Graduate and professional students interested in social innovation, entrepreneurship, and real-world impact should not miss this exciting opportunity. The University of Washington (UW) Population Health Initiative is now accepting applications for the Summer 2026 Social Entrepreneurship Fellows Program, with the deadline set for Friday, April 3, 2026, at 12 p.m. Pacific Time.
This highly competitive fellowship is designed for students who want to explore how research-driven innovations can become financially sustainable social enterprises while creating meaningful change in communities worldwide.
Fellowship Funding and Program Duration
Selected fellows will receive $10,000 over a 10-week summer program to investigate and develop social enterprise models connected to innovations created by UW researchers.
Only four fellows will be chosen for Summer 2026, representing diverse academic and professional disciplines. Participants will gain hands-on experience in building solutions that balance social impact with revenue generation and long-term sustainability.
Summer 2026 Fellowship Projects
Fellows will work on one primary project while also collaborating as a cohort across all initiatives. The four featured projects for Summer 2026 include:
- Nuestro Valor – culturally grounded interventions encouraging fruit and vegetable consumption among Latino shoppers.
- aFloats (Acoustic Micro-float) – hydrophone-enabled profiling floats measuring underwater sounds affecting marine animal life cycles.
- SMART-Wrap – a real-time text-based care coordination tool for youth with complex healthcare needs.
- TUNE – a low-cost smartphone-based hearing screening tool for early detection of hearing loss in low-resource settings.
These projects reflect the fellowship’s strong focus on innovation, health equity, sustainability, and scalable social entrepreneurship.
Collaborative Fellowship Experience and Mentorship
Although each fellow will have a main project assignment, the fellowship is designed as a collaborative cohort experience. Fellows will contribute their unique expertise across all projects while being supported through:
- A structured workplan led by UW faculty and staff
- Access to entrepreneurship mentors and subject matter experts
- Training in social enterprise development and impact-driven innovation
This program is ideal for students looking to expand their skills in entrepreneurship, public health innovation, technology translation, and social venture strategy.
Eligibility Requirements
The fellowship is open to eligible graduate and professional students from all University of Washington schools and colleges. Students from a wide range of disciplines are encouraged to apply, especially those interested in social impact, research innovation, and entrepreneurship.
The last date to apply for the Summer 2026 Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship at the University of Washington is Friday, April 3, 2026, by 12 p.m. (Pacific Time).