Fellowships in Climate: Getting a Jump Start on your Journey
by David J. Neff and Mike Argosh
(Editors Note: This is part one of our two-part series. Part two here.)
When most of us start our climate journey we face a bewildering array of options. From traditional tech accelerators to local entrepreneurship programs, to local climate groups, to specific fellowships run by climate-focused organizations. It’s all often obtuse and confusing. Mike and I, who work in varying parts of the climate spectrum, want to make that a little easier and less overwhelming.
Before we dive in let’s get into what makes a fellowship. Many of these benefits will, of course, depend on the quality of the fellowship. Your results may vary.
What is a Fellowship?
First, let’s start with a definition. Fellowships can be understood as programs that invest money and resources into people and technology or ideas. And sometimes fellowships cost the participants money. Think of it as continuing or professional education. This is the type of fellowship we are going to talk about in the post today.
This differs from an incubator / accelerator / pre-seed investor who typically invests in teams and companies. The key difference, in our opinion, being around the evaluation metrics, financial returns expected, and objectives.
Incubators / accelerators / pre-seed investors are trying to help build successful businesses. So evaluation will be all of the above plus the commercial and execution potential of a given team and business concept.
Fellowships
Fellowships invests in people and tech / ideas or are a paid program to obtain and learn new skills.
Incubators/Accelerators
Incubators invest in teams and companies
So how does a fellowship support your career growth?
Networking Opportunities:
Being part of a climate fellowship connects you with seasoned professionals in your field. These could be the folks teaching the classes or your fellow students. These networks offer mentorship, guidance, and exposure to real-world scenarios. In fact, David met Dr. Chip Fletcher during his fellowship at Terra.do and is now using Dr. Fletcher as part of his future due diligence process with startups. Building relationships with experts can open doors to internships, expertise, research collaborations, and even job opportunities or just a person to call when needed.
Skill Enhancement and Experiential Learning:
Fellowship programs often include workshops, seminars, and hands-on experiences. These opportunities enhance your skills, broaden your knowledge, and expose you to diverse perspectives. Whether it’s honing research techniques or mastering leadership skills, fellowships offer a rich learning environment.
Making a Lasting Impact:
Fellowships provide a platform to contribute significantly to your academic or career discipline. Or even as a good jumpstart into a new career, which is what David did with his climate fellowship. As a fellow, you have the chance to engage in classes, education, groundbreaking research, innovative projects, new team experiences, or community initiatives. Your work can leave a lasting legacy and shape the future of your career.
Cross-Cultural Collaboration:
Some fellowships involve international placements or collaborations. For most of the ones we are talking about in this post, it will be more about using online means to collaborate with your fellow students. In David’s Terra.do class he had 20 other fellows from all over the world to learn and collaborate with and continues to do so with them on LinkedIn and Slack channels. Immersing yourself in these different cultures enhances your global perspective, fosters cross-cultural understanding, and enriches your personal growth.
Recognition:
Being selected as a fellow is a mark of distinction. And often signifies that your potential and contributions are valued by that particular community. Fellowships can add prestige to your resume and can boost your credibility when seeking employment or further educational opportunities. Although this is last on our list, it’s never a bad thing to talk about in job interviews down the line or pitches of your new startup.
All information is taken directly from the host website.
Terra.Do
For: People like David J. Neff (the co-author of this post). I’m biased as a graduate, but I took this fellowship to change my career path. The mission of Terra is to get 100 MM people working on climate change issues by 2030. They concentrate on building fundamental skills to get you into your first job in Climate. I took the Climate Change: Learning for Action course, but they have a wide variety of online boot camps teaching the science, politics, and finance behind climate change.
Cost: $1990 with lots of scholarship options available.
Length: 12 weeks.
Details: https://www.terra.do/climate-education/cohort-courses/climate-change-learning-for-action/
Climate Base
For: People like Corey Pudhorodsky, who is currently taking this and is open to folks reaching out. This program is for a wide variety of people, who have a wide range of personal and professional goals, from landing their first job in climate, to career advancement, furthering their education, gaining experience by working on projects, or even launching their ventures.
Cost: $1990 with plenty of scholarships available.
Length: 12 weeks
Details: https://climatebase.org/fellowship
Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in Climate
For: The Rockefeller Foundation is establishing this fellowship to equip leaders with the mindset and skills needed to advance climate solutions with breakthrough potential. They are looking for people actively working on a climate solution in Latin America, including Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean; 5–15 years of work experience; Track record of impact in the region and those who are Well-positioned to influence change, with strong connections in their community or network (local, regional, or national).
Cost: None we could find.
Length: Six months.
Location: Kicks off on Lake Como, Italy (not bad!) and then six months of virtual work.
