Fellowship•USA · Stanford

Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program

Funding

Partial / Stipend

Program dates

Jul 19, 2026 – Aug 7, 2026

The Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program (formerly the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program, launched in 2005) is an intensive three-week residential program run by Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Each year it brings roughly 28–30 mid-career civil-society leaders, policy-makers, legal professionals and reformers — drawn from developing and transitioning democracies — to the Stanford campus. Fellows study with senior Stanford faculty (including Larry Diamond, Francis Fukuyama, Kathryn Stoner, Michael McFaul and Erik Jensen) and build a global peer network focused on advancing democratic change. Since 2005 the program has trained 536 alumni from 97 countries.

Benefits & funding

  • Three weeks of academic sessions, case-study workshops and guest lectures taught by leading Stanford faculty.
  • On-campus housing, meals and local (ground) transportation paid by Stanford for the duration of the program.
  • No tuition or program fee.
  • Access to a worldwide network of democratic-reform practitioners and CDDRL alumni.
  • Cost note: applicants are asked to be prepared to contribute toward their participation, typically by covering their own round-trip airfare; a small travel fund is available for fellows who cannot afford travel or need a partial subsidy. Funding is not provided for accompanying family members.

Eligibility

  • Mid-career practitioners (policy-makers, academics, legal professionals, social entrepreneurs, civil-society leaders) holding influential roles in their country’s development.
  • Minimum 10 years of professional experience in democracy, development or rule-of-law work (more experience is more competitive; the average fellow is 38).
  • At least 28 years old at the program start.
  • Must be from and reside in a country where democracy is not well entrenched. Citizens or residents of the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and EU member states are not eligible (exceptions may be made for applicants displaced by war or conflict).
  • A degree is not required (about 99% of alumni hold a bachelor’s degree).
  • Solid command of written and spoken English.

Application process

  1. 1
    Create an account in the Slideroom application portal linked from the program’s How to Apply page.
  2. 2
    Complete the nine-section application form and upload a 1–3 page resume/CV.
  3. 3
    Write the required short essay responses (eight essays, up to 150 words each).
  4. 4
    Record and upload a video pitch under two minutes.
  5. 5
    Arrange at least two (two to three) letters of recommendation from professional associates.
  6. 6
    Submit before the annual mid-January deadline; selection decisions are announced in April.

Program timeline

  1. Application deadline for the 2026 cohort (11:59 pm PT)

    Jan 15, 2026

  2. Selection decisions announced

    2026-04

  3. Program begins (2026 session)

    Jul 19, 2026

  4. Program ends

    Aug 7, 2026

  5. 2026-10

    Applications for the 2027 cohort expected to open