FORWARD Fellowships

Through the FORWARD Fellows program, the Office of the Dean provides resources for academic departments, research units, and school offices to collaborate with student Fellows to design and implement initiatives for advancing inclusion and community. 

Created in response to student interest in being more involved in practice change and innovation at the School, this program is designed for students who are committed to developing, supporting, and promoting community at the School through sustainable interventions. Fellows learn critical tenets of justice-oriented practice, strategies for community-building, and change management methodologies. Each month, Fellows participate in a series of meetings with their cohort, develop and implement innovative policies or programs that can advance institutional innovation, and conduct evaluations of their projects. 

What will I learn as a Fellow? 

The FORWARD Fellows Program is designed to help students gain knowledge, skills, and perspectives that enable them to:  

  • Collaborate with a FORWARD Partner to develop an initiative, grounded in established theory, that addresses an equity-related problem of practice in the school community.
  • Align their proposed initiative to existing work at the School, so that new efforts honor, complement, and extend the labor of those who have come before.
  • Propose methods to implement the proposed initiative and evaluate its impact.
  • Reflect on their own experiences to identify opportunities to increase community and disrupt injustice.
  • Synthesize learning from the Fellows' experience to transmit new knowledge and practice to others.

Fellows will meet monthly with their cohort in capacity-building sessions facilitated by Columbia Mailman leadership. Some topics for sessions include organizational change management, social movements, service-based learning, and more.  

What can I expect from the program?  

In addition, Fellows can expect:  

  • $5000 total for participation (per Fellow for an 8-month commitment)
  • Opportunity to collect and analyze data for manuscript development of publishable quality  
  • Opportunity to develop work in the form of a poster/oral presentation to share at the 2026 Columbia Mailman Equity Symposium  

We have designed the Fellowship experience to be a mutually uplifting opportunity for you and the school partner you collaborate with. The projects that have been selected for the 2025-2026 FORWARD Fellowship represent work in academic departments and administrative offices here at the School.

Who is eligible to apply?

The program is open to all second-year Columbia Mailman School students, all of whom are encouraged to apply.

Applications are now open for the 2025-2026 cohort of FORWARD Fellows.

All students are encouraged to apply. Applications are due by August 18th at 5 p.m. EDT. Fellows will be notified of their acceptance into the program by August 25th.

How do I apply?  

Completed applications should be submitted using the online form. 

Application Form

 If you have questions or would like guidance completing your application, please feel free to contact Leah Hooper (lch2124@cumc.columbia.edu) at any time.