Social Enterprise Summer Fellowships

Enabling students to develop skills and knowledge while having significant responsibility and high impact.

Overview

The HBS Summer Fellows Program enables students to apply their classroom training as they explore career opportunities in roles or regions where compensation is generally lower than the traditional MBA level. The goal of this program is to give students the freedom to realize their unique career visions without being limited by the compensation levels of certain opportunities, regardless of industry or location.

Students may be working at non-profit, public sector, or for-profit organizations with a social impact focus – defined as having a clear social or environmental issue the organization seeks to address, and a business model that is likely to make a substantial contribution towards that issue.

Funding is available for students joining existing organizations, as well as for those founding new ventures who have not yet raised significant capital.

  • 78
    Summer Fellows, 2025
  • 2,211
    Summer Fellows since 1982

For Joiners

As a Social Enterprise Summer Fellow, students will be part of a select community through the Social Enterprise Initiative.

Benefits:

  • Engage in a peer exchange network of students committed to social enterprise

  • Receive the additional benefits of access to the resources and expertise of the Social Enterprise Initiative

  • Attend a kick-off session in the spring followed by a wrap-up session in the fall to offer Fellows the opportunity to be active and engaged during and beyond the Summer Fellow experience

Requirements: See CPD Summer Fellows Program website

For Founders: Social Enterprise Founder Forum

The Social Enterprise Founder Forum is offered to students in the summer between their RC and EC year, supporting student founders in the development of their social impact startup. The program is for students who are serious about pursuing their idea and are committed to a structured program.

Benefits:

  • Cohort, community of founders

  • Workshops with experts and faculty

  • Founder Circle peer gatherings

  • Geographic gatherings

  • $1,000/week for 10-12 weeks

  • $1.5K experimentation fund

Requirements:

  • Pitch deck included in application (located in the "Founders" section and note: sign-in required to view )

  • Social impact focus

  • Strong summer roadmap

  • Committed to active participation in required workshops and Founder Circles

  • Meet key requirements/deliverables

  • A maximum of two Fellows may be fully funded per startup

  • Meet key requirements/deliverables