Presidential Leadership Scholars Class of 2026 (Fully-funded)

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About Presidential Leadership Scholars

The PLS program challenges Scholars to develop their leadership skills in an environment in which individuals' experiences are seen as strengths and are respected, supported, and valued. Within this welcoming and inclusive climate, Scholars are expected to do the following both in and out of the program:

• Engage in deep reflection about their personal leadership development, including acknowledging habits of exclusion and creating new habits of inclusion.
• Commit to meaningful interactions with others whose life experiences and perspectives are different than their own, even if those interactions are uncomfortable.
• Include diverse perspectives in the framing of challenges and consideration of responses.
• Work to ensure the full participation of others in influencing change.
• Seek understanding with others, especially when they disagree.

• Sponsor Organisation: Presidential Leadership Scholars

Benefits of Presidential Leadership Scholars

Costs

• The four presidential centers are committed to ensuring that leaders across the country can participate in this program at no cost to the Scholars. Tuition, housing, meals, and travel during the sessions in the host center's city are fully funded by contributions from program supporters.

Presidential Leadership Scholars Requirements

- All applicants must fit one of the following criteria regarding citizenship and country of residence:

• A citizen of the United States living and working in the country;
• A citizen of the United States living and working outside of the country, but who can pay for all non-domestic costs associated with traveling to each module;
• A legal resident of the United States living and working in the country.

- The minimum age for participants is 21. While there is no maximum age, most Scholars have 10+ years of professional experience and are at a point in their careers where their participation and the lessons learned in PLS will be able to be put into practice for many years to come.

- Exceptionally qualified candidates with less than 10 years of experience will be considered for the Presidential Leadership Scholars program.

The program assembles a unique and diverse cohort of high-potential leaders from all sectors. Scholars most successful in the program share certain characteristics:

• Civically minded: Acts to improve society.
• Open to feedback: Seeks, mindfully accepts, and actively responds to assessments of their behavior and performance.
• Accepting of diverse points of view: Welcomes opportunities to interact with and learn from others with different backgrounds or perspectives.
• Meaningful professional experience: Has breadth and depth of professional experience typically 10+ years - and will build on the PLS experience for years to come.
• Demonstrated leadership: Presents an established record of engagement and leadership. (PLS is not an introductory course in leadership.) 
• Influence: Is in a position to implement the change they desire.
• Committed to the program: Can fully participate in a rigorous and intense six-month program.

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP PROJECTS 

You are required to apply with a Personal Leadership Project (PLP) that you will work on throughout the program. This project might be a component of your day-to-day work or something you are pursuing outside of your day-to-day responsibilities. It may represent an important next step in an initiative on which you are already working, or the first step in a new project. The project should involve a significant leadership challenge that can be addressed by the insights gained throughout the program. We expect Scholars to have adequately thought through many of the important elements required to achieve a significant outcome by the end of the program. The project should:

• Focus on a positive outcome for a specific group of people. 
• Have an achievable six-month goal, even if the broader work itself will take a longer timeframe than six months.
• Leverage the Scholar’s existing knowledge, experience, and/or network.  
• Benefit from participation in the program.  

Application Date and Process

• Click on the link to the application website to apply.

Throughout this application, you will be required to provide personal background information (academic, professional, etc.), responses to essay questions, recommendations, and a summary of your Personal Leadership Project. 

All application materials, including recommendations, must be submitted online by 11:59 PM CT Sunday, July 20, 2025. Following a thorough review of each application, they will invite a group of applicants to interview for final selection into the program. Finalists will be notified by mid-September if they have been invited to participate in the interview process. Interviews will be conducted in early October, and final acceptance decisions will be made in December 2025.

Application Deadline

20 July, 2025

Scholarship Application Portal

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