The Diplomatic Innovation Project (DIP) Fellowship is run by the Center for Emerging Global Leaders (CEGL), which operates under the fiscal sponsorship of IN Network, a Globally company and a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Its premise is that undergraduates can do real public-service work in diplomacy while still in school. The fellowship is delivered entirely online: fellows meet as a cohort every week and work individually or in teams between those meetings.
Monthly virtual sessions add skill-building, networking, and professional panels. Each cycle runs from September to May, following the North American academic year. The Spring 2026 cohort had 20 fellows from universities including Johns Hopkins, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, Claremont McKenna, Boise State, and the University of St Andrews, studying subjects from international relations and economics to computer science and environmental studies.
Benefits & funding
- Structured project work on diplomacy and public service, delivered fully online.
- Weekly virtual cohort meetings, with individual and team work between them.
- Monthly virtual sessions on skill-building, networking, and professional panels.
- A cohort of undergraduates drawn from universities in several countries.
- No participation fee is published, and no stipend or salary is offered. The fellowship should be treated as unpaid experience.
Eligibility
- Current undergraduate students only. CEGL states no other formal requirement.
- No nationality or residency restriction is stated, and the fully virtual format makes participation possible from outside the United States.
- Fellows commit approximately 10 to 15 hours per week, including regular attendance at weekly virtual meetings.
- No GPA, major, age, or language requirement is published.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Education required
Bachelor Enrolled
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Application process
- 1Confirm undergraduate enrolment across the September to May cycle.
- 2Watch the fellowship page and the CEGL LinkedIn page for the next application window. The 2026–2027 form closed on 1 July 2026 and no longer accepts responses.
- 3Submit the single online application form before the stated deadline.
- 4Join the cohort that begins in September. CEGL does not publish interview rounds or a decision date.
Program timeline
1 July 2026
applications for the 2026–2027 cycle closed.
the fellowship year begins.
September
the fellowship year ends.
May
Next cycle
CEGL has not published an opening date for the 2027–2028 application window.