The Public Policy Fellowship is the entry programme of the Institute for Youth in Policy, a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States that also runs policy research, media and civic-education work. Each cohort runs for two months entirely online, and the organisation says the format was built in 2021, during the pandemic, to fit around school schedules. Fellows join seminars, debates, interactive workshops and guest-speaker sessions, write a nonpartisan policy brief with peers, and complete an individual capstone project and presentation from week two onward. Mentorship comes from the department executives and leaders who run YIP’s own divisions. The organisation reports more than 1,500 fellowship graduates, an average acceptance rate of 5 to 8 percent, and that 80 percent of its leadership began as fellows.
Benefits & funding
- The official site publishes no participation fee and no stipend or cash award; the benefit is the programme, the mentorship and the network.
- Two months of seminars, debates and interactive workshops on policy analysis, communication, nonpartisan thinking, debate and problem-solving.
- Mentorship from YIP department executives and leaders.
- Two guest-speaker sessions per cohort. Recent speakers were Julia Moran of The Innocence Project and Michael De Sousa of RODA Leadership.
- An individual capstone published on the YIP site alongside past cohorts; the organisation reports more than 300 published capstones and 3.2 million views.
- Priority consideration and direct access to YIP’s C-suite and senior vice presidents for later roles inside the organisation.
Eligibility
- High school and undergraduate students aged 13 to 23.
- Graduate students and people who have already graduated are not eligible.
- Applicants must be based in the United States. The organisation states the fellowship is not open to international applicants because meetings are scheduled in US time zones, and that it is designed for the Eastern, Central and Pacific zones.
- Interest or experience in social impact, community organising, civic engagement, advocacy or discourse.
- No nationality requirement is stated; the bar is where the applicant is located.
- Availability for two mandatory live meetings each week, Wednesdays at 8pm EST and Saturdays at 12pm EST, within a total commitment most fellows report as 4 to 6 hours per week.
Can you apply?
Worth a closer look
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Residence required
USA
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Education required
High School · Bachelor Enrolled
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Age requirement
13–23 yrs
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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Read published capstones from earlier cohorts on the YIP site to see the standard of the final work.
- 2Complete the short application form linked from the fellowship page and hosted on Airtable.
- 3Submit before 11:59pm PST on the cohort deadline. Applications are rolling while a cohort window is open.
- 4Wait for the decision, released by email and on the website on the published decision date.
- 5Send questions about the programme to fellowship@yipinstitute.org.
Program timeline
19 August 2026
application deadline for the Fall 2026 cohort, 11:59pm PST.
decisions released.
26 August 2026
Fall cohort begins.
12 September 2026
From week two
capstone project work runs to the end of the programme.
Fall cohort ends.
7 November 2026
Four cohorts run each year. The 2026 dates were 17 January to 21 March, 11 April to 6 June, 20 June to 22 August, and 12 September to 7 November.