The minimum requirements for a Fellow include: at least two years of experience in a professional role, internship, volunteer position, military service, or other assignment with significant levels of responsibility, for any field, warranted said experience evidences: 

• emerging leadership potential, e.g., leadership attributes, effective communication and relationship building, flexibility, fairness, reciprocal respect between Fellowship candidate, peers, supervisors, clients, stakeholders, and so on;
• a quantifiable professional progression of increased responsibility, accountability, complexity, and expertise (subject matter and/or skill set); 
• proven and recurring success  
  • optimizing procedures and systems 
  • identifying and solving problems 
  • introducing innovative solutions 
  • improving outcomes; 
• mastery of foundational skills; and 
• job-specific capabilities. 

Some types of evidence may include (but not limited to): 

• industry or academic awards; 
• active involvement with professional or graduate student organizations; 
• presentations at industry conferences; and 
• participation in community service. 

If you aren’t sure about your specific qualifications, please feel free to email a copy of your resume to GraduateBusinessStudies@rowan.edu, and we can conduct a preliminary review to determine your eligibility to apply for a Fellowship. 

Yes, all MBA and MS Finance students who are currently enrolled are eligible to apply for a Fellowship. Fellowships are not guaranteed to be awarded, but all applicants who meet the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply. 

Students in their final year or final semester are eligible to apply but are also encouraged to email GraduateBusinessStudies@rowan.edu directly to discuss the Fellowship parameters. 

Yes and no (details for each below).

Yes, for using the same documents:

• Resume: You can submit the same resume originally submitted with your MBA or MS Finance application.
• Letters of Recommendation (LOR): This is your choice. The LOR prompts and form in the MBA and MS Finance program application focuses on the academic program, not the Fellowship. While we will allow the LORs from the academic program to be considered for the Fellowship application, you might either request that your recommenders (1) also address the Fellowship in the academic program LOR or (2) request separate LORs for the Fellowship.
• Transcripts: You can submit directly with your Fellow application, or the Graduate Business Programs office can request these documents directly from Rowan Global Admissions.

No, for using the same documents:

• The Fellowship Statements are different from the Professional Statement candidates use to apply to the MBA/MS Finance program.
• However, applicants who are applying to the MBA and Fellowship programs at the same time, can use their Fellowship Statement to apply for both a Fellowship and for entrance into the MBA program. This is not an option for the MS Finance program.

Feel free to contact us at GraduateBusinessStudies@rowan.edu to determine the best course of action for your application components. 

The Professional Statement for the MBA or MS Finance application asks applicants to indicate why they are pursuing the degree, their professional goals, how the MBA will help them accomplish those goals and why they are a good fit for the program.  

The Statements for the Fellowship application ask questions that allow candidates to articulate how they would excel as an MBA or MS Fellow. The questions focus on articulating how their experience evidences high-achieving emerging leadership qualities, their approach to ambiguous situations, and indicating up to three Strategic Impact Projects (SIPs) of interest and connections to their career trajectory. There is an optional question about a custom designed Social Impact Project. See more on the Fellowship Application page under Fellowship Statements. 

All Fellows take an active lead in one or more predefined Strategic Impact Projects (SIPs) with an established RCB partner. SIP Partners might include internal units at Rowan (e.g., centers, departments, etc.) and external organizations spanning across industries. These SIP partnerships present a myriad of opportunities for Fellows to build new transferrable skills, refine mindsets and approaches, and develop connections for careers that incorporate positive social impact no matter the industry, field, or role. 

Predefined Strategic Impact Projects are designed to serve a crucial business need, such as optimizing business functions, increasing operational efficiencies, or strengthening industry partnerships. SIPs are carefully crafted in collaboration with our partner organizations, mentors, and key faculty from business-related departments at Rowan (e.g., the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship or Center for Responsible Leadership) to create rewarding and fulfilling experiences for RCB Fellows. The initiatives are intended to optimize professional development and career trajectories for Fellows. 

Visit the RCB website to explore Strategic Impact Projects (SIPs) for the upcoming academic year, learn more about the organizations who partner with us, or check out current and past SIPs. 

In the Fellow application, candidates will identify their top three choices of our predefined Strategic Impact Projects (SIPs) and describe how these projects align with their career goals and professional development interests. This is not a binding commitment that limits options for those chosen to become Fellows—it’s a starting point to help the selection committee understand the values, drives, and “why” for a Fellow candidate. 

