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The Legatum Center administers a competitive fellowship program for incoming and current MIT graduate students, across all academic and professional disciplines, who demonstrate the potential to create innovative, sustainable, for-profit enterprises that promote prosperity in low-income countries and who are committed to implementing their business plans upon graduation.
Application Deadline:
February 10, 2010 at 5PM EST
Description | Current Fellows | Alumni Fellows | Application Instructions
Please join us for an Open House on November 18 to learn more about the Fellowship and other opportunities at the Legatum Center.
Educators, career offices, and others who would like to spread the word about the 2010-2011 Legatum Fellowship application can download promotional materials here.
THE MIT LEGATUM FELLOWSHIP
The Legatum Center seeks entrepreneurs who aspire to have a lasting and positive economic impact on low-income countries by developing their own entrepreneurial ideas and building their own local enterprises. The Center’s approach is intensely practical. Recognizing that even the best innovations can be rendered useless if not distributed effectively, we work closely with our Fellows to design not just innovative products and services, but also workable, affordable, and sustainable business distribution methods.
The fellowship is open to all MIT graduate students and consists of:
1. Business plan coaching
2. Specialized seminars
3. Networking events with opportunities to engage with entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators that speak at the Legatum Lecture Series and Annual Conference
4. Access to the expertise and experience of Legatum Mentors
5. Financial Assistance
Download Legatum Center 2009 Brochure>>
FOR APPLICANTS
Application Process
All candidates for the Legatum Fellowship are required to submit an online fellowship application and 2 letters of recommendation. A committee will examine all applications and then finalists will be contacted to set up an interview. Whenever possible, Fellowship finalists are interviewed in person. For those finalists based outside of the U.S. or unable to visit campus, interviews will be conducted by phone or by regional representatives of the Center or MIT.
Application Deadline: February 10, 2010 5PM EST
Interviews: February - March 2010
Notification of Legatum Fellowship Awards: Early April 2010
Conditions of Eligibility
Each applicant must be:
- An applicant for a graduate degree program at MIT or a student currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at MIT, and an MIT student for the duration of the Fellowship
- Committed to using their education at MIT to start a business in a low-income country after graduating
Legatum Fellowship Commitment
Legatum Fellows commit to participating in regular Fellows-only seminars, and in Center events (Legatum Lectures, networking lunches and dinners, etc.), and are required, by the end of their fellowship, to submit a viable for-profit business plan for implementation in a low-income country. As alumni of the fellowship program, individuals will join a growing network of international entrepreneurs committed to bringing these business plans to fruition.
Duration of the fellowship: September 2010 - June 2011
* Please note that Legatum Fellowships cannot be deferred.
Application Instructions
We strongly encourage you to submit an online application, however if you are unable to access the online application for technical reasons, you may request a hard copy application, which must be completed and received by the Legatum Center by February 10, 2010. When submitting online, please plan ahead for unforeseeable technical problems Due to high traffic on our servers the day of the application deadline, we recommend that you submit your application in advance.
In order to apply for the Legatum Fellowship, applicants must submit two (2) letters of recommendation and an application consisting of the following completed sections:
- Personal Information
- MIT Information
- Fellowship General Information
- Fellowship/Finnancial Resources
- Fellowship Entrepreneurial Idea
- Fellowship Essays
For applicants to MIT
There is a two-step process:
1. Apply for the Legatum Fellowship
2. Apply for admission to a graduate degree program at MIT (MBA, SM, PhD, etc.).
Deadlines for application to MIT vary by department, See Application Deadlines.
Only those who receive admission offers from MIT will be eligible for the Legatum Fellowship Program.
For current MIT graduate students
Apply for the Legatum Fellowship and indicate the program in which you will be enrolled during your Fellowship year.
For re-applicants
Reapplicants are required to complete the 2010-2011 Fellowship application in full. Previous year submissions will not be reviewed.
Notes on Financial Assistance
The Legatum Center provides assistance to support Fellows’ graduate studies at MIT. The amount of assistance will be determined based on a combination of merit and need.
As funding is limited, we encourage applicants to also explore external sources of funding. For more information on financial aid at MIT, please visit the Student Financial Services website at http://web.mit.edu/sfs/index.html.
The Legatum Fellowship award may be used only for tuition, fees, books, medical insurance, room and board, and other specifically approved expenses. Payments from the Legatum Center may be received to supplement, but not to duplicate, benefits from the educational institution or from other foundations, institutions, or organizations. The combined benefits from all sources may not exceed the costs of tuition, fees, books, and room and board as prescribed by MIT's cost-of-attendance budget.
Other important links at MIT
Sloan School of Management Admissions
Sloan Fellows Admissions
Graduate Students Office
International Students Office
PUBLICIZE THIS FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Download a handout - Spanish (PDF) >>
Download a handout - French (PDF) >>
Download Legatum Center 2009 Brochure>>
