Moral Ambition University Fellowship at Harvard — Fellowship

The Moral Ambition University Fellowship is run by the School for Moral Ambition, a nonprofit founded in the summer of 2023 and co-founded by the writer Rutger Bregman. The School is registered as an ANBI foundation in the Netherlands and holds 501(c)(3) status in the United States.

The fellowship recruits juniors at Harvard and offers a paid alternative to the consulting, banking and technology jobs that dominate campus recruiting. Twelve fellows are selected. Each spends ten weeks over the summer working full time at a high-impact nonprofit organization based in New York City or Washington, DC, on problems such as poverty, democracy, climate and justice.

The program started as a single-campus pilot at Harvard: applications opened in late October 2025, and twelve fellows were chosen from 121 applicants to work on climate change, inequality, and safe and ethical AI. The School is extending the fellowship to other US campuses, including Princeton, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Brown, toward a cohort of about 48 fellows across universities.

Benefits & funding

A $15,000 stipend for the summer.
A ten-week full-time placement at a mission-driven nonprofit centered in New York City or Washington, DC.
One-on-one work with the University Fellowship Director during the winter to find a placement that fits the fellow’s experience and interests.
Spring preparation: bi-weekly speakers, upskilling workshops, and team-building activities.
Hands-on experience in modeling, policy research and philanthropic innovation.
Lifelong access to the School network, career guidance after the placement, and a role in recruiting the next cohort.

Eligibility

Undergraduates at Harvard in their junior year; the expression-of-interest form states the program is only available to rising Harvard juniors.
Twelve places per cycle.
The program looks for curiosity about neglected problems, readiness to take bold and thoughtful action on them, and eagerness to spend the summer on urgent work.
Selection weighs the full application: academic and extracurricular background, plus how the applicant has used and will keep using their talents to create impact.
No nationality, residency, age, gender or work-experience requirement is published.
The program pages state no work-authorization rule for the summer placements in the United States.

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

Education required
Bachelor Enrolled

Check my eligibility — free

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Sign up on the expression-of-interest form to be notified when applications open on September 8.
2
Submit a résumé.
3
Answer two short essay questions.
4
Attend an on-campus interview with the recruiter, if invited.
5
Once accepted, work with the University Fellowship Director over the winter to select a summer placement.

Program timeline

Applications opened for the pilot cohort; 12 fellows were selected from 121 applicants
Late October 2025
Applications open for the next cohort
Sep 8, 2026
Applications due; the closing date is not published
Fall 2026
Accepted fellows choose a placement with the University Fellowship Director
Winter 2026–2027
Bi-weekly speakers, upskilling workshops and team-building
Spring 2027
Ten-week full-time placement in New York City or Washington, DC
Summer 2027
After the placement
Network access, career guidance, and recruiting for the next cohort