The McGowan Fellows Program is a one-year fellowship run by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund for second-year MBA students at 10 partner business schools. Each school chooses one fellow, creating a 10-person annual cohort.
Fellows complete principled-leadership training, alumni coaching, two national retreats, an annual symposium, and a collaborative social impact project. The project uses research, analysis, problem-solving, and presentation to support a nonprofit partner selected by the Fund.
Benefits & funding
- The scholarship covers full tuition for the second MBA year; the official pages reviewed do not publish a living stipend or other personal-cost allowance.
- Fellows receive monthly one-to-one coaching with CCL-trained alumni, with an expected commitment of about 1.5 hours per month.
- The program includes a three-day annual symposium, a 2.5-day winter retreat, and a 2.5–3-day spring retreat.
- The social impact project averages 2–3 hours per week, and fellows join the continuing alumni community.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be second-year MBA students at one of the 10 partner schools represented by the current cohort: Carnegie Mellon Tepper, Columbia Business School, Dartmouth Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Georgetown McDonough, MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, Michigan Ross, Wharton, or Virginia Darden.
- Each home MBA program chooses its fellow and may set its own criteria, form, and timetable; the Fund does not publish one central application route or common deadline.
- The official program pages publish no nationality, residency, age, gender, or work-experience gate beyond enrollment and selection through a partner school.
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Application process
- 1Confirm current eligibility and the selection timetable with the financial-aid or program office at your partner MBA school.
- 2Submit the materials requested through that school’s fellowship or scholarship process; the central Fund page has no public application form.
- 3If selected by the school, complete the Fund’s yearlong leadership, coaching, retreat, symposium, and social-impact commitments.
Program timeline
School-specific
Partner schools set their own application and selection dates; no single public deadline is published.
Program opening
Fellows attend the three-day annual symposium and begin the social impact project.
Fellowship year
Monthly coaching and an average of 2–3 project hours per week continue.
Winter
Fellows attend a 2.5-day retreat focused on the social impact project.
Spring
Fellows attend a 2.5–3-day retreat, complete the second leadership-training segment, and finalize the project.
Two cohort representatives present the completed project to the McGowan board.
July