Welcome

We are not accepting applications for the 2027 cohort at this time. 

The Environmental Fellows Program (EFP) at the Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a 12-week summer conservation leadership pathway fellowship that seeks to increase career accessibility within the environmental field by cultivating the skills and aspirations of master’s and doctoral students by connecting them to work opportunities in environmental nonprofits, grant makers, and government sectors.

This program arose out of a collaboration between University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, the Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA), and the C. S. Mott Foundation. The collaborators recognized the need for a program to identify and train diverse students to work in environmental and philanthropic sectors. This fellowship is supported by several philanthropic organizations.

The Environmental Fellows Program is looking for future leaders and decision-makers in the rapidly changing fields of conservation, justice, equity, and philanthropy. We are looking for graduate students who:

  • want to broaden their environmental knowledge and perspectives;
  • want to build their leadership and communication skills;
  • want to gain valuable work experience;
  • are passionate about diversifying the environmental field;
  • are committed to supporting and advocating for the principles of equity and inclusion;
  • are interested in learning about environmental grantmaking and its impacts on local, national, and international environmental work;
  • want to be a part of an emerging network.

Depending on availability, previous Fellows may be invited to participate in the program a second year.

The Environmental Fellow Program Difference

  • It's safe to say that EFP changed my trajectory and I wouldn't have even thought I'd be qualified enough to apply for the job I have now if I hadn't been a Fellow and learned/inspired by the [EFP] team and co-Fellows

    Quenton King
    2018 Environmental Fellow

  • After interning in an environmental nonprofit with a focus on applying my urban planning and environmental justice skills, I was encouraged to try the public sector. I look forward to learning and growing through this new role and sector in an effort to narrow my job prospects in the near future.

    Rebeca Villegas
    2018 Environmental Fellow

  • Having the EFP on my resume was a big talking point in my interview for my current position. My interviewers were very interested in what projects I worked on and what I accomplished last summer.

    Amber Carter
    2018 Environmental Fellow

  • I leveraged my experience at a grantmaking institution to secure an internship with one of the grantees of the Foundation I worked for last summer.

    Kayla Hunter
    2018 Environmental Fellow

  • EFP opened to the doors for me to enter the field of philanthropy. Prior to the fellowship, I had little knowledge about this field or how it operated. Now, I'm able to leverage connections I've made through EFP to advance progressive funder initiatives and stay connected to a base of amazing changemakers (aka the fellows themselves).

    Gabriel Jones
    2016 Environmental Fellow