Application

2026 COHORT APPLICATION TIMELINE

Wednesday, November 5th, 2025: Applications Open

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025, 5 PM EST: Applications Close

Note: Some candidates may be invited for a brief virtual interview in early January.

January 15-16th, 2026: Fellows Notified

Fellows are requested to accept or reject their appointment within 24-48 hours of notification.

Optional Open Q/A Sessions

Interested students are invited to attend an optional Q/A session to ask their Fellowship questions in real time. Info sessions will be scheduled for mid-November.

Can’t attend these but have questions? Check out the FAQs and then email us with any outstanding questions!

PROCESS

The application process for the ClimateCAP Fellowship is done entirely online. There is no application fee or cost to participate in the program.

APPLICATION ELEMENTS

  1. Application form

  2. A copy of your resume

  3. Acknowledgment of Fellow Expectations

  4. Short Response Questions (750 character max per question, approximately 150 words)

    • How are you currently engaging in climate-related extracurriculars, academics and/or activities?

    • What kind of work do you hope to do after graduation?

    • What climate-related questions or topics would you want to explore as a group/individual in the cohort?

    • What unique perspectives and backgrounds might you bring to the fellowship cohort?

  5. A 1,000 word (max) climate-action Project Proposal on a climate-and-business issue that you want to develop and learn more about during the Fellowship, that includes:

    • The Challenge (What’s the issue?)

    • Current Efforts (What’s being done?)

    • The Gap (What’s missing?)

    • Your Learning Goals (Why you, why now?)

    Fellows should refer to detailed project information below for additional Proposal guidance.

  6. Brief video statement to introduce yourself, your proposed project, and why it’s a good fit for the program (Videos should not exceed 1 minute)

Shortlisted candidates may be contacted for a brief virtual interview to be held in early January.

Detailed Instructions for Project Proposal

Purpose

As part of your application, you are asked to identify a climate-and-business issue that you want to develop and learn more about during the Fellowship. This proposal will help us understand your interests, how you think about climate-business challenges, and how the Fellowship can support your growth. If you are selected for the Fellowship, you will refine and work on this project over the course of the program.

Instructions

Please submit a proposal (up to 1000 words) responding to the sections below. Use clear headings and keep your responses concise and evidence based.

1. The Challenge (What’s the issue?)

  • Identify the climate-and-business issue you want to explore in your ClimateCAP Fellowship.

  • Describe who or what is most impacted (positively and/or negatively), and why it matters.

  • Explain the main forces keeping the challenge in place (e.g., policy, economic, technological, behavioral).

2. Current Efforts (What’s being done?)

  • Summarize existing solutions or approaches being tried by businesses, governments, or civil society.

  • Note what seems to be working and what isn’t, with examples if possible.

3. The Gap (What’s missing?)

  • Identify where current efforts fall short (unmet needs, missing partnerships, overlooked risks, or blind spots).

  • Suggest where you believe businesses could play a unique role in closing the gap.

4. Your Learning Goals (Why you, why now?)

  • Share what you hope to learn about this issue during the fellowship.

  • Explain what about your experiences make you the right person to work on this project

  • Explain why this issue matters to you as an MBA student and future business leader and how it connects to your career aspirations. 

Adapted from Systems-led Leadership, by Daniela Papi-Thornton.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING CLIMATE-ACTION PROJECTS

As part of their application, students will propose a project that they want to develop and execute during their fellowship. The project is an opportunity to develop an idea of personal interest which has the ability to 1) enhance the student’s understanding of, and applied experience in, climate and business, and 2) advance climate innovation in the student’s campus, business, or community setting. The strongest projects are those that enhance the student’s climate expertise and can be used as a resume builder. There is no right or wrong project or topic.

The structure of the fellowship will enable students to develop and complete their project with ongoing support from their cohort and mentorship from ClimateCAP leadership.  Early in the fellowship, students will be able to refine their ideas and may choose to pursue their project individually or to modify the scope of their project and partner with other fellows. There will be periodic group check-ins and feedback sessions over the course of the year. At the end of the year, fellows will submit and present their project to the ClimateCAP leadership team and their peers.

The climate-action project is self-directed and the project and its outcomes are wholly owned by the fellows.  No work is being done for ClimateCAP, but fellows are asked to publish a public output about their project that will be linked to the ClimateCAP website at the conclusion of the fellowship.  The format of the output is determined by the fellow in partnership with the ClimateCAP team and will vary based on the project type, but could include media channels such as whitepaper, article, blog, case study, podcast, etc.

Fellows should consider the time and scope constraints of the fellowship and their other commitments when developing their ideas. To guide fellows in scoping the size and impact of their projects, fellows should target projects that will take approximately 2-4 hours a week during the school year and 1-2 hour a week during the summer.   These guidelines are for the fellows’ project management benefit and there is no requirement of hours or tracking of time spent on the project. 

Projects do not need to be new or standalone ideas. The project may include working on the fellows’ startup, but it should not consist of work they are being paid to do from another source (either at the university or an external entity).  The project may not include content that is being developed under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or proprietary information under a client consulting agreement.

 Potential projects could include, for example:

  • Research and/or publication projects on topics related to climate change and business risk/innovation

  • Business planning and/or launch of a new climate-related business or social enterprise

  • Projects that create new curricular or extracurricular learning opportunities on climate topics, either at the Fellows’ home school or at a consortium of schools/general audience

  • Projects that broaden the reach and impact of the ClimateCAP initiative itself

Here are some insights from previous fellows: an analysis of blue bonds to boost investment in ocean conservation, the implementation of hospital waste reduction pilot project, a discussion on the ClimateCAP Fellowship, a self-reflection on career experimentation in business school, an exploration of the investment potential of regenerative agriculture, and the launch of NetaCarbon.