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Presidential Fellows
Presidential Leadership Fellows

Four years with the president, the city of Columbus, and a cohort of leaders who grow alongside you. Now selecting the inaugural class for fall 2027.

Start your application

Presidential Leadership Fellows

As a Presidential Leadership Fellow, you don’t wait until graduation to lead. From your first semester, you’ll work directly with Capital’s president, learn from the people who run Ohio’s capital city, and live with a cohort that pushes you to grow. Your responsibility rises each year. You start as a mentee, become a mentor, and finish by leading the program yourself.

Fall 2027 brings the first cohort. You could be one of the 36 students who shape what this program becomes.

The program at a glance

$4,000

per year, renewable, on top of your merit scholarship

4

one-on-one meetings with the president in your first year

36

Fellows in the inaugural cohort, living together in Cotterman Hall

What you'll get

  • Time with the president. Two one-on-one meetings each semester of your first year, and a presidential touchpoint every year after that.

  • Columbus as your classroom. Once a month, you’ll meet leaders at the Statehouse, Fortune 500 headquarters, hospitals, nonprofits, and arts organizations.

  • A home base in Cotterman Hall. You’ll live on the Fellows floor with your cohort and upper-class mentors.

  • A plan for your career. You’ll explore careers, take a strengths assessment, and build a portfolio over four years.

  • Capital traditions, together. You’ll attend the Gerhold Lecture, the MLK Day of Learning, Homecoming, and the Christmas Festival with your cohort.

  • Recognition at Commencement. You’ll graduate as a Presidential Leadership Fellow, and the designation appears on your transcript.

Your four years

Year 1: Discover

Leading self

You’ll be mentored in a small pod, meet one-on-one with the president, join the monthly Columbus immersions, and end the year at the Chicago capstone.

Year 2: Connect

Leading with others

You’ll mentor a new Fellow, work on a cohort project with a Columbus partner, and get paired with an alumni mentor.

Year 3: Lead

Leading for change

You’ll lead a first-year pod, complete an internship, a research project, or a study away experience, and work with a professional mentor in your field.

Year 4: Launch

Leading a legacy

You’ll lead the program, help select the next cohort, and present your capstone to the president.

Columbus Skyline Night

Your classroom is a capital city

The Statehouse, corporate headquarters, and community leaders are minutes from campus. As a Fellow, you’ll meet them every month.

  • Who can apply:
    First-year students entering Capital in fall 2027 with at least a 3.5 high school GPA who will live on campus. Any major is welcome.

  • How to apply:
    Apply to Capital at capital.edu/apply. After you’re admitted, you’ll get an invitation in your admissions portal to submit a short Fellows application.

  • Key dates: 

    • January 15, 2027: priority deadline

    • February: interviews at the scholarship competition

    • March: Fellows named

Lead from your first semester

Apply by January 15, 2027, for priority consideration for the inaugural cohort.

Apply to Capital

Next steps