The Dow Sustainability Fellows co-curricular program brings master’s and professional students from across U-M schools and colleges together to cultivate the next generation of sustainability leaders through hands-on, interdisciplinary projects with external partners. External partner projects are unique and in need of diverse student experiences (view past Dow Fellows’ Partner Projects). The program fosters the development of collaboration, communication, and analytical skills and supports fellows as they tackle the sustainability challenges of today and tomorrow, which are highly interconnected, and in need of interdisciplinary, collaborative problem-solving. The year-long program runs from January through December. Fellows from across campus are selected and:

• Provided $25,000 in tuition support
• Matched with an interdisciplinary team of fellows and an external partner
• Spend on average 4-5 hours per week consistently (200 hours total) on project work with their team and the external partner .
• Provided funding for project travel and other allowable project expenses
• Attend monthly in-person seminars beginning with a Welcome Retreat in January
• Write a final project report and present at the Dow Sustainability Fellows Symposium
  To get a sense of the Dow Fellowship experience and hear from past Dow Fellows, watch this testimonial video. The Dow Sustainability Fellowship is made possible by the Dow Company Foundation and administered by the U-M Graham Sustainability Institute

SEAS Application Process: Students interested in being nominated must complete the following application link https://tinyurl.com/y3wp4bdy no later than 9:00 AM on Monday, October 6, 2025. The SEAS Scholarship Committee will review applications and select up to ten (10) students for nomination to the university-wide competition. Nominees are forwarded to the Graham Institute for final selection. Students selected for nomination will be notified by the Graham Institute with instructions and the deadline for uploading their final application materials. Incomplete applications will not be considered. 

Students interested in being nominated should submit their responses to the following prompts as a single PDF via the above application link:

1. Do you expect to graduate after December 2026?
2. Are you available to participate in person during the Winter and Fall semesters?
3. Develop a Narrative (≤ 500 words) that addresses the three prompts below and demonstrates your strengths as an emerging sustainability leader:

• Describe your educational and career goals and how this interdisciplinary, collaborative sustainability experience would be transformative (as opposed to incremental) for you. What do you hope to learn through this experience?
• Describe how your unique experiences, perspectives, and/or skills could contribute to the collaborative learning that happens in the Dow Fellows Program.
• Based on your studies and experiences, describe how you have fostered, or plan to foster, innovative and creative approaches to sustainability solutions. How does your background and unique perspective contribute more broadly to the field of sustainability?

4. Submit curriculum vitae or resume (up to 2 pages)
5. Submit transcripts of all graduate and undergraduate coursework. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.