reimbursement and health insurance.

This is a decision that each World Fellow makes in consultation with family members and in consideration of multiple personal and professional factors. There are a variety of ways for family members to explore their new home and engage with the New Haven and Yale communities. While the program is intensive and includes regular evening commitments as well as occasional overnight trips, World Fellows who bring children to New Haven are able to participate fully. Program staff provide World Fellows with information on school and childcare arrangements, with housing compatible for their family’s needs, and with immigration support for eligible family members.

Yale University is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world.  Please visit the Yale website for information about the university and the many opportunities it offers.  New Haven is a vibrant city located midway between New York City and Boston. Yale maintains a comprehensive website with information about New Haven.