When determining preferences for a Fellowship project, Fellows are encouraged to think deeply about their passions and, notably, the field or role they currently work within or hope to move toward. The purpose of the Fellowship is to use growing business acumen, knowledge and tools from MBA and MS Finance courses, and direction from mentors to solve social and business issues. 

The specific initiative(s) of each chosen Fellow will be evaluated and ultimately determined during the committee consideration of applicants, interviews for top applicants, and early-stage onboarding for chosen candidates. While we give Fellows flexibility in choice and direction, we also seek to ensure that there is a good fit between the Fellow candidate, targeted initiative, partner organization, and mentor(s). 

Fellows will work directly with their faculty/staff mentor(s) to discuss their goals for making a social impact, generate ideas for projects, and ultimately define the parameters for the determined project(s). Incremental goals (e.g., for each semester) will also be set during these conversations. 

Yes, with express permission and guidance a Fellow may propose and implement a custom-built Strategic Impact Projects (SIP). For custom designed SIPs, Fellows are encouraged to bring a business idea that will benefit society and an area of interest to the Fellowship. Fellows who propose projects that apply business acumen to address a well-defined organizational challenge or industry need are encouraged to apply.

Fellows must first successfully complete at least one defined initiative(s) with an established RCB partner organization and mentor before developing and implementing their own SIP. Permission to pursue custom-built SIPs will be based on a Fellow’s previous performance, including quantifiable evidence of success in targeted outcomes for at least one SIP, as well as their strengths shown during the SIP work in regards to integrity, perseverance, reliability, and tenacity. 

For candidates who already have a specific area of interest and a clear idea for an initiative that will produce a social good related to business, proposing a custom-built Strategic Impact Projects (SIP) during the application process is a good start. Fellows can also pitch a custom-designed Strategic Impact Project after their first successful semester upon completion of a project with an established partner. 

For proposing a custom-built SIP, candidates should be able to articulate that concept, plus their related goals and objectives, their potential partnering organizations, any stakeholders who would be positively impacted, and their potential industry mentors. Short-term and long-term objectives for all SIPs, whether custom-built or predefined, will be outlined initially and then reexamined and measured throughout the Fellowship in partnership with a Rowan mentor and partner project supervisor. 

For  Fellows or potential Fellows looking to drive change in areas outside the scope of our defined partners, we encourage them to pitch their ideas and potentially launch their own initiative from the ground up. 

In proposals, Fellows must address the following. 

• What is the custom-built Strategic Impact Projects (SIPs) the candidate would like to undertake as a Fellow? 
• How does this initiative respond to crucial social needs while simultaneously addressing business-related issues? 
• Who might be a partnering organization external to Rowan the candidate would be interested in collaborating with, and who might be their industry mentor?  
• Does the candidate have connections already in place in industry for this initiative, or would the candidate need support in locating industry mentorship? 

Please note that Fellows will be expected to successfully complete a predefined Strategic Impact Project (SIP) with a partner organization before initiating their own project.  

Funding will be granted based on a Fellow’s demonstrated professional experience, proposed project scope, and alignment with program goals. Fellowship awards are determined through a transparent, merit-based selection process. This is determined through the screening process by the Fellows Decision Committee. Once an amount has been determined, Fellows will receive a tuition reduction each semester. Most commonly, the Award will be evenly distributed through the remainder of semesters of study based on the number of academic credits enrolled in for each given semester. 

Example: a Fellow is awarded $10,000 for their MBA pursuit. If the student takes 6 credits of MBA coursework per semester (the entire MBA is 36 credits), they will have ~$277.78 per credit each semester taken off their tuition for that semester. They will receive the full $10,000 award by the conclusion of their MBA or MS Finance studies.  

See the Fellow Award page for more details.

One important aspect to note about Fellowships, is that they are NOT a job. This means that the hourly expectations each week will vary based upon the scope of your Fellowship project(s) and the parameters determined at the point of your Fellowship being awarded. A fixed number of hours per week or semester may not be necessary, but for some Fellowship projects, they will.  

Fellowships are designed to empower Fellows to make an impact in their areas of interest through partnerships with industry experts, utilizing faculty/staff mentors, mapping and sticking to a project plan that delineates each semester’s goals, and by maximizing university resource opportunities.