Details:https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/big-bets/climate-fellowship/
SEI’s The Climate Corps
For: People looking to get into climate by working full time for 10–12 months. This program allows applicants who are accepted to receive extensive training & support, including orientation, monthly trainings, and a personal development plan and then go out and implement climate change resiliency projects, develop sustainability skills, and build partnerships in your community. A college degree is preferred but not required.
Cost: They pay you. You will receive A monthly stipend starting at $3,000 with a $1,000 end-of-program financial award and Health care coverage with 100% of health care insurance premiums covered by the employer.
Length: 10–12 months.
Details: https://www.climatecorps.org/fellow.html
USDA Climate Change Corps
For: The USDA is looking for people to become fellows inside of the USDA. The fellows will work on projects with USDA employees on climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts across the Department. This may include assistance with the implementation of the USDA-and climate change-relevant portions of the Inflation Reduction Act, analysis related to agriculture and forestry technologies and practices that can provide climate change adaptation and mitigation benefits, assistance with economic and policy analysis in the areas of agriculture, forest management and climate change, and/or development of science-based tools and information products that will help improve management of working lands in light of climate change, among other tasks.
Cost: None listed.
Length: Two years, with year long extensions possible.
Details: https://www.usda.gov/oce/energy-and-environment/climate-change-fellows-program
Yale Climate Fellowship
For: The Yale Emerging Climate Leaders Fellowship offers an opportunity for 16 young climate and clean energy practitioners (who are 5–10 years into their careers) from across the Global South to broaden their technical skills, deepen their professional networks, and exchange views with top global clean energy and climate change leaders. Climate Fellows are drawn from a wide variety of professions, ranging from public servants to entrepreneurs, energy company professionals, financiers, journalists, educators, researchers, civil society representatives, legal advisers, and legislators. This program includes a week in Paris as well.
Cost: All costs are covered by Yale on your behalf.
Length: Six months.
Location: Virtual plus Yale Campus and Paris.
Details: https://jackson.yale.edu/international-leadership-center/climate/
Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps
For: Prospective students in the U.S., China and India. At the time of application, you must be enrolled in a graduate certificate or degree program. Much like a mini MBA you’ll be custom matched with an organization that best aligns with your skills, interests, and preferences. Over the summer, you’ll work directly with staff at your host organization on innovative climate and energy projects. At the end of the fellowship, you’ll become part of the Climate Corps network and gain access to professional development resources throughout your career.
Cost: You are paid $1400 per week plus $1400 for your training program.
Length: 10–12 weeks.
Location: Virtual and on location with business hosts.
Details: https://business.edf.org/climate-corps/
TEX-E Fellowship
For: Ready to be a leader for energy and climate entrepreneurship? This fellowship is inviting students from The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, Rice University, and Prairie View A&M University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology–who are graduating in May 2025 or later.
Cost: None we could find.
Length: One Semester
Location: Kickoff in Houston on May 14th 2024, but mostly virtual.
Details:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZQR2HXR6ooiqvB9rsCukEChQ3JsXb1wdoXu1FnZU_Dm-iRw/viewform?mc_cid=2533580228&mc_eid=5faaffc28b
Third Sphere Investing Fellowship
For: The Third Sphere Fellowship is a program to learn how best to invest in, and support, founders building climate tech startups at the earliest stages. We will provide a stipend and you’ll join our team as we work with real founders and real deals (not case studies). This appears to be real hands-on work experience across their startup portfolio. There are VC, Credit, and Platform tracks available to the fellows.
Cost: They will pay you $8000.
Length: Four months.
Location: Appears to be Virtual.
Details:Third Sphere Fellowship (Investor)
Engine Ventures Fellowship
For: This MIT-related “tough-tech” accelerator is looking for Venture Fellows who will work alongside their large team in Boston. To apply you must be a current graduate student and or a postdoc student who is interested in a wide range of scientific-based, tough tech startups. Not all will be in climate. Graduate and Postdoctoral students in Engineering, Chemistry, Material Science, Biology, Physics, Computation or Medicine are welcome.
Cost: This is a paid position, but no amount was listed.
Length: Part-time over five months.
Location: MA or Virtual
Details: https://engineventures.com/the-tech-venture-fellowship
Last Energy’s Climate Fellowship
For: Last Energy’s Climate Fellowship provides an opportunity to work with a global leader in the clean-tech sector. From business development, legal, and financial operations to engineering and policy functions, each fellow gains a rare opportunity to learn more about sustainable business practices and decarbonization. This fellowship is designed for promising, early-career professionals who seek firsthand experience with international energy markets.
Cost: At the end of the program, high-performing fellows will be offered full-time positions at Last Energy. The salary for the fellow is $80,000.
Length: Full time
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: https://jobs.lever.co/last-energy/286dcdd6-4200-44bb-ae2a-e36dd87e3800
References:
https://www.awardforce.com/blog/articles/7-tips-on-running-a-fruitful-fellowship-program/
