The Dalai Lama Fellowship at Stanford

The Dalai Lama Fellowship at Stanford is a year-long opportunity for students to develop inner resources and skills to lead significant social change.  Students learn how and why leadership might be best understood as a set of capacities that allow one to meet the world authentically—capacities such as self-awareness, courage, compassion, and imagination. They also learn how to develop and apply these capacities by pursuing a specific social change project of their own choosing.  

This fellowship is part of a wider, global Dalai Lama Fellowship program that you can read about here. 

Applications for the 2023-24 academic year have closed. Check back in spring quarter for next year’s application.

What Fellows do

Fellows take a special fall seminar (Mondays 1:30-4:30) devoted to examining and practicing the skills needed for creating lasting social change and then, in winter and spring, participate in weekly mentorship to develop a project aimed at addressing a specific, local challenge. All year long, Fellows also exchange perspectives and insights about leadership with other Dalai Lama Fellows from around the world.  

What Fellows gain

Fellows learn both the theory and practice of skills that support effective, authentic leadership.  The fall course introduces fellows to the capacities that underlie both human development and leadership and to practices that help develop them.  These include capacities such as self-awareness, courage, perspective-taking, creativity, and compassion, Fellows also learn pathways for identifying values and purpose, and for communicating and collaborating with others to create positive social change.  

Fellows receive 3-units of credit for the fall course, and a $1,000 stipend for the winter and fall quarters to support the development of their projects.  They also become part of a supportive, life-long community of Dalai Lama Fellows from around the world, all committed to becoming more effective leaders and creating more flourishing in the world.  

Who oversees the Fellowship

The Fellowship is currently led by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) and the Stanford Storytelling Project (SSP). The fall course is team-taught by anthony antonio (Associate Professor, School of Education), Tiffany Steinwert (Dean, Office of Religious and Spiritual Life), and Jonah Willihnganz (Director, Stanford Storytelling Project). Fellows are mentored in winter and spring by this team plus mentors drawn from Stanford Living Education (SLED) and the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute (DCI).  

Who may apply

Any matriculating undergraduate or graduate student at Stanford. 

How to apply

Fill out the form. Leaders of the program will communicate with applicants within a week of application and conduct brief interviews by zoom when possible.