A minimum of two years in a professional role, internship, volunteer position, military post, or other assignment with significant levels of responsibility, for any field, can qualify you to apply for a Fellowship, 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 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 include:

Fellowship Statement 1 | Experience and Qualities | 500-word max:

How does your experience evidence that you are a high-achieving emerging leader that would excel as an MBA or MS Fellow?

Fellowship Statement 2 | Approach to Achievement in Ambiguous Situations | 500-word max:

Describe a situation where there was a broad goal set, yet action steps were ambiguous, but where you ultimately achieved success. With whom and how did you collaborate to navigate your way? Where did you take on a leadership role and where did others provide direction? What process did you establish to prioritize and ensure all commitments and deadlines were met?

Fellowship Statement 3 | Projects of Interest | 500-word max:

Tell us about which RCB defined Fellowship Projects (up to three) you are most interested in, why, and how the transferable skills gained would complement your career goals.

Fellowship Statement 4 (Optional) | Custom Project | 500-word max:

What is the custom-built positive societal impact initiative that you 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 you would be interested in collaborating with, and who might be your industry mentor?

This choice depends on each Fellow candidate. Either direction can be a valuable learning experience that results in a positive impact.

Developing your own Fellow Initiative is a good option for candidates with a clear idea for an initiative. 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.

Many Fellows choose to focus on taking an active lead in defined initiatives with established RCB partner organizations and mentors.

Some Fellows might choose to start with taking an active lead in defined initiatives with established RCB partner organizations and mentors. Once accomplishing their goals, Fellows can shift attention to another initiative that might be defined by RCB or might be self-defined.

No matter which direction you might take, one critical aspect to keep in mind is that Fellows are expected to be self-directed, proactive, and to be the primary owner of their Fellowship initiative. Fellows will work directly with their faculty/staff mentor(s) to discuss their goals for making a societal impact, generate ideas for projects, and ultimately define the parameters for the determined project.

Yes, with express permission and guidance, of course. Fellows are encouraged to bring a business idea that will benefit society and an area of interest to the Fellowship. Fellows who seek to use business acumen to fill an urgent need or solve a crucial social issue that is relevant to their personal or professional interests are highly sought candidates. The goal of the program is to facilitate Fellows in successfully pursuing positive societal impact goals while improving business functions and outcomes.

Fellows are expected to be self-directed, proactive, and to be the primary owner of their Fellowship initiative. Fellows will work directly with their faculty/staff mentor(s) to discuss their goals for making a societal impact, generate ideas for projects, and ultimately define the parameters for the determined project.

Short-term and long-term objectives for the project(s) will be outlined initially and then reexamined throughout the Fellowship in partnership with your mentor.

Fellows do not need to commit to one single initiative at the time of submitting an application. In fact, in the application, we will ask you to identify your top three choices of our defined Fellowship initiatives. Fellows will also have the opportunity to pitch their own initiative in the application process. The specific initiative(s) of each chosen Fellow will be evaluated and ultimately determined during the committee consideration, 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.

When determining a Fellowship project, Fellows are encouraged to think deeply about their passions and, notably, the field they currently work within or hope to. 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 societal and business issues. Fellows may wish to create something new that will have a positive effect and do good in the world. While a passion for impacting the world may not save the world immediately, completing a project that has a positive influence at the local level can spark change that reverberates globally. 

Fellows are expected to be self-directed, proactive, and to be the primary owner of their Fellowship initiative. 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. Incremental goals, (e.g., for each semester), will also be set during these conversations.

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

In this case, Fellows must address:

• What is the custom-built positive societal impact initiative you 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 you would be interested in collaborating with, and who might be your industry mentor? Do you have connections already in place in industry for this initiative, or would you need support in locating industry mentorship?

Funding will be granted based on the scale and scope of the anticipated Fellowship initiatives commitment, goals and current professional experience. 